Walk-In Cooler Build

[jlavin]

So my freebie fermentation fridge died on me last month and I've been pondering several different ways that I could keep my fermenting beer at just the right temperature. I finally settled on a walk-in cooler. I based my plans off of a blog entry at http://franklinbrew.org/members/sj/walkin.html He built an 8' x 4' x 6' walk-in cooler and used an old A/C unit to cool it down. My plans are to do something very similar. My plan is to set the overall temp to 40-45 degrees, which should be good for lagering and day-to-day storage. I'll then use a custom built 6 stage temp controller to drive thermal wraps for my ales to keep them at the correct temperature. The question is should I put taps on the front so I can also use it as a kegerator as well?

I'm hoping to have it done before I host the next NTHBA brew day so we'll have plenty of space.

Should be a fun build. I'm taking lots of pics and video so I'll have a good record of how to build one out.

Attached are some of the pics I took while building out the frame:

[jlavin]

Tonight I finished off the side walls for the Walk-In Cooler so, all I've got to finish is the frame for the floor. Each wall is 41" x 6' with a stud centered at 20.5". These will go between the front and back walls giving me my 8' x 4' x 6' outside dimensions.

I also received some parts for my 6 stage temp controllers. I'm building these using the Netduino project board. Its a lot like the Arduino but uses the .Net Micro Framework which allows me to program it using a language like C#. I also received 15 230VAC 30A Solid State Relays that I'll use to control the plug outlets on the temp controller. The plan is to have a separate temperature probe paired with each of the 6 outlets and the program will allow you to configure how the outlet works. You'll be able to set it to turn on the outlet when the temperature goes over or under the target temperature. This way I can set a channel to either heat or cool based on what I'm using the channel for.

Attached are a couple of pics of the frames and components.

[RobDrechsler]

what are you going to use to insulate the walls and ceilings? sprayed foam?

[jlavin]

I don't think I'm going to get that high tech with the insulation. My plan is to use the normal housing insulation with the paper facing the inside of the walk-in cooler and then I'll put a 6 mil sheet of plastic over it to form a vapor barrier. Since this will set in my garage I think that should be sufficient enough to reduce the heat loss and keep the moisture down and keep the mold from taking hold. I had thought of putting a layer of Tyvek on the outside but I'm thinking that is going a little over board.

I'm still looking for a good material to use for the siding both inside and out. I'm thinking of using the 4' x 8' sheets of White Board material but I'm getting a little worried that might be too flimsy. I know, jimmyorkin said he had used Masonite on his, which I might take alook at. Any ideas? Oh, and cost is a factor, I'm trying to keep the overall build cost to around $600.

[jlavin]

Tonight was kinda of a down night for the build. All I got done was measuring for the floor which will end up being a frame 41" x 89" with studs at 16 inch centers. I'll finish the build out on it tomorrow night and will rough out the door and opening for the A/C unit. It looks that due to the space I'll probably put the A/C unit on the front wall to the right of door. There really isn't a better location for the A/C unit based on how I want my brewery to be laid out in the garage..

After I clamped the walls together and took some measurements I found out that I should have more than enough space for my brewing adventures. I've planned on dividing the cooler in half. One side will be used for fermentation and the other side will be used for storage. Each side will end up being 41" x 32" x 6' giving me 3 feet in the middle to get in and out of the cooler.

[jlavin]

I also got a package of parts today for the temperature controllers as well. Now I just need to make a trip to my local Electronics supply store (Tanner Electronics) to get the project enclosures, switches, connectors, LEDs and circuit board blanks. Once I have all of the pieces it'll be time to set down and build the temp controllers.

[Bill Lawrence]

That is rather neat, nice idea. I would be very interested to hear how much that thing jacks up your electricity bill during the summer and how well the AC unit does in the heat. By the way, I would for sure just run the taps straight through the wall, that way you will not even have to go inside, loosing cool air, to get a beer. I suspect that your costs could actually be less than running two refigerators like I am doing, dependent of course on how well you insulate. Nice job.

[Dave Warner]

This is great. Keep on posting. Any idea how long a window unit will last cooling a room like this to refrigerated temps?

Bill, I have a window unit (heat/ac) for our sun room and it runs pretty much 24-7 all year long. Not anything too noticable on the electricity bill but it does have a tough time keeping the room cool in the summer. Not exactly an insulated chamber though.

[jlavin]

Bill,

Since I've been thinking about getting serious about competing this year, I was looking at having to have 3 chest freezers or fridges to hold everything. One for ales, one for lagers and one for storage. That is one of the reason's I think this will be the best solution overall. And I do agree running taps straight through the wall will be the best thing. Now I just need to figure what wall will be best.

Dave,

As for how long the A/C unit will last, well, we will just have to wait and see. What I have now is a 4 year old 5,500 BTU unit that was only used for a couple of months, so it should still have plenty of life left in it. The big issue will be re-wiring it to run in an always on method and to keep the fan running continuously so the coils don't freeze over. The link at the beginning of thread showed how to deal with it, I'm just hoping my changes will be just as easy.

[jlavin]

This past Saturday I had several friends show up to help with the build out of the Walk-In Cooler. After a trip to the dump and a massive shopping spree at the local Lowes we got started on finishing the floor. We ended up adding additional studs to the floor section so it could provide additional support for the cement backer board and the rubber garage tiles we bought to finish the floor with. We then attached the cement backer board and put the floor aside.

Next we cut sheets of White Board down to size for the back wall and side walls. We nailed the outer panels to the back wall and side walls and then installed insulation between the studs and then finally nailed the inner panels into place. I had originally planned on putting 6 mil plastic over the insulation before nailing on the inner panels, but the ceiling insulation we bought came with a vapor barrier and I decided to leave off the 6 mil plastic.

We also made the decision to not mount the A/C unit in the wall, but to mount it to the roof of the walk-in, since that seemed to allow us to efficiently use the available space in the garage and get the best possible cirulation for the A/C unit. We also decided to not run electrical to any of the walls and keep all of the electrical in the roof. This way we can keep the wiring to one panel, keep the electrical sockets out of harms way from any spills and still provide enough outlets in convient locations for use inside the unit.

We ended up completing the floor minus the rubber tiles and both side walls. We've still have to finish nailing the inner panels to the back wall to complete it. Next on our list is to side and insulate the front wall, build the door and then we can address completing the panel. This week I plan on re-wiring the A/C unit and get started on building the custom temp controller for inside the unit.

[otownpyle]

Jim this is looking great! Keep up the good work!

I read about Jamil's walk in on Mr. Malty http://www.mrmalty.com/brewstuff.php a few weeks ago... He got a 11000 BTU Window unit on sale for $110. He said he had an A/C HVAC neighbor that told him he was wasting his time & money.... It lasted over 5 1/2 years and said that he's figured it to cost him $3 a month!

Question: About how often is it running in the summer to keep those temps?

Answer: It depends on how hot the day, but even on 110F days, it runs maybe 30 minutes total once or twice a day. I've figured out it costs me around $2 or $3 per month average across the year.

Question: I see you used foam board, how thick did you use? I'm assuming it's over insulated 2X4 stud walls?

Answer: I used 4" of urethane board (two 2" thick boards) over insulated 2 x 4 stud walls. (It was about $200 worth of insulation when I did the project.) If you use regular styrofoam board, you won't have as much insulating power, but it will be about 1/10th the cost.

I believe he's in Sacramento but still if it's only running 30 min a couple times a day outside in his backyard and yours is in your garage. I think you're gonna be good. I can't wait to see some finished pics on here or Twitter... Really cool! Yeah taps on the outside would be awesome.. Just have to make sure those lines are accessible for cleaning/changing out occassionally or w/e...

Jealous!

Otown

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[jlavin]

Otown,

Jamil's Walk-In Cooler was one of the first I came across. I'm hoping that my unit works as good as his. Luckily my garage is both heated and air conditioned so it should even out the temps during the extremes. This summer Dallas stayed up around 105 for several weeks but the garage was more like 95. I'm thinking that my unit might be a little small to handle a temperature differential of 60 degrees, but I'll just have to wait and see. More than likely it'll run a lot more than Jamil's did, I've only got a 5,500 BTU unit.

One of the reasons I decided to put the unit on the roof instead of putting it into a wall, was so if I ever had to replace it, I didn't have to worry about rebuilding a wall to accommodate a larger A/C unit. This week I'm working on re-wiring the unit, building out the duct work and hoping to finish wiring everything up. We'll see how it goes.

I'll keep the pics coming and will chat with you on Twitter.

Jim

[jlavin]

We finally finshed the last two wall panels this past Saturday. One of the issues we've been dealing with is the thickness of the insulation causing the White Board to pull off of the finishing nails. To resolve the problem we picked up some finishing nails that had heads on them to help hold the White Board down. Once finished we used a belt sander to rip any excess off the edges so we had smooth edges on all the sides.

We picked up some 4 inch lag bolts, flat washers and thread inserts to secure the sides, floor and ceiling panels together. We then clamped everything together so we could drill the holes for the lag bolts.

We've still got a bit left to do, but we're making good progress.

[jlavin]

A lot has happened since I last posted an update.

We had to modify the floor panel since it was a tad bit too wide. My error in forgetting about the paneling required us to cut an entire inch off of one side to get it to fit with the walls all snugged together.

We then clamped the walls together and drilled holes in the front and back to so we could bolt the walls together and take them apart when ever I have to move. We used a special fitting you see in furniture that has a thread on the inside that will accept a bolt and a wood screw type of thread on the outside that allows you to screw the fitting into the wood and hold in place. This took a bit of work to figure out the best way to get everything lined up, drilled and then reassembled.

This past week I wired the ceiling panel with three always on outlets, a light switch, a light fixture and a outlet controlled by a eBay Temp Controller that will be used to control the A/C Unit. We then aligned the roof with the wall panels and drilled the holes for the anchor bolts.

All I have left to get done is the front door and the mount for the A/C Unit. With Brew Day nearing close I'm in a race to get the bad boy finished and operational so I can use it for my next big brew.

[jlavin]

Here are a couple more pictures from the build.