Fermenter warmer

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Beernip

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I currently have my fermenters sitting in my kitchen which sits at a nice 67 degrees. This was fine when I only had one going at time but when I added a second the SWMBO eyebrows raised a little but she said nothing. I'm wanting to add yet another small 2-3g carboy for cider soon and am concerned about the smell and pushing my luck too far. :D

So to avoid any "problems" I am looking to move my fermenters out of the kitchen and in to a home office I built in the garage. The office has an air conditioner to keep it cool during the summer but not a heater for the winter time (always just used a small space heater when I was out there). The office gets down in to the 30's during the winter time.

In doing some research a lot of people have a problem with cooling the fermenters but not seeing a lot for warming up the temp. Some suggestions I've seen are the fermwraps/brewbelts. Not sure if they can warm the 5G glass carboy up 30-40 degrees? Insulation box help? Also the idea of buying three isn't appealing.

Others use water baths and aquarium heaters. Not really an good option as I have paperwork & electronics in the room too).

The idea that I have is something like the son of a fermenter chiller with the chilling trays below. Instead of using ice to cool it down use a reptile heating pad to warm it up?

Any other suggestions? Sound feasible? Anyone else using brewbelts or fermwraps? TYIA
 
I don't know if this will help you.....

I built a keezer (a chest freezer with a temperature controller to keep brew temps down for fermentation). This is the only way to go.

However, most people don't discover (or don't need to) that these work just as well during the winter for keeping your brew warm. I just stuck a ceramic heat lamp like you would buy at a pet store for a reptile cage in the freezer and unplugged the compressor from the controller. My controller can be switched to "inverse" or "heat mode" to turn on instead of off at desired temperature to control a heat source. Let me know if you need more details.
 
I have thought about this but was wanting to try to keep the cost down for now. It SWMBO keeps compliaing about our current fridge and wants too get a new one on a year or so. Figured at that time I could convert it. I'll still troll craigslist to see if I could pick up a bargain. I didn't know you could heat a keezer so that is good to know and worth looking into. I'll let you know I need instructions on how to. Thanks.
 
I think I'm going to go the route of the ceramic heat lamp, as I am looking to work with some Belgian yeast strains in the winter... not exactly true seasonal brewing for me huh? ;)

Let me ask this though, when I google for these lamps, I only see bulbs. Can I just use a regular light socket, or is there a particular lampstand I need?
 
I have thought about this but was wanting to try to keep the cost down for now. It SWMBO keeps compliaing about our current fridge and wants too get a new one on a year or so. Figured at that time I could convert it. I'll still troll craigslist to see if I could pick up a bargain. I didn't know you could heat a keezer so that is good to know and worth looking into. I'll let you know I need instructions on how to. Thanks.

A run of the mill heating pad will run you $15/ea. at the local drugstore. Wrap one of them around the carboy and tie it in place with some string. Voila! Now, you're not going to get it up 30-40 degrees without some insulation and maybe using two pads per vessel, but it's still cheaper than a brewbelt or ceramic heaters. You could also take up lagering, so that you don't have to raise it up so much.
 
Not sure about the lamps, but make sure you've properly
protected your brew from the constant light source you
are subjecting it to!
 
The good thing about the ceramic lamps is that they emit infrared heat, so it's a non-visible light source.
 
47% of sunlight is infra red.

It's still light, we just can't see it.

Wouldn't that still interact with the acids?
 
I've heard good reports of a water bath with an aquarium heater dipped in there. They're supposed to have very accurate thermostats. You'd need a big pool of water in your office though, so that might be difficult to swing.
 
47% of sunlight is infra red.

It's still light, we just can't see it.

Wouldn't that still interact with the acids?

Hence the "non visible" comment. It's a good question, though.

So what would be better? A terrarium heater or the ceramic heat lamp? I am so far out of my element with this stuff....
 
Here is a link to a PDF with absorption data for multiple glass types
and wavelengths. The PDF states that the smaller the wavelength,
the greater potential damage to beer. The wavelengths on the graph
correlating to infra red are the largest.

Light wavelengths VS glass color and effects on beer

What I get out of that is that infra red light is one of the least damaging
sources of light and probably not a big deal.
 
So after doing some research, there are two kinds of "infrared" heat lamps. The cheaper ones which do cast a visible red glow, and the ones sold in pet stores that are ceramic and cast no visible light. So, the question is in a fermentation situation are they equal? I assume the one with the visible light could be harmful to the beer.
 
I am about to pick-up an "injury healing" infrared lamp I got for $1.50. I think i will try and block off the light with a simple ...towel/thin black cloth/ideas?

I'm not the most particular beer brewer when it comes to temperature, and have not had any problems so far. The winter here gets in the 30s, and my bucket is uninsulated in the washhouse with a ceramic "bottom heater". The beer can get down to the 50's, but I just let it ferment for a week or 2 longer. Good thread and good luck!
 
A run of the mill heating pad will run you $15/ea. at the local drugstore. Wrap one of them around the carboy and tie it in place with some string. Voila! Now, you're not going to get it up 30-40 degrees without some insulation and maybe using two pads per vessel, but it's still cheaper than a brewbelt or ceramic heaters. You could also take up lagering, so that you don't have to raise it up so much.

Nice tip! Going to do exactly that!

BoB
 
47% of sunlight is infra red.

It's still light, we just can't see it.

I had a professor in college who went ape**** when someone used the term "ultraviolet light". And he'd give you a zero on a test if you used that term as well.

No, infrared is NOT light. It's electromagnetic radiation, but it certainly isn't "light". Light refers to the visible part of the spectrum; that is, wavelengths that can be detected by the eye, which means there is no such thing as:

ultraviolet light
infrared light
radio light
 
Hoffmann Engineering Company (Design Air Electronic Heater), one at 400 watts is on ebay. We used them as a electrical panel heater. With the small computer fan, heating elements from 100 to 800 watts, 120 or 230 VAC with
a thermostat all inside the small box. Also for many other uses as I used one for my Iguana house. The stat controls operating range from 0*F to 100*F, -20*C to +40*C. They comes in a 4" x 4" x 4 1/2" metal box or stainless with louvers and a element like an oven of 3/16" diameter that is hot to the touch not glowing red. Set this in your fermenters compartment at a set temp and forget about it. We used them on big motor control panels, an extra brand new 100 watt unit came home with me from the manufacture for my future fermenting chamber needs.
 
Aquarium heater in a swamp cooler. I live in canada and my basement is too cold in the winter 45-50F I use an aquarium heater to bring things up to 60F.

John
 
Aquarium heaters will work well if your primary is submerged in water. That would be the easiest way to go. The water will also keep the temperature quite stable, so you won't have crazy fluctuations in your temp.

Then again, this might be a perfect opportunity for you to lager. Might be nice to use the heater for the primary fermentation at around 50F and then just shut off the heater to get it as close to freezing as possible. Might as well take advantage of the cold weather. That's what they did back in the day... (before son of fermentation coolers)
 
I know this is a relatively old thread, but I'm going to bump it up nonetheless because I'm sure questions will be asked soon, given the season.

My fridge (set to 60˚ with the cooling-only Johnson controller) dropped to 56 the other night. Filling my nalgene bottle with boiling water and sticking it in the back a few times helped get the temperature up, but it wasn't keeping stable, so I put the remaining 11 or 12 bottles of already aged stout in there. This has helped keep the temperature stable around 61˚. Remember people, a larger mass will retain heat longer!

I may get a small aquarium heater (the one I currently own is keeping some conditioning bottles a little above 70) and stick that in the nalgene so there is a slight constant heat source. It'll take some dialing in to get the proper temperature setting inside the fridge. The reason I haven't just put the fermenter in a tub with an aquarium heater is because I'm anal about exact temperatures and I'd have to spend even more money on another temp controller.
 
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