Compensating for temperature produced by fermentation

Bottled my first batch 20 days ago and am preparing to sample some of the first batch and to fix some oversights for next week's second batch. Brewed batch one before having discovered HBT, and I've already found loads of things that could be improved.

But there's one thing I haven't gotten quite clear on.

I see that fermentation produces heat. Which I didn't realize before. So presumably, I have to compensate for this. I don't have a temperature-controlled chamber, so this means monkeying around with the AC. Because my fermentation is carried out in the coat/cleaning closet and I have to be able to maneuver around there, I'm pretty averse to swamp cooling if I can avoid it. So a couple questions:

1. Does the fermometer (stick-on thermometer) give an accurate reading of the wort or just of the ambient temperature?

2. Everyone says to keep the temperature consistent. But if fermentation gives off heat, and fermentation activity falls off significantly after 3-4 days, presumably keeping the wort temperature consistent means varying ambient temperature. Is this right? If I'm fermenting at 68-72, should I drop my thermostat to 65 during the first 3-4 days and then jump it back to 70 for the rest of the time in primary?

Do you have any places in your house that are normally cooler than the rest? I stick mine in a closet upstairs that runs 64-66 until about 5 days into fermentation, when I bring it downstairs where it's a steady 68.

Upstairs is consistently a sauna. Downstairs usually does pretty much what the thermostat tells it to. So I have it in a downstairs coat closet. Which is the only closet in the downstairs (which consists of kitchen, living room, bathroom, and coat closet)

TarVolon said:

1. Does the fermometer (stick-on thermometer) give an accurate reading of the wort or just of the ambient temperature?

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This website http://tkachenterprises.com/Products.html shows how the reading is affected by ambient temperature.

.5 to 1 degree in most applications that is negligible. Fermentation usually will raise the wort temperature 3-4 degrees. Easiest way to compensate is adjust the ambient temperature. Refrigerator with a temperature controller is the easiest way to accomplish this.

With that said normal basement temperature are usually perfect for most ales.

Cheers and all that stuff!

two_one_seven said:

.5 to 1 degree in most applications that is negligible. Fermentation usually will raise the wort temperature 3-4 degrees. Easiest way to compensate is adjust the ambient temperature. Refrigerator with a temperature controller is the easiest way to accomplish this.

With that said normal basement temperature are usually perfect for most ales.

Cheers and all that stuff!

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If only I had a basement. . . but I can live with bumping the thermostat down 3-4 degrees for the first several days of fermentation if that's all that's needed. Keeping the house at 66 for 3 days every month in the summer is doable. Three weeks would've been trickier.

Thanks

Understandable. I say find a used fridge on craiglist and get a temp controller and set it at 62 degrees and you are good to go.

I actually have my old dorm room fridge in storage at my parents' house. The problem (as is the main problem with almost all elements of my brewing process--well, the main problem other than inexperience) is space. I have none. I think outside under my deck is the only place I could put a fridge. Not that I've checked to see whether my carboy will even fit inside yet.