Walk in cooler

[Crut]

so my walk in fermenting room has begun. Went to menards and picked up all the stuff for building it. lumber, roll insulation, pink foamboard, just need to finish the one wall and door and start insulating. I got the guy at ABC warehouse down to $94 on a small A/C unit, so i have that now, just need the controller and im really in business.
this has got to be the most exciting peice of brewing equipmet ive ever made!!!
-Crut

[TimC]

Sweet! Keep us up to date as you progress.

[slanted & enchanted]

i have a walk-in cooler in my detached garage. it's about 6x8 feet. i built it in the corner of the garage with 2x4 studs filled with batt insulation, a layer of 1.5" rigid and then half inch foil backed. on the block wall i put studs flat against the block, filled the vaity with the 1.5'rigid, and then put on the 1/2" foil backed. i got a used ac unit and bypassed the internal thermostat, since that'll cut it off around 67. it's just plugged into a ranco in the summer, and an electric/oil radiator in the winter.

it works really well, but i think it costs me quite a bit more than jamil quoted on his website. i think my insulation value is a bit less than his, and the garage tends to trap in heat which doesn't help in the summer. plus it's humid as all hell here. in the winter it works pretty cheaply and holds the temp extremely well.

i'm using it for storage/fermenting. so i'm keeping it in the 60's. i could lager in there but it's a waste of money in the summer, i'll just use my chest freezer, it's cheaper.

overall i'm, thrilled with it. it was my first foray into real temperature control, and it's made a wrld of difference in the final product. i didn;t realize it on my first one or two batches, but it's so great to be able to dial that temp in and not worry about a heat wave coming through and making my hefes into banan splits and my pale ales into liquid migraines.

[Sent From My iPhone]

...making my hefes into banan splits and my pale ales into liquid migraines.

[baltobrewer]

Crut, way to go man. glad to see you're moving ahead with it! Take some pics.

This thread is useless without pics! Build on!

[foomench]

I've been looking for a commercial sink on craigslist and have seen a number of commercial walk-ins for sale. The cheapest was $800:
http://denver.craigslist.org/bfs/723376511.html
That one is huge. Here's a smaller one that might work better if you're willing to give up part of your garage:
http://denver.craigslist.org/bfs/730908021.html
I found specs for one that looks like the above
http://www.kitchensupplydirect.com/378-KLX68CL.html
While it does require a 240V circuit, it appears to be single phase.

These aren't cheap, but hey, some of you are building your brew sculptures out of 1.5" stainless, so you never know. Check craigslist in your area.

-Eric

[GooberMcNutly]

Remember, your AC unit can make it much colder than the 60 or so that it's internal thermostat will allow. If you want it colder than that, you will have to short out the internal thermostat.

[Agnebrew]

ok im using agne;s thread so i dont have to start a new one, but after my last batch after moving failed because i couldnt control the temp, im gonna convert a small part of my shed out back into a fermenting room.
basically i wanna convert a spot about 4'x5' or so, enough to store several fermenters. but heres what Im thinking-i'll be insulating the crap out of it, then installing an a/c unit it in, and putting my plug in electric heater as well. I wanna/am getting a ranco two stage temp controller.
http://www.rancoetc.com/ranco-etc211000 ... 2222ce25c1
ive seen the wiring for the a/c unit, but im not planning on runnin it down past 50 ish, im only doing ales so if i can control it in the 60s im good, i can cold crash in my hop fridge.
Can I just plug the a/c unit into the temp controller and have it kick on when it needs it rather than do the full out rewire. Im planning on pluggin the heater into the other plug for when it starts cooling off in the fall.

overall-can i just plug the a/c into the temp controller and have it work like that.
-cRUT

ps, i posted that link because B3 is on backorder. I cant wait, must do now.

Feel free to highjack this thread cgunt. Please keep us posted on your progress. Some pictures would be great. I've pretty much ruled out building a walk-in for now. I'm leaning towards the chest freezer.