Evil Clown Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I just thought I would share the method I am now using to carbonate my beer bottles now that the temperature inside the house does not get over 14C. Required materials An old fridge, does not have to be working. Mine was not working and free a 375L model which holds 90 long necks on 3 wire shelves. A 140mm x 140mm computer fan 12Volt DC $18 A 12 Volt DC adapter $18 Digital thermostat $32 Indoor/outdoor temp gauge $12 A ceramic heat lamp 100watt $21 A ceramic lamp holder $18 A bit of scrap 4x2 inch timber A bit of 200mm x 200mm x 12mm pine All up it cost me roughly $120 I used liquid nails and glued the pine to the inside top of the fridge and then screwed the fan onto that. The fan then blows the hot air down back towards the lamp to maintain airflow and a more even temperature throughout the fridge. I cut the end of the 12 Volt adapter and joined it to the fan. Heat lamp holder was screwed to the 4x2 inch timber to act as a weight so the lamp can't tip over. The lamp is placed on the floor of the fridge where the veggie crisper was. Thermostat and outdoor probe of temperature gauge placed on the inside of the fridge, with heat lamp plugged into the thermostat. The wires just come out the door thru the seal, I have not even worried about drilling holes in the fridge to run the wires into it. I set the thermostat to 21C. The fridge took 20 mins to heat from 14C to 21C. The thermostat kicked in and turned off the lamp. Over the next 4 minutes the temperature went up to 21.4C. The temperature then fell from 21.4C to 20C over the next 14 minutes. The thermostat kicked in turning on the lamp and it took 6 minutes to raise the temperature back to 21C. So once you have the fridge to temperature it looks like it runs at a 6 minutes on 18 minutes off cycle. So I figure that works out that the heat lamp is on only 25% of the time. So the temperature should only have a variance of about 1.5C and the set up will cost about $1.80 per week to run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gash Slugg Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 yep same as me, nearly... I'm a touch more old school.. light globe covered in aluminium foil, and I don't use a fan, totally understand why you do, but I'm lazy. and my thermostat displays the temp. so don't need the temp. gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 TBH that is pretty expensive I reckon. Nevertheless, it is good if it works for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB8 Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 The temperature inside the house does not get over 14C. Damn just reading that is making me feel cold. As genious as I find your methods couldnt you have just put that money on the lecky bill to heat your lounge room up for the winter, then just carb up the beer in a quite corner [bandit] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien E1 Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 The temperature inside the house does not get over 14C. Damn just reading that is making me feel cold. As genious as I find your methods couldnt you have just put that money on the lecky bill to heat your lounge room up for the winter, then just carb up the beer in a quite corner [bandit] I wish it would stay at 14 here... This morning I had to get half a centimetre of Ice off my car. My downstairs area (half dug into a hillside) sits at 12 all winter, whether the heating is on or not. Great for brewing Lagers with though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Clown Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 I wish there was an economical way to heat the house I'm currently in. It is very old has no insulation, gas or wood heating and is open plan ( kitchen, lounge, dining room). Most nights the temp falls well below 0C outside and to around 6C inside. Just to heat one bedroom to above 18C 24hr a day with an electric heater would cost over $7, so roughly $50 a week, so in comparison the fridge set up is cheap and is a one of cost. It's funny once you live in a cold climate area and work outside in the cold all day for a few years you get used to the colder temps inside a house and don't feel the need to heat yourself up as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gash Slugg Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Graham its a little bit too cold here in vic! was 0c yesterday outside and about 8c in the house when I woke up, add that to the most expensive electricity bills in the country.... brew fridge/cabinet are nearly a must! I agree he could of went about it in a cheaper way, but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I'm in Tassie... there are no more stops from here to the antartic. nuff said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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