fish tank heater to keep wort at perfect temp
- Thread starter dcross375
- Start date
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Put the fermenter into a larger bin first, fill that space with water and drop the heater in there.
Yep, that's what I do. I put the fermenter into a big cooler, add water and then put the heater in there. I float a thermometer to check the temperature. I know some brewers will circulate the heated water to ensure the temperature is uniform, but I never have and it worked great. I don't heat too many fermentations, as my house is normally perfect for ales in the winter at 62-64 degrees but occasionally I want to ferment up in the 70s and use the aquarium heater.
I have to heat during the winter as my lower floor gets pretty cold. I do what Bobby said using a plastic storage bin from Home Depot. Sometimes I use a small pump to circulate the water and sometimes I just toss some bleach in the water. If I don't do one of these steps, the water starts to smell pretty quickly. I have a nice temperature controller left over from my reef aquarium days that I use to control the temp precisely. You can build one pretty cheap from eBay if you want. It will make precise temperature control very easy.
kappclark
Well-Known Member
I use a large muck bucket from the feed store and a 75Watt aquarium heater...better bottle fermenter goes in water bath...this allows me to ferment ales in the basement, and maintain a steady temp (usually abt 67 - 70)..utterly simple and the yeast are happy which means good beer :cross:
