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YidakiMan
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Registered: 09/28/02
Posts: 2,023
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Thermostat bypass
#7364203 - 09/03/07 12:16 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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I'm building two growrooms right now and shopping for air conditioning units. I'm finding that most modern window units have a built in thermostat and the lowest setting is 60F. It doesn't seem as though I can just turn the thermostat off and run the thing on high.
I don't know how the thermostat works. It could simply open and close a circuit and stop power from reaching the unit, like a thermostat for baseboard heaters -or- it could be computerized and could send a signal to turn on or off, like a home thermostat does. Could I trick the thermostat into giving me an extra 10 degrees?
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orchidfanatic
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Registered: 08/12/07
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: YidakiMan]
#7371056 - 09/05/07 02:04 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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try searching in beer brewing forums I heard of people using window AC to cool a storage or even lagering rooms getting them down to at least 40 degrees good luck!
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YidakiMan
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I think I found something on home brew forums.
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RogerRabbit
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: YidakiMan]
#7371366 - 09/05/07 04:12 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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One thing to watch for is head pressure. There's more involved than just replacing the thermostat with one that operates at a lower temp. We do have a few members here who work in HVAC, so maybe one of them will pop in with some suggestions. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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YidakiMan
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It seems a fair number of homebrewers have the desire to build lagering and storage rooms that get cooled down to 40-50F. Some of them got advice from HVAC specialists that said the project would tax the air conditioner to death in only a few weeks. It lasted 5 years. This website showed the rough wiring schematics for isolating a built in thermostat. I've rewired multitap HID ballasts so this shouldn't be a problem.
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YidakiMan
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: YidakiMan]
#7371691 - 09/05/07 05:42 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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I think you can take his equation and multiply it by the number of air exchanges and get a number usable by the mushroom cultivator.
btu loss/hr = (Surface Area)(# of fresh air exchanges)(Difference in temperatures)R-Value
I should be looking for an AC in the range of 8-10k btu/hr.
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orchidfanatic
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: YidakiMan]
#7372240 - 09/05/07 08:07 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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I am glad you found what you were looking for .. I have heard of several people geting small sheds down to these temperatures and not having the compressors blow up in a short amount of time rather they last quite a long time .. good luck on your project
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YidakiMan
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I can't say I'm surprised that there are brewers out there that build like this. The house I just moved into, it allows me a giant growroom, but with no basement my summer beer brewing activities are near nill.
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orchidfanatic
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: YidakiMan]
#7377564 - 09/07/07 06:53 AM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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I ferment in a chest freezer with a controler on it .. to keep the temps from 32 to 80 deg . what ever I want it to be at .. it fits 3 carboys or a bunch of soda kegs full of beer .. when they are ready I put one in my kegerator and viola ! hombrew on tap
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YidakiMan
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I found someone locally through eBay who turned out to be a great help. I bought one 5000 and one 8000 btu window unit for $50 and $100 respectively and picked them up myself. Turns out the guy was a professional, he owned a ventilation company. After some convincing, he agreed it could be easily done and purchasing A/Cs is probably the cheapest way to acquire condensers and coils. After we talked about this, he told me he had two identical 8000BTU units without covers - and he gave me both for the price of the one Mint-in box unit. So I left w/ one 5000 and two 8000btu A/Cs for $150.
The biggest concern about overtaxing an A/C unit is freezing up the coil. If it remains frozen for too long it will ruin the condenser. He told me the safest thing to do would be to operate the condenser on two thermostats. One thermostat should be duct mounted and should operate on the rise and be set for the desired temperature. Another thermostat should be mounted in the coil of the air conditioner and should operate on the fall, closing the circuit at 32F and not allowing it to reopen until 40F. Also to keep the coil from freezing the fan should be isolated from the controls so that it runs constantly.
When I get this project finished I'll post a tek on how to rewire everything. It might be a stretch, but you might even be able to use an A/C to make a walk-in fridge.
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Cryogenicz
what?
Registered: 07/01/04
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: YidakiMan]
#7389814 - 09/09/07 09:20 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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IMO the best way to cool grow rooms is to use split system A/C units, sizing the evaporator way larger than the condenser, so the coil runs warmer than normal, this heightens efficiency and also helps keep the coil from freezing up.
-Graham
-------------------- www.MycoPath.com Mushroom Spawn, Cultures, Fungi Bags, Casings, Master Grain Jars, Bags for In-vitro, Laboratory supplies, and much more! Mushroom Supplies. Fast Turnaround Times. Great Service. orders@mycopath.com enter code shroomery for 10% off product. www.FungiForum.com
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orchidfanatic
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: Cryogenicz]
#7390941 - 09/10/07 07:22 AM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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sounds like you got a great plan I will look forward to reading the tek .. a johnson controler is cheap 59 USD was to control things .. it comes with a sensor and will shut off power when the temp is reached.. you could use 2 of these units to do what you were talking about .. or if you savy enough to make your own, more power to you ! later
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Cryogenicz
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I love this thread
-Graham
-------------------- www.MycoPath.com Mushroom Spawn, Cultures, Fungi Bags, Casings, Master Grain Jars, Bags for In-vitro, Laboratory supplies, and much more! Mushroom Supplies. Fast Turnaround Times. Great Service. orders@mycopath.com enter code shroomery for 10% off product. www.FungiForum.com
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YidakiMan
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: Cryogenicz]
#7391730 - 09/10/07 12:13 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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This project is making me want to brew some more beer more than anything.
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Cryogenicz
what?
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: YidakiMan]
#7392071 - 09/10/07 01:57 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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totally. I need to get that shit going!
-Graham
-------------------- www.MycoPath.com Mushroom Spawn, Cultures, Fungi Bags, Casings, Master Grain Jars, Bags for In-vitro, Laboratory supplies, and much more! Mushroom Supplies. Fast Turnaround Times. Great Service. orders@mycopath.com enter code shroomery for 10% off product. www.FungiForum.com
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orchidfanatic
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: Cryogenicz]
#7392798 - 09/10/07 05:12 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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I havent brewed since I did a lager (my fist lager) in mid july I usually do ales and have over 70 # of grain to brew with and a freezer full of hops too.. I hope what I learn from edible mushrooms and agar I can use for yeast strains on agar.. I think I will brew this coming weekend .. a simple ale .. my kegerator has been empty a long time:(
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Cryogenicz
what?
Registered: 07/01/04
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Loc: Oregon
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My kegerator has been emtpy since last year. Been so busy working.
I think I'll brew up a simple batch too.
I've got about 40lbs of 2 row and a few pounds of crystal and some other specialty grain.
I brew all grain of course, using a cooler.. pretty simple method.
-Graham
-------------------- www.MycoPath.com Mushroom Spawn, Cultures, Fungi Bags, Casings, Master Grain Jars, Bags for In-vitro, Laboratory supplies, and much more! Mushroom Supplies. Fast Turnaround Times. Great Service. orders@mycopath.com enter code shroomery for 10% off product. www.FungiForum.com
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YidakiMan
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Registered: 09/28/02
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I just took the dive into all grain brewing. The next jump is local wild brews. I wanna give wild malic acid fermentation a try.
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orchidfanatic
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Re: Thermostat bypass [Re: YidakiMan]
#7393045 - 09/10/07 06:07 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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I never heard of that malic acid .. is that like lactic acid brews? I like to read up on northernbrewer.com. best site I think I do all grain as well with a cooler and a copper manifold I built it works much better than the SS mesh I first used. I also use a shirron plate chiller and a march pump .. pitching temps in 20 mintus .. promash shows my efficiency at 68-77 percent.. my best beer was a old speckeled hen clone .. yummy .. I want to make a 2 hearted ale clone .. thats my fav. man I need to brew again ..
I like to use liquid yeasts but I always keep on hand US-05 safale dry yeast .. tastes great good attenuation.. the best dry yeast around formally called US-56 guess I should start a thread in culinary arts ..
Edited by orchidfanatic (09/10/07 06:11 PM)
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Cryogenicz
what?
Registered: 07/01/04
Posts: 2,421
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 4 years, 10 months
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I use a copper manifold that is wrapped with SS mesh from a hot water heater hose. I also use an immersion chiller and a counterflow chiller.
My fav liquid yeast is Wyeast American Ale II 1272. I like it because of its high flocculation which leaves a beautifully clear beer. Add some Irish moss and your even clearer.
-Graham
-------------------- www.MycoPath.com Mushroom Spawn, Cultures, Fungi Bags, Casings, Master Grain Jars, Bags for In-vitro, Laboratory supplies, and much more! Mushroom Supplies. Fast Turnaround Times. Great Service. orders@mycopath.com enter code shroomery for 10% off product. www.FungiForum.com
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