Moisture Inside of Chest Freezer, I found a way to control it... Options

[travisc]

A few weeks ago I took a carboy of beer out of my chest freezer to
bottle. When I placed it on my counter, I smelled an awful smell and
noticed mold and bacteria haze was covering the OUTSIDE of my
carboy. I wiped down the carboy with a bleach solution and let it
set, but this scared me a little bit.

Does anyone else have a problem with condensation building up inside
their chest freezers or refrigerators when they are trying to
ferment their beer? At 65-70, this creates a warm, dark and wet
place where bacteria can grow nicely. Of course, the CO2 that builds
up will keep the growth low, but once fermentation has completed,
it's fair game.

My solution; I had some of that Damp Rid crystals around my house.
You can buy this stuff cheap at Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowes. I put
a cup filled with that Damp Rid and it keeps the inside of my
freezer nice and dry so bacteria can't grow.

Damp Rid Website:
http://www.damprid.dsiwebbuilder.com/index.asp?cat=40019

Anyway, just sharing an idea that worked for me.

[straightjacket]

Works well. I've been using it for a couple years now.

[ZombieDick]

A few weeks ago I took a carboy of beer out of my chest freezer to
bottle. When I placed it on my counter, I smelled an awful smell and
noticed mold and bacteria haze was covering the OUTSIDE of my
carboy. I wiped down the carboy with a bleach solution and let it
set, but this scared me a little bit.

Does anyone else have a problem with condensation building up inside
their chest freezers or refrigerators when they are trying to
ferment their beer? At 65-70, this creates a warm, dark and wet
place where bacteria can grow nicely. Of course, the CO2 that builds
up will keep the growth low, but once fermentation has completed,
it's fair game.

My solution; I had some of that Damp Rid crystals around my house.
You can buy this stuff cheap at Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowes. I put
a cup filled with that Damp Rid and it keeps the inside of my
freezer nice and dry so bacteria can't grow.

Damp Rid Website:
http://www.damprid.dsiwebbuilder.com/index.asp?cat=40019

Anyway, just sharing an idea that worked for me.

just a quick question......

why do you need to ferment in a freezer at 65-70 degrees??? stick in a closet or the basement... voila, problem solved

[blatzy]

just a quick question......

why do you need to ferment in a freezer at 65-70 degrees??? stick in a closet or the basement... voila, problem solved

'cause he lives in Gainesville (go Gators) and the ambient temps are more like 75-80. I have the same problem.

that being said, I'd set your fridge at no more than 62F, -- fermentation activity adds about 5 -7df to the actual temp of your wort. so if you have it set at 65, your wort is probably at 70-75df. just offerring some advice to a fellow Gator.

[ZombieDick]

'cause he lives in Gainesville (go Gators) and the ambient temps are more like 75-80. I have the same problem.

that being said, I'd set your fridge at no more than 62F, -- fermentation activity adds about 5 -7df to the actual temp of your wort. so if you have it set at 65, your wort is probably at 70-75df. just offerring some advice to a fellow Gator.

i see...

btw - Roll Tide!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/tongue.gif)

[travisc]

Yup, it's hotter than hell here. Right now it's 85F outside at least. Also no basements in Florida. The few people that have basements have major mold problems.

Two major problems being a brewer in Florida:
1) Keeping fermentation temps in check.
2) Ground water is piss warm and makes for slow wort cooling.

[ZombieDick]

sounds like its time to build a walk in cooler... (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/tongue.gif)

[dagomike]

My issue is in my lagering freezer. The Damp Rid stuff doesn't seem to work below a certain temp.I just basically rotate towels on the floor. I've heard of people using caulk to seal it up so it doesn't rust at least. I've been meaning to do that also.

[pods8]

Been using damp rid for a few years. It helps but you still get some moisture that needs to be wiped up from time to time.

[Lonnie Mac]

Ha! Texas laughs in the face of this damp rid! Swim on brothas! (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/biggrin.gif)

I wish this stuff can keep up with this heat and moisture. It works a little, but can't compete...

[MixnMatchBrew]

Here you go: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=190105891425

No I'm not the seller. I just bought one on the recommendation of a brew buddy.

[just-cj]

I have the Japanese equivalent of DampRid in my chest freezer -- I put three of them in there and they soak up a hell of a lot of moisture at 40-45F. I think I'll go with four or five during the summer. I'll also take everything out of the freezer before it gets really hot, give the freezer itself a really good cleaning, wipe off all the bottles and kegs to make sure the mold is gone, and then reload. It's a pain in the butt, but doing that once a year really helps keep the mold under control.

[huleoo]

Here you go: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=190105891425

No I'm not the seller. I just bought one on the recommendation of a brew buddy.

I may have to get one of these. How long have you had yours? I assume it has worked well since it was recomended to you and you are in turn recomending it...

[MixnMatchBrew]

I may have to get one of these. How long have you had yours? I assume it has worked well since it was recomended to you and you are in turn recomending it...

Just ordered mine. BrotherhoodBrew is the one who pointed it out to me. I'll email him and ask him to post more info like how long it lasts etc.

You plug it in after it indicates its full and it heats up and drives off the moisture. He says his kegerator stays dry now.

[Kremer]

Dessicant packaged with a built in heater, sure beats cooking it in your oven for 6 hours. I'd be interested in knowing the dry and 'wet' weight of that thing to see how much water it is capable of sucking up.

This is what Damp-rid is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_chloride

Call around to some concrete places and you can get a 50# bag for about the same price as two of those damp-rid refill boxes.