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To those who are using brew boxen made of MDF, cardboard, etc: what measures have you taken to waterproof the interior, or otherwise deal with damp and condensation? Also, how do you seal the lid/door?

I tested the cooling circuit today, and the heat exchanger gets down to -7, quickly accumulating a thick layer of frost. My brew box will be a soggy mess before long, and worse still, could be a breeding ground for mould. I have thought about a drip tray of some kind under the heat exchanger.

Cheers.

With my reseviour being in the bottom of the fridge, it doesn't get that cold. I do get a little condensation which I mop out with a sponge every now & then, also give it a spray of Demostos at the same time to keep the mold at bay.

Do you have a fan kick in with the cooling circuit?
I use a 12V computer fan & cowling on the heat exchanger, the transformer (typical phone charger or similar) is plugged into the same source as the pump.
A fan may help to stop it getting so cold by circulating cold air & turning off the tempmate sooner?

My box is a metal chest freezer so the moisture is not a problem.

Cheers, Mick.

I'll be using 2 120mm 12v fans running from the same computer power supply that powers the pump, so that it all kicks in at once. I don't have room for cowling if I want to fit 2 fermenters in the box.

Maybe I should just varnish or lacquer the interior. I know that I can't avoid condensation, but that should at least stop it permeating the cardboard and MDF, and make it easy to wipe clean. Still trying to figure out how to make it as air tight as possible, though.

Maybe with that sort of cooling power you don't want it completely air tight?
If it breathes a little, mould might not be a problem.

laquer would definately help but it can be expensive, especially for a marine grade.
i suggest using a Primer/sealer.

cheers, Mick.

Cool, thanks Mick, I'll check out what Mitre 10 have.

I would have thought that air-tight is preferable, as any air that is allowed to enter the enclosure is a fresh source of condensate.