Heat bill!!

I've been keeping my house a steady 74 degrees (this seems to keep the carboys at about 69, not sure why the difference). And by the way, those of you who said temperature was why my beer wasn't carbonating, I think you're right. Still too soon to be 100%.
But I just got my heat bill and I am stunned. I won't tell you exactly what it is, but it's probably the most expensive part of brewing right now. And it's only going to get colder outside.

It seems to me, any liquid in a container, will sooner or later reach the temperature of the room it is in. At least within a degree or so. It may take a while for 5 gallon batch, but I don't see why it wouldn't. That's given that the room is held at a constant temp, it is well insulated, and there are no drafts blowing on it.

If the temperature of the room changes, the liquid will hold its heat or cold for a while, but would gradually adjust.

Sorry to hear about your heating bill. I'm afraid to find out what my next one is going to be like!

You could place a dark shirt over your carboy and place a lamp near it. Not too high wattage. You don't want to set it on fire. Be sure to monitor the surface of the shirt (use a thermometer strip) to get the temp about right. If it's too hot then back the light away until you get it about right.

Place your carboy on a table or cart. Aim the lamp near the bottom of the carboy. The heated liquid will rise and the cooler will fall to the bottom creating circulation.

I'm sure that will be cheaper than heating the entire house.

I can feel with you. My Alt (sitting in the closet) is barely in the range for fermanting Ales.

That's why Lagers were called winter beer and top fermenting beers called summer beer, in the days before refrigeration. Only too bad that they are best enjoyed in the oposite seasons (with the exception of wheat beer).

I guess your next batch should be a lager. Or you spend the money on a fancy carboy heater.

So if I put something dark over my beer it won't hurt it to heat it with light?

It's ultraviolet light that's the problem. The sun and flourescent lights produce them. Regular incandesant lightbulbs aren't as much of a problem.

You might seriously look into carboy heaters, they've got to be cheaper than heating the whole house. I just pitch with the wort at 80F and wrap the fermenter with a couple blankets. Even with the house at 65F, the fermentation will stay around 70-75 until it is almost done. At that point, I have a little electric heater I've setup with a timer. By adjusting the amount of time the heater is blowing warm air on the bucket, I can keep the temp. almost anywhere.

Another way to go might be an infra red heat lamp.
other way to go might be an infrea red

I went out and bought a small portable electric heater (Honeywell name brand) at Target for $25 a couple weeks ago. It has all kinds of safety features, two heat settings, and a dial adjustable thermostat. I put it in my downstairs bathroom (in a concrete basement) and fiddled with the thermostat until I got the room to around 72 degrees with the door closed. I've had two worts, cooked a week apart, in there since then and they've both gone like gangbusters. I drop the temp down after the fermentation gets rolling to around 68. The heater only comes on about every 15-20 minutes for a minute or two to maintain the temp and I can keep my house at the normal setting on the thermostat (60 at night) without worry.

Buy a standard low-watt heating pad. Like the kind you buy from the drug store. I got two brand-new Sunbeam dry heating pads on ebay for DIRT cheap.

DO NOT buy a moist-heat heating pad, only dry.

I've even used an electric blanket wrapped around a carboy, and it worked just great.

Make sure you use them on the LOWEST setting. You can easily over heat your brew on the medium or high setting. Low is the perfect ale temp!!

Plus heating pads and electric blankets use hardly any energy. Its alot cheaper to use the heating pads the to heat a whole house. We turn our heat off at night and I just plug in the heating pad right before I go to bed.

I think the heating blanket sounds like a great idea. I'm going to try that. Thanks guys.

rewster451 said:

I think the heating blanket sounds like a great idea. I'm going to try that. Thanks guys.

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You mean you've been heating the whole house when you could have been hugging your carboy on these cold nights?

I hug it too. Just not long enough to keep it warm. I love my beers. They're my babies.