cold box

[jward]

Dang, I have been nearly working on this every day for so long now. It's kind of like the joke "I got laid nearly everyday last week. Nearly on Monday, nearly on Tuesday, nearly on Wednesday...."

Breaking with tradition I have been putting some time actually working on this instead of just thinking about how to do it. The door is a picture frame of white wood 1x4 covered with same polyisoanurate as the box and corner bead trimming the outer edge for abrasion protection.

I used a set of lift off hinges from McMaster Carr


The door was having some issues that my brother in law helped me work out. The box was racking due to flexing. It now has a permanent location. Ultimately I put my old boil kettle in with about 13 gallons of water to hold it down, then we connected it to the garage wall in a couple places to provide the needed stability. If I were starting from scratch I would have make a complete frame and lined it with the insulation.

I'm using 2 rows of this foam tape made of silicone/EPDM blend for the door seal:

Two rows of weather stripping. Two row barley. Coincidence? I think not!

I'll try to post some pics. I need to build a cowling for the AC unit, then a test....

[oc eric]

Let's see some pictures!

It sounds like a fun project.

[JonGoku]

Let's see some pictures!

It sounds like a fun project.

+1

[DrDually]

I think you are in the right track by building a frame to support the AC unit. I wouild suggest using steel framing studs as cost is minimal and it will not rust. Box strores sell these for under $4 ea

[jward]

I uploaded some pics in this photo gallery.

[JonGoku]

Nice, thanks for the pics. Are you putting a shelf inside there as well so you can stack fermentors?

[maltbarley]

I believe the idea is to put his conicals inside.

[JonGoku]

But of course...

So John, how much have you put into the project so far? If you decide to go another route there is this idea.
FRIGIDAIRE 13.7 cu. ft. Frost Free Upright Freezer - $200 (Craigslist)
Deep Six Fermentation Chamber build on HBT

Although that wouldn't be half as fun.

Edit: $20 - Montgomery Wards Deluxe Upright Freezer. 16.0 cu. ft. Almond. 59"H x 28"W x 28 3/8" D. Perfect for garage. Works perfect. As Is exterior condition. (949) 240-0255. I wonder how much electricity an older model would use if only set to maintain Ale temps.

[maltbarley]

You have to be careful with those upright freezers. Many of them have the evaporator coil built into a fixed shelf.

[jward]

Tim is correct. It is tall enough to hold my conical fermenter with legs, wheels, and airlock. It should be big enough to hold a second fermenter probably a keg with http://www.brewershardware.com kit . I wanted to stack 2 cornies, but ended up going with 4'-ish/half sheet of the material as a natural dimension.

The AC unit was cheap. Costco had them with automatic Edison rebates applied. I had thermostat but those run $30ish I think. I had to pop for 2 sheets of insulation but will use some thinner insulation left from other stuff. The wood is all scrap. The hinges were $7-$9 each! A couple rolls of the aluminium tape. If you don't enjoy building stuff and solving problems especially self created ones then you would be better getting a real fridge/freezer and temp controller.

I am hopeful that I will be able to ferment lagers. A Vienna style lager is sounding pretty tasty right now.

[JonGoku]

You have to be careful with those upright freezers. Many of them have the evaporator coil built into a fixed shelf.

Good point Tim. After you mentioned that I checked the first ad and it says "3 Full-Width Fixed Wire Shelves ".

Well John, I think the Vienna Lager Angel is calling. Please be sure to bring her to the club meeting with you. Oh and bring Sprouts too we missed her last time.

[jward]

Yup, every time I saw a good deal on an upright freezer it had fixed shelves....