Best Heating Method Inside Small Chest Freezer

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DSmith

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I'm new to temperature control. I purchased a 5 cu ft chest freezer and A419 controller and have cooling taken care of. What's the preferred equipment for heating inside the freezer for a single fermenter?

1. Buy a heated wrap at a homebrew shop. Can you still have the probe on the outside of the fermenter (under insulation)?

2. Put a flat heating pad (plant heater or reptile tank warmer) on a freezer wall. I have a 15W one for plant seed starting that doesn't seem to put out much heat.

3. DIY reptile heater bulb (no light emission) placed inside the freezer. My local pet store has 60W, 100W & 150W.

4. Other?
 
I use a 40 watt incandescent bulb in my ferm chamber which is on all the time in the winter. But I also ferment in corny kegs so I'm not concerned about light transmission.
 
I use a small heater that has a fan in it. It cost $15 at Walmart. It works great. The fan is nice to move the air around the chamber.
 
portable hair blow dryer is what I use. You get heat and air circulation in one. If you do belgians... good luck with a light bulb! Not saying it won't work, just that a hair dryer will work better IMO

like this:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Style-by-Revlon-1875-Watt-Dryer/14551419

I have the portable one with a folding handle from revlon in my fermentation chamber. Think it was about $10
 
I'm trying a 50W heating pad now with success in controlling my fermenter at 72F with my basement temperature at 68F. It's an older heating pad that I know doesn't turn it self off. I've got a computer fan running inside to circulate the air. I'm doing a long primary and am at the final gravity and want to keep a constant temperature through 4 weeks.

The A419 probe is under a small piece of ceramic fiber blanket insulation on the fermenter. I've got 2 thermocouples also in the freezer (borrowed from work with a handheld reader). One is by the A419 probe and reads the same temperature. The second is hanging in the air and read 80F max during the heating and is dropping fast when the heating pad is cycled off. The fermenter might overshoot 0.5F.

All the suggestions from this thread sound great. I've got the fan already so I think the 100W reptile heater would work for everything. My 50W heating pad would have a hard time for a higher temperature ferment but is what I can stick with until that situation comes up.
 
I'm trying a 50W heating pad now with success in controlling my fermenter at 72F with my basement temperature at 68F. .


Not to burst your bubble, but you would probably be much better off fermenting at 68 than 72 anyway. How cold does your basement get in the winter?
 
Fermentation was done cooler (65ish) for over a week. It was before I got the freezer and controlled as best as possible with a tub of water and frozen bottles of ice. The freezer & controller will replace that from now on with a lot better consistency and open up the possiblility to lager.

I've read that raising the temperature to the low 70's is desirable after fermentation is complete. That's what I'm doing with the heater now. My basement is ranging from 65-70F and I watch the external temperature strip on the fermenter tracks that if it's left out in the basement. This effort might be in vain but it is fun to play with a new toy.
 
I just bought this:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002DIWTG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

But have yet to install it (not quite cold enough to need it). I thought this would give me a nice even heat distribution throughout the freezer. I was thinking a lamp would heat one fermenter more than the other (I can fit 2). Pretty sure I got the idea somewhere on this forum...

I went for 100W because I keep my chamber in the garage. I'm guessing it gets down to a frigid 35-40F during the brutally harsh winters of NC.
 
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I live in buffalo ny. I'm looking at heater solutions for my keezer which will stay in my garage this winter. I'm thinking I can add a reptile heater to the keezer to warm up the inside when it gets cold. I can either rewire my controller to run the heater or add the heater to the unit and let the freezer cycle to keep the tempurature down. Will option #2 work? If so, what size heater would you recommend? Its a 5 cu ft freezer.

I was looking at this : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001F9CV7K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I've been using the above for over a year now. works great.
 
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I live in buffalo ny. I'm looking at heater solutions for my keezer which will stay in my garage this winter. I'm thinking I can add a reptile heater to the keezer to warm up the inside when it gets cold. I can either rewire my controller to run the heater or add the heater to the unit and let the freezer cycle to keep the tempurature down. Will option #2 work? If so, what size heater would you recommend? Its a 5 cu ft freezer.

I was looking at this : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001F9CV7K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

For some out of the ordinary (aka weird) idea's, how about this electric throw or something like this cheap hair dryer ($13 with free shipping).
 
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I use the "My Heat" personal ceramic heater in my ferm chamber. Seems to work very well so far.
 
I've been searching the threads for heating sources and was wondering if there is any problem with condensation in the freezer and these heat sources? I get a bit of condensation in my 5 cubic foot chest freezer. I have an old hair dryer in there now and it seems to recycle quite a bit (every few minutes). I was thinking of a reptile heat lamp, but again, was wondering about the condensation issues.

I'm probably just being paranoid.
 
A 100 watt light bulb can damage the interior of a refrigerator or freezer if it sticks on and the cooling isn't going. I'd worry about all of these 'over kill' solutions.
 
Paint can heater, google it. Its a light bulb of your wattage choice mounted inside an aluminum paint can. Simple build. I've been using one in my ferm chamber for a long time and it works great, nice and gentle heat.
 
rshortt said:
Paint can heater, google it. Its a light bulb of your wattage choice mounted inside an aluminum paint can. Simple build. I've been using one in my ferm chamber for a long time and it works great, nice and gentle heat.

+1.

This coupled with a stc-1000 makes for great temperature control at a cheap price.

Use a 60 watt bulb, works great. A 100 watt bulb gets the paint can way too hot.
 
copyright1997 said:
+1.

This coupled with a stc-1000 makes for great temperature control at a cheap price.

Use a 60 watt bulb, works great. A 100 watt bulb gets the paint can way too hot.

+2 my exact setup and it works like a champ in an outdoor, uninsulated storage shed.
 
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Hah, that's the exact one I use. 200W, fan, perfect. Note that it doesn't have a thermostat, so either you plug it into a controller or spend a few more bucks and get one with the thermostat.

For less than $20, why kludge a light bulb inside a paint can?


I bought this as well. For $17 shipped (prime ftw) and comes with a fan. It works perfectly in my ferm chamber.
 
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