I have an old refrigerator I want to use for ageing after bottleing. It
doesn't get higher than about 45 degrees. Is this to cold? I always read
less than 60 but nobody ever says not colder than (?). Can someone suggest
a bottom limit.

Crhoff

"Crhoff" > wrote in message
...
>I have an old refrigerator I want to use for ageing after bottleing. It
>doesn't get higher than about 45 degrees. Is this too cold? I always read
>less than 60 but nobody ever says not colder than (?). Can someone suggest
>a bottom limit.

58°F is considered ideal. At 45°F or lower your wines will age so slowly
they may never mature. Worse than that, refrigerators tend to have issues
with low humidity and vibration.

That old 'fridge is quite likely an energy hog. Get rid of it and buy a
wine storage unit from Costco or wherever - or better still, put a wine
cellar refrigeration unit in an unused closet or room (depending on how much
space you need).

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com

I have no experience with it but I have read that refrigerators are a very
bad way to store wine. The vibration is suppose to be bad or something.
Then again maybe this is a rumor started by people who sell wine storage
units.

Ray

"Crhoff" > wrote in message
...
>I have an old refrigerator I want to use for ageing after bottleing. It
>doesn't get higher than about 45 degrees. Is this to cold? I always read
>less than 60 but nobody ever says not colder than (?). Can someone suggest
>a bottom limit.
>
> Crhoff
>

I think given the choice, an old refrigerator is preferable to your
unused broom closet.

Since temperature (and temperature swings) are the biggest concern wine
aging, while vibration is the least concern. (with humidity being
between the two.

"Droopy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I think given the choice, an old refrigerator is preferable to your
> unused broom closet.
>
> Since temperature (and temperature swings) are the biggest concern wine
> aging, while vibration is the least concern. (with humidity being
> between the two.

I have been following this thread because next year I plan to crank up my
white wine production to about 25 gallons. I am thinking of getting a
second (new) refrigerator for the basement where my wine cellar is located.
One of my reasons of thinking about a refrig is that I thought I could use
it for cold stabilization because the temp could be cranked down low enough.
I do not know if this is possible or practicle for the wine storage units.
With a refrig with a freezer, I could also store some frozen berries from my
berry patch. Any thoughts?

> I have an old refrigerator I want to use for ageing after bottleing. It
> doesn't get higher than about 45 degrees. Is this to cold? I always read
> less than 60 but nobody ever says not colder than (?). Can someone suggest
> a bottom limit.

Don't know about the suitability of using a refrigerator for aging wine
( the other posts), but you can get an external temperature controller
for the fridge and set it to any temperature you want. They run around
$50-$75. One model is the Johnson Controls A419. Ranco is another brand.
Most on-line homebrew shops and/or appliance places should have them.

You could also use a regular timer, but you'd have to experiment to get
the temp approximate.

Paul E. Lehmann wrote "I am thinking of getting a second (new) refrigerator
for the basement where my wine cellar is located. One of my reasons of
thinking about a refrig is that I thought I could use it for cold
stabilization because the temp could be cranked down low enough. I do not
know if this is possible or practicle for the wine storage units."

Paul - I have a big chest freezer and an external thermostat that makes it
possible to set the temp. inside the freezer at any temperature. I use it
for fermenting lager beers at 50F, lagering these beers at 32F and cold
stabilizing all of my wines at 28 to 30F. It's one of the best wine and
beer making investments I've made. You can get the thermostats at homebrew
and winemaking shops...probably other place too.

Only problem with a chest freezer is lifting carboys out. I don't do that.
I have a peristaltic pump that moves my beer and wines out of the freezer to
fresh carboys. The pump will move 5 gallons in about 8 minutes. Easy to
keep clean and very easy on my back.



Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

"William Frazier" > wrote in message
...
>
> Paul E. Lehmann wrote "I am thinking of getting a second (new)
> refrigerator for the basement where my wine cellar is located. One of my
> reasons of thinking about a refrig is that I thought I could use it for
> cold stabilization because the temp could be cranked down low enough. I
> do not know if this is possible or practicle for the wine storage units."
>
> Paul - I have a big chest freezer and an external thermostat that makes it
> possible to set the temp. inside the freezer at any temperature. I use it
> for fermenting lager beers at 50F, lagering these beers at 32F and cold
> stabilizing all of my wines at 28 to 30F. It's one of the best wine and
> beer making investments I've made. You can get the thermostats at
> homebrew and winemaking shops...probably other place too.
>
> Only problem with a chest freezer is lifting carboys out. I don't do
> that. I have a peristaltic pump that moves my beer and wines out of the
> freezer to fresh carboys. The pump will move 5 gallons in about 8
> minutes. Easy to keep clean and very easy on my back.
>
>
>
> Bill Frazier
> Olathe, Kansas USA

Thanks for the information, Bill. Where did you get your pump and what is
the approximate cost for such a pump?

Paul - The peristaltic pump is a MasterFlex pump. I bought mine from the
Barnant Company. I talked with a sales engineer, explained what I wanted to
do. They were quite helpful. The pump, motor, speed control and tubing
were about $300 at the time.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

Thanks to everyone for their help and suggestions.
I'm gonna give my old fridge in the garage a try. At it's warmest temp it's
45 so guess I'll try the timer route since they are cheap.

Crhoff

"Derric" > wrote in message
...
>
>> I have an old refrigerator I want to use for ageing after bottleing. It
>> doesn't get higher than about 45 degrees. Is this to cold? I always
>> read
>> less than 60 but nobody ever says not colder than (?). Can someone
>> suggest
>> a bottom limit.
>
> Don't know about the suitability of using a refrigerator for aging wine
> ( the other posts), but you can get an external temperature controller
> for the fridge and set it to any temperature you want. They run around
> $50-$75. One model is the Johnson Controls A419. Ranco is another brand.
> Most on-line homebrew shops and/or appliance places should have them.
>
> You could also use a regular timer, but you'd have to experiment to get
> the temp approximate.
>
>

"William Frazier" > wrote in message
...
> Paul - The peristaltic pump is a MasterFlex pump. I bought mine from the
> Barnant Company. I talked with a sales engineer, explained what I wanted
> to do. They were quite helpful. The pump, motor, speed control and
> tubing were about $300 at the time.

Bill -

I have an Amtek peristaltic pump that I've used for many years for
precoating the septum in my DE setup. It's ideal for that purpose because
abrasive content doesn't faze it. It's also very gentle on the wine.

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com

"William Frazier" > wrote in message
...
> Paul - The peristaltic pump is a MasterFlex pump. I bought mine from the
> Barnant Company. I talked with a sales engineer, explained what I wanted
> to do. They were quite helpful. The pump, motor, speed control and
> tubing were about $300 at the time.
>
> Bill Frazier
> Olathe, Kansas USA
thanx for the information Bill and Tom.
I have sent email to MasterFlex to see what they have.