Any Son of Fermentation Chiller users here?

[belsonc]

So the Son of Fermentation Chiller is going to be the next brewing-related project my father and I take on. We were looking at the writeup, the plans... And for the life of us, neither one of us can figure out why there's a full-height wall between the two ice chambers. So, does anyone have any thoughts? Is there a reason why it's full height like that, or is that just how it's built?

And for those who are wondering what I'm talking about...

Here's a PDF of the plans. (http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.pdf)

Thanks in advance. :-)


-CB

[beerking]

That link does not appear to be an actual URL.

[belsonc]

Thanks - fixed the link.

-CB

[beerking]

This one does not seem to work either. I get a page from "Road Runner" which tells me that page is not available.

[TeufelBrew]

Look up the 38DD Mother of fermentation chiller. I chose to do this one becuase I use a wider primary than the 6.5gal carboy. I also like the thermostat setup. I'm finishing the wood veneer on mine over the next few days. I did a trial run with only one chambe of ice and brought the inside temp down over 15 degrees below ambient in a little more than half an hour.

Here is the site.
http://suburb.semo.net/jet1024/FermChill.htm

[belsonc]

We were thinking about that one, too, but it might be a little big for my purposes... what are the dimensions of yours? I have a one bedroom apartment, so there's not a whole lot of spare room to play around with...


and Beerking - One (http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF) of these two (http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:Prp5nY-ZxVAJ:home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF+son+fermentation+chiller&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us) better work... LOL

***Edit - the second link works, but without any of the illustrations. if you go to google and search for son fermentation chiller, the first result is the PDF file I was trying to link to.

[TeufelBrew]

At work so numbers are guestimate. 32"w x 20"d x 40"h or somewhere very close in that neighborhood. Here is the link to the Son of Ferm Chiller for BeerKing.
http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF

[Bob E.]

Is there a reason why it's full height like that, or is that just how it's built?

I think it's an efficiency thing. The way it's set up the warmer air from the top of the carboy chamber must go down through the first ice chamber. Then into the bottom and up through the second ice chamber before going back into the top of the carboy chamber. If the wall wasn't there the warmer air could just come in one side of the top of the ice chamber and go out the other side while the cooler air sits on the bottom with the ice jugs... however I've never built or used one. I'm just guessing.

[belsonc]

I think it's an efficiency thing. The way it's set up the warmer air from the top of the carboy chamber must go down through the first ice chamber. Then into the bottom and up through the second ice chamber before going back into the top of the carboy chamber. If the wall wasn't there the warmer air could just come in one side of the top of the ice chamber and go out the other side while the cooler air sits on the bottom with the ice jugs... however I've never built or used one. I'm just guessing.


See, I could see that - but there's a solid wall between the two chambers. If it was a "short wall" or something like that, that would be one thing - but I can't find anything that explains why there's a full wall there.


And from what I remember, Teufel - there are 3 chambers on the bottom for the mother chiller, right? Any holes in the walls between the 3 chambers? Depending on how we decide to go about doing this, along with whatever research I can do and information I might find, I might end up with Fourth Cousin Twice Removed of Fermentation Chiller...

[Bob E.]

The wall between the ice chambers (labeled baffle on the cut plan) is 24" tall and the sides are 29" tall, the wall between the chambers should sit 5" above the bottom.
You can kinda see it in the first picture on page 6 of the PDF.

-edit- make that rear and fan are 28" and the baffle should sit 4" above the bottom ;)

[belsonc]

...no s***. Bob, thank you. If it wasn't for you pointing out that part (about page 6), I never would've seen it. So now the whole thing makes a LOT more sense... :-)


Wow. This all makes so much more sense now... LOL :D

[TeufelBrew]

And from what I remember, Teufel - there are 3 chambers on the bottom for the mother chiller, right? Any holes in the walls between the 3 chambers? Depending on how we decide to go about doing this, along with whatever research I can do and information I might find, I might end up with Fourth Cousin Twice Removed of Fermentation Chiller...[/quote]

Yes, the bottom box frame holds the fermenters above and the ice below. I drilled 3 3/4" holes at opposite ends to make the air move front to back on all chambers then out to the fermenters.

Even if you end up the the 'Red Headed Stepchild of Fermentation Chiller', if it works for you then hot diggity damn! Good luck with the reasearch and the build.

[belsonc]

Even if you end up the the 'Red Headed Stepchild of Fermentation Chiller', if it works for you then hot diggity damn! Good luck with the reasearch and the build.


You know, I like that. It's what this might end up being, it's right up the line of my family's sense of humor... hell, I might even end up spraypainting this thing red/finishing it in cherry/mahogany for just that reason. ;)

[TeufelBrew]

All I know for sure about the chiller box is it's putting me one step closer to controlling as many aspects of MY beer as I can. I really like that. Besides the first one doesn't have to look or be perfect, it's a learning process, so I'm gonna learn!

This, um, hobby/addiction is really rather enjoyable.

[splocal]

Check out this post it is very similar to the son of a fermentation chiller!
http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=19440

[PsychoBrew]

After creating a copy of the "Son Of Fermentor Chiller" I gave it to a friend and then created my own with some simple mods. It came out very nice, holds 2 fermentors, but does not have fancy wood on the outside like shown in some of the links posted. I still have it running on a DC power converter though because all of my small fans came from PC cases and powersupplies.
When it gets hot I like it much better than the cold towel method for keeping things cool :-)