I'll have to remember that when it get's to 120° this coming summer. It beats the hell out of sticking it into an oversized tub under the Air Conditioner with half a box duct taped to the AC unit to redirect the air flow.
__________________ Toxic Waste Brewery
Currently in Primary: zip Currently in Secondary: Dry Stout Bottle Conditioning: Not a Thing Drinking: Run of the mill Pale Ale What's Next: Lake Walk Pale Ale
That beer (imperial porter in my dropdown) was the only I've ever done that blew yeast all the way through the tube. I've used the same method many times since, and never had a mess. I've had the same StarSan in the chamber for two months now.
I'll be doing a 10 gallon batch soon so I am getting ready to upgrade my system. That means buying a second can and filling more soda bottles with water for the freezer.
The air ducting idea for evaporation is an interesting one. I'll bet I won't need ice at all (after dropping to pitching temp) if I do that. Though this time of year the room is cool enough I only need extra temp control during the first 48 hours while the yeast are budding giving off heat, after that it drops back to room temp.
Sorry for reviving the old thread, but this is a great idea.
One suggestion. You will get a great deal more airflow if you let the air escape another way than through the top (back through the fan). If you cut some holes out just above the water line the fan would be able to move more air much more easily. Same costs, cooler temps.
Yep I thought about that, just never tried it. This summer I rolled with just ice since I had the fermenter in a room next to the A/C unit which was a cozy 68-69*F. If I go back to fermenting ales in my office, which is a bit warmer, I'll do that to improve the airflow.
You are the man of the hour, Saccharomyces. I'm going to use this technique on brewing up your Irish Red recipe tomorrow (PM version). Going to sub Willamette for the Goldings however, and add a little CaraPils.
Great ghetto ferm chamber. I love simplicity. Only problem I have is I don't want to lift my full carboys......... Need one with a side door..
__________________
How I brew: Stir plate starters, Extract, Full boil in a Keggle, 10 gallon batches.
Brewing upgrades in progress: temp controlled ferment, stir plate re-work, building mash tun, milling station
Planned House Ales: an Amber, an IPA, a dark IPA, a Mango Ale, a blueberry oatmeal stout, a dry Irish stout, a honey wheat, Apfelwien
You are the man of the hour, Saccharomyces. I'm going to use this technique on brewing up your Irish Red recipe tomorrow (PM version). Going to sub Willamette for the Goldings however, and add a little CaraPils.
Sounds tasty. I did an American red ale with willamette, it came out awesome. I'm not a fan of EKG but I love willamette.
Glad folks are liking my method. I have a ferm fridge now, but I still use the ol' trusty water bath from time to time when I need to squeak in an extra batch.
Did you try just throwing a blanket over it when using ice and not using the fan at all? Seems like the fan would be good when NOT using ice but seems the fan would just melt the ice faster when using ice. Once the carboy is submerged you've already got great heat transfer between the bath/carboy so I don't really see what the fan is doing when using ice.
I use something very similar but I sort of close it up and insulate it (with bubble-wrap, ha). It's too humid here anyway and the bubble-wrap keeps the condensation down.
__________________ Early brewers were primarily women, mostly because it was deemed a woman's job. Mesopotamian men, of some 3,800 years ago, were obviously complete assclowns and had yet to realize the pleasure of brewing beer.- Beer Advocate
Dumping the blow off back into the cooling liquid looks nasty. Interesting concept, but IMO, too sloppy for practical usage.
If you're man enough to dunk the carboy in a trash can full of water, you're man enough to let the blowoff hit the mote.
The water is sanitized. Blowoff makes it brown, ever so slightly grainy, sanitized water. If you can't handle that, seriously, how do you handle drinking beer at all?
Oh my goodness, I really should learn to read post dates... Oh well!!!!
Last edited by Roachmeister; 04-19-2010 at 07:26 PM.
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