WARNING: My fermentation heating pad caught fire last night.

Gordie · 04-07-2009, 06:52 PM

So the GFCI was tripped in my garage this morning. Opening my chest freezer I see a thin layer of brown smoke residue on everything (two sanke keg fermentors, airlocks intact - no electrical-fire rauchbier) and the heating pad is fried. Only cosmetic damage to the freezer, luckily.

I got lucky. I'd recommend swapping out heating pads (bought at Long's Drug) for heaters that are engineered for the purpose.

Gordie.

gregdech · 04-07-2009, 07:18 PM

Was it taped to the side of the fermenter or was the fermenter sitting on it? Just wondering since I too use these heating pads.

Cheers,

Greg

Gordie · 04-07-2009, 07:24 PM

Neither. Just sitting on the compressor hump. Nothing on or next to it.

**Derrin** · 04-07-2009, 09:20 PM

wow! Talk about dodging a bullet! Glad to hear your home is OK.

**Homercidal** · 04-08-2009, 04:28 PM

Could be condensation shorting it?

**JVD_X** · 04-08-2009, 04:29 PM

You were using medical heating pads?

**drez77** · 04-08-2009, 06:11 PM

This is interesting. I used 2 medical heating pads taped to my conical this winter to maintain the temperatures. I had them on a temperature controller for 2 weeks with no problems. I will have to think twice next time.

Gordie · 04-08-2009, 06:12 PM

Yup. Medical heating pads. Sealed in a vinyl cover with a cloth cover on that.

Near as I can tell, it fried because I screwed up by accidentally setting the controller to a 1 deg differential (rather then my usual 4 deg) and it probably was switching a lot more that it should have. The center of the pad was burnt and melted through. You could stick your finger through it. Placed an order for a couple "Brewer's Edge" pads yesterday...

ajwillys · 04-08-2009, 07:03 PM

Hmm, I use reptile heating pads but mine aren't switched, just the fridge is. I wonder if I have the same risk? They normally don't get very hot.

**TXCurtis** · 04-09-2009, 04:38 PM

Medical heating pads are designed for short term use. Reptile pads are designed for long term use. Seems like most medical heating pads have a timer function which must be overridden to use for more than a couple hours. Medical heating pads are also designed to sit ON something, or if sat on - on something soft (bed, or fat butt) - reptile heating pads are meant to sit on the bottom of an aquarium (something hard).