Space Heaters and Fermentation Chambers

With winter nearly here, I need to find a way to heat my ferm chamber. I'm using a 17-cubic foot upright freezer and a Johnson A419.

I've been eyeing the Lasko MyHeat Personal Heater as it pulls only 200 watts. I'd use this along with a fan to circulate air in the chamber.

I see a few here use this heater ... has anyone had a problem with this unit? Does this put out enough heat to maintain fermentation temps? Also, does anyone know if this unit has an auto-off function (I'd like to avoid having to re-wire the unit)?

I searched around, but didn't see much feedback on this heater, other than some people use it. Any advice/recommendations/regrets?

I just got that exact same heater last night at Walmart for $11. I picked it up as a backup for my ceramic reptile heater in case I need a little more heat in the ferm-chamber this winter. This will be my first winter with the ferm-chamber so I want to be prepared.

My 60W reptile heater does fine in 30* temps.

dutchoven, you dont even have "winter" in The City!

I use a 60w ceramic bulb also... but where I live it never gets all that cold.

200W is overkill for a fermentation chamber, unless maybe it's setting outside in Fargo, ND. You'll find that the unit short-cycles.

If your freezer door seals are good, you'll find that 50-75W is plenty of heat load. If you can also run a small fan to evenly distribute the heat, you'll find that this works well. I use a motor and blades from a bathroom exhaust fan mounted in a double-gang box.

Boodlemania said:

200W is overkill for a fermentation chamber, unless maybe it's setting outside in Fargo, ND. You'll find that the unit short-cycles.

If your freezer door seals are good, you'll find that 50-75W is plenty of heat load. If you can also run a small fan to evenly distribute the heat, you'll find that this works well. I use a motor and blades from a bathroom exhaust fan mounted in a double-gang box.

Click to expand...

Depending on the insulation in his freezer, I'm calculating a max temperature differential of about 120° (under impossibly ideal conditions). If it's going to be outside in 0° weather, it's really not that overkill.

Short-cycling is definitely going to be an issue in warmer weather with that kind of output though, so I would really only want it if the heat is adjustable on that thing, or if it at least works on a dimmer. That way, you could decrease the wattage in order to avoid heating too quickly.

I have that heater. I have it connected to the dual stage temp controller everyone gets from ebay. Without that, it is either on or off. It does however have a fan built into it. I've only used it once, as it doesn't get that cold around here.

I have that same My Heat heater in my mini fridge ferm chamber. This is the first winter I've used it for and it hasn't gotten that cold here yet, but it's been anywhere from 30 to 70 in the last few weeks in my garage and I am easily able to maintain mid 60 temps in my chamber with no hot/cold cycling. I have fans in my chamber and I attach the probe to the side of the better bottle with insulation. This heater seems to be working perfectly for me. I also think it has overheat protection and will only operate sitting upright so it seems pretty safe, but I have had it running for quite a while and it never gets hot to the touch.



I also have it sitting under a glass shelf to protect it from any condensation and I have it stuck to the fridge shelf using double sided tape.

Bump. Thinking about getting one of these...for those using it, any issues? Good purchase or should I stick with my 40W lightbulb?

Still working great for me.

I ended up getting the Lasko MyHeat. I set my Johnson A419 to heating mode/cut out and added a second fan to help distribute air in the chamber (both the heater and fan turn on when needed). I have a ~17 cubic foot freezer, and I'm finding the heater will kick on every hour or two for five minutes. Overall, Im really happy with how its working ... does a good job heating the chamber without overshooting the setpoint.

I picked one of these up based on some thread that I saw on here (maybe this one?) and I'm very happy with it so far. Nice and small but still plenty of power to heat up a decent sized chamber.

It does have a temperature switch for over-temp protection. I've never had it kick in, but it gives me a little more piece of mind having this thing running 24/7 in my ferm chamber in my garage.

I've had this unit for 6 months and used quite a bit in the Chicago area. My chamber is outside where it can get in the 20s.

My advice is to have a second unit ready to go.
Read the reviews on Amazon and some have had the unit simply stop after a few months. Same happened to me so I'm getting a backup.

Another interesting idea is to use a heating mat and mount it to Ye side of your chamber. I do, however like the simplicity of the Lasko MyHeat with the built in fan and no smarty shut off controls.

I've had great success with the reptile heater. I think I might hook up a second one for redundancy. I dont really care if they cycle.