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Temperature Controls

A

Aaron

How important is a separate fridge temperature control for lagering?  

I have a second fridge that seems to hold its temperature well and I wanted to know if I really need to put down extra dollars for a temperature control or can I just ferment my lager using the fridge and a thermometer?
 
I'd say you're good to go if your fridge keeps a steady temp.  The Cooler I just put together is really a freezer, and even though it has a temp control, the highest I could get from it was 12 degrees so I had to get a temp control to keep it around 38-40.  No point buying something you don't need, as long as your fridge is steady.
 
Aaron said:
How important is a separate fridge temperature control for lagering? 

I have a second fridge that seems to hold its temperature well and I wanted to know if I really need to put down extra dollars for a temperature control or can I just ferment my lager using the fridge and a thermometer?

Maybe you could put a thermometer in the fridge see what sort of temp it sits at consistantly, and then you'll have an idea of what your lagering temp is at least.

Cheers, Kev.
 
Stc 1000 are quite cheap. You will have to put it in a electrical box with two outlets. One for heat and one for cooling. Heating is usually a heating pad without auto shut off. If you want to go more advance they can be reprogram with new firmware to auto slope temp to time. They are many Utube video and how to reprogram them.
 
Yeah I agree the temp controllers work well. I use an Inkbird ITC 310T Programmable Temperature controller and use a fridge for cooling and a heating pad for heating....keeps the fermentation at perfect temp and when complete I crash cool to as cold as possible which usually about 1C
 
Something to remember is a separate temperature controller, the likes of which the folks here are recommending, will always be more accurate than what your fridge came with. You may see several degrees of swing in your fridge controller, and perhaps one degree either way with a decent temperature controller. I use a couple of Johnson A419s with my chest freezer; one for cold and one for hot - I can hold temps to within +/- 2 F.

If your fridge only swings a few degrees either way, that would be fine for lagering, I'm sure.
 
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