Fridge for Kegging and Fermenting

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by darvinlikemarvin, May 11, 2013.

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  1. darvinlikemarvin

    darvinlikemarvin Initiate (0) Sep 3, 2012 Iowa

    Greetings!

    I recently purchased a refrigerator with a thermostat control that I intend on using to cool my carboys as well as my corny kegs. I'm wondering a couple of things...

    1. if i need to set my fridge to a fermenting temperature of 65 (if its the middle of summer and the ambient temp in the house is too high)...is it going to be a problem if I have a keg in there at the same time? Normally I'd keep the kegs at a much lower temp...I'm just concerned about any adverse effects of raising the temp of the kegged beer for a few weeks.

    2. The fridge sits in an uninsulated garage. During the winter months it can get to below 0 degrees. I'm curious if anybody has any feedback on how well a fridge would insulate against the cold. Has anyone hacked a fridge to both heat and cool?

    I guess I'm trying to keep from having to ferment in different areas at different times of the year (and our house doesn't have any extra room for the fridge either)
     
    #1 darvinlikemarvin, May 11, 2013
  2. sarcastro

    sarcastro Savant (1,133) Sep 20, 2006 Michigan

    1. If you are serving from the keg, you will get a lot of foam at 65 degrees. Otherwise I dont see it being an issue.

    2. I am thinking a fridge doesnt have the ability to heat. You should probably get a separate heat source to raise the temp.
     
    #2 sarcastro, May 12, 2013
  3. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,421) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    1. Get a separate fridge.
    2. The beer will freeze if the ambient temp stays below the beer's freezing point for an extended period of time. Insulation is not 100%. Many use a heat source controlled by a thermostat. A Fermwrap is one choice. A light bulb is another, though you'd want to shield the carboy from the light.
     
    #3 mikehartigan, May 12, 2013
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