jakwhite

Recipes 

I'm converting my shed as my partner has had enough of my barrels on the kitchen side she hates the smell and I've had a few over active ones that have blown my valve and leaked everywhere leading to thousands of ants and flys during the summer months!

Living in England as you can probably imagine our weather is terrible and we are set to have our worst winter in years, I'm planning to get a little heater on a timer to come on for half an hour every 2-3 hours to take off the chill can't have it constant as 1.kill the electric bill
2. Probably kill/cook the rabbit

What do you pros recommend though a heat belt or a heat plate? Or is it work me making a cupboard insulated to try keep it warm from the heater I will have on timed?

All help/advice will be much appreciated

HopZombie99

Recipes 

Can't you brew outside and ferment indoors? With a little careful planning and the right tools, you could ensure no more mess to upset your SWMBO.

If that is not possible, a insulated cupboard in conjunction with a heat belt or plate sounds like a dandy plan. I remember English winter temperatures as fairly unsuitable for fermenting outdoors.

iambeer

Recipes 

If you've got a root cellar, it will be warmer than a shed. The shed will fluctuate temps every 24 hours so it's not that great even with a heating element. A basement will be more steady.

jakwhite

Recipes 

Swmbo? Stupid woman making brewing observations? Best I could come up with,

The only problem is now we have altered the kitchen I've no room either otherwise fermenting inside would of been ideal as I caould keep a close eye on it, and now her daughter is back living with us we have lost our spare room usage!

I'd love to have a basement but only a handful of old British houses now have them and the government had a big scheme to fill half of them in "saves energy bills" although heat rises!

What if I insulated the shed slightly that way they temperature shouldn't fluctuate that much if I had the heater on every 40 mins for ten mins then in the morning for an hour evening for 45 mins to give it one good boost of heat and then top it up regular with the intermittent periods?

In my browsing if the other threads I've read people talking heating controls are they for heated kegs? Or belts and plates etc?

GilSwillBasementBrews

Recipes 

The temp controller most likely an STC1000 will control whatever is plugged into the outlet. One side for cooling and one side for heating.

__________________
Beer Plus Science = .....Good!!!!! By: Adam Savage

jakwhite

Recipes 

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/diy-temp-controller-featuring-the-stc-1000

What about something like that? If I plugged in some sort of heating element eg a fan heater it will kick in until the temp in the room reaches say 20 degrees?

Do you reckon that I then wouldn't need a belt heater or heating plate etc?

jakwhite

Recipes 

Ok I've just done abit of research on the star, definitely something I'm going to do,

does anybody know of one that doesn't have a cool source as I wouldn't I would just be using the heat source to heat up the room as its a shed it may or may not drop quiet quickly, so if I used the heat only it would cut off at say 21c and the heat would escape on its own bringing the stat to 18 kicking it back in again? Is my theory right?
My thinking being having a fan on to cool the shed down will kill the electricity bill but also be pointless as the shed will cool itself down itself anyway,

RM-MN

Recipes 

Get a tub bigger than your fermenter and put water in it. Set the fermenter in there making sure the level of the water isn't so high that your fermenter would tip over and then add an aquarium heater. If necessary, wrap the whole thing in a blanket to help hold in the heat or make a fermentation chamber that is insulated. If you control the temperature so the beer ferments toward the lower end of the yeast's preferred temperature it isn't as likely to spill over as the yeast work slower and the beer will be better.

jakeperks

Recipes 

She Who Must Be Obeyed ;-)

I started this reply half an hour ago and got interrupted. Bloody work. Chances are someone's already enlightened you.

jakwhite

Recipes 

Ahh I like my theory on what it meant aswell lol


To use an aquarium heater does that need to cut on or off? Or dies it keep the water around the tank at a constant temp?

I like that idea but when I've changed it into my barrel does it still need to be kept at the same temp? Or can it be left to cool as it wants?