I just built a new fermentation chamber out of a 3.5 Cu Ft chest freezer. It will hold a 6.5 gal carboy and a 3 gallon carboy simultaneously or 3 3-gallon carboys.
I'm using a ceramic reptile heater as my heat source and obviously the freezer as my cooling source. I have a fan to keep the air inside moving. I'm testing and calbrating everything now. I want to do my first brew in it next weekend.
I've never used a fermentation chamber before. Anyone have any tips or tricks?
Some things I've been thinking about are:
The thermostat is free hanging. I've seen people put them in water, or at least enclose them. I know others use a thermowell. Is that something I should think about?
How do I account for the heat from fermentation. Since I do not have a thermowell I'm assuming I should set the fermentation chamber temp lower than my target tempurature for a few days. Any advice?
Any thing else I need to think about?
Appreciate the help.
I'm using a ceramic reptile heater as my heat source and obviously the freezer as my cooling source. I have a fan to keep the air inside moving. I'm testing and calbrating everything now. I want to do my first brew in it next weekend.
I've never used a fermentation chamber before. Anyone have any tips or tricks?
Some things I've been thinking about are:
The thermostat is free hanging. I've seen people put them in water, or at least enclose them. I know others use a thermowell. Is that something I should think about?
How do I account for the heat from fermentation. Since I do not have a thermowell I'm assuming I should set the fermentation chamber temp lower than my target tempurature for a few days. Any advice?
Any thing else I need to think about?
Appreciate the help.