Keeping the brew bucket warm (aquarium heaters, Reptile heaters & blankets. All at a

I am currently using a 60qt Igloo Cube with a Zoo Med reptile heating pad as a heat source.
The Zoo Med heat pad is a 6 x 8 and is slid under a bungee chord, which is wrapped around the bucket. I keep heavy blankets covering the bucket atop the cube to keep the heat in.
I am intending to build a square, box top to cover the top, out of the pink foam board insulation. Figure a few inches will give me room for the bucket airlock.
For the first few days of fermentation this keeps the bucket warm (70F), but I believe part of that is due to fermentation upping the temp. After the first few days the heating pad keeps things around 64 to 62 F. The nice thing about the pad is it has low wattage and can run continuously for weeks, but does not create alot heat.

As my basement is 8 feet under ground, it will start to get into the mid 50's and impossible to ferment or bottle condition.
As a means of keeping my operation in the basement I am looking for a more consistent heating source, for low cost.
My thought was using an aquarium heater, filling the cooler with a few gallons of water.
Since the 60 qt cooler will have a 5 gallon bucket, I figure at most I would need to heat 5 gallons of water, since I would not need to completely submerge the bucket, only partial to keep warm.

However the heaters I am finding (links below) for under $15 are all 200W and can heat up to 75 gallons.

So has anyone done a similar set up?
if so were there issues?
Looking for cost effective suggestions or guidance.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QGFXMTO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QI8304/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Thank you

I have almost the same setup, 60qt Igloo Cube with this aquarium heater The only difference is I brew small batches. I do 2 gallons and ferment in 1 gallon carboys. I ferment in the basement as well and the aquarium heater works great to maintain the temp. I use a blow off tube so I'm able to close the lid on the cooler, but I would think that the heater would maintain the temp without the lid.

I have an ice cube cooler, with a small aquarium heater. It heats the water up to 75 degrees, but I've never had it that warm.

I use more water than just a little, as my thinking is the mass of the water means a more consistent temperature with no variations from the water in the cooler to the beer in the carboy or bucket. Mine is filled to the beer line.

With a bigger aquarium heater, I'd worry about hot spots if I didn't have a way to circulate the water. Mine is like 10 watts.

mid 50s you say?? sounds like it's time for brewing some lagers!!

Before I got my ferm chamber, I did the swamp cooler thing. Get a big rubbermaid tote, place the fermenter in it and fill it up 2/3 with water. Get an aquarium heater and set it to your yeast's fermentation temp. Easy peasy. The water gets kinda slimy after a month so I used to use my scrap brew day sanitizer if it hadn't gotten too sticky. The advantage of the aquarium heater is it has a temp regulator that will cycle off and on. Just be sure it will operate within your desired range. Some are meant for tropical fish and some for cold water fish.

If you choose to tape a heat source directly to the fermenter instead, be sure the bucket is not sitting directly on the conrete floor. Concrete will pull heat out of your bucket quickly regardless of how warm your basement is. I used to put my swamp coller in the spare, unused shower.

Sorry, that link was for all three, I have the 100w heater.

I'm surprised your reptile pad inside the cube doesn't keep it warm enough. I gather the lid doesn't close?

I use a large Igloo cooler (120qts or so) and can place two 6.5 gallon buckets in there, side by side, and fill it up with water until the buckets almost start to float. An aquarium heater plugged into my STC-1000 keeps the water jacket at the right temps. I put a thick blanket over the top since the lid remains open at a 60° angle.

If you decide to go with the foam cube tent, place the cooler on a piece of that foam too, so it's totally encapsulated. There's a lot of heat loss through floors.

I use a rubbermaid rope tub I bought at lowes and a 100W aquarium heater off amazon, and it keeps my saisons at a cozy 90F. The large amount of water keeps it super stable with regards to temperature

I use a small reptile heater (sorry, don't recall the wattage) and place my carboy on top of it. Although it warms slowly, it still seems to do the trick. You may find that placing the pad underneath as opposed to along the side will be more effective for you.

So you guys aren't finding that the yeast or wort nearest the heat source is damaged in any way? Especially with aquarium heaters? I was thinking about doing an aquarium heater setup as its not very stable in my house, my fermenter with beer in it is at about 60 right now.

Thanks for all the info and suggestions.
Ordered the aquarium heater. I figure I can use it to condition bottles as well.

I don't have anything under the cooler, but the cooler is on wheels and does not touch the concrete 100%.
I can a blanket under it if needed.

My brew room is the south west corner of my basement and furthest point from the furnace or any heat ducts.
So there is not much heat, except a washer and dryer, but they only raise the air two by 2 degrees at most for a short period of time.

And no the top of the cooler does not shut, so I popped it off. Drape blankets over top.
Someone smarter than I could probably provide an R-value of some heavy hippy blankets?

As opposed to the R-3 of a polystyrene board over the top.

I figure heated water would not lose heat as quick as a reptile pad.

3 days with out beer and I am over thinking a cooler!

Pyg said:

Thanks for all the info and suggestions.
Ordered the aquarium heater. I figure I can use it to condition bottles as well.

I don't have anything under the cooler, but the cooler is on wheels and does not touch the concrete 100%.
I can a blanket under it if needed.

My brew room is the south west corner of my basement and furthest point from the furnace or any heat ducts.
So there is not much heat, except a washer and dryer, but they only raise the air two by 2 degrees at most for a short period of time.

And no the top of the cooler does not shut, so I popped it off. Drape blankets over top.
Someone smarter than I could probably provide an R-value of some heavy hippy blankets?

As opposed to the R-3 of a polystyrene board over the top.

I figure heated water would not lose heat as quick as a reptile pad.

3 days with out beer and I am over thinking a cooler!

Click to expand...

Yeah, any form of insulation underneath the cube will help.

2" polystyrene foam has an R-value of 8-10. Lofty blankets/sleeping bags are possibly higher, lofty being the key. Any gaps toward the environment are a source of heat loss.

The cooler filled with water provides a jacket with a tremendous heat capacity and stays more constant over a longer time compared to an air jacket. Some form of thermostatic control would be nice unless you can regulate heat loss to balance heat gain. You don't want to cook your beer! Excessive heat will create lots of fusel alcohols and other byproducts, mainly during the first few days. That will ruin your beer. Best to stay on the cool side of your yeasts' temp range.

I used to wrap a heating pad around my carboys and buckets when fermenting Saisons, they like it hot. A couple layers of big bubble wrap kept them cozy for a week.

BarrelAgedForrest said:

So you guys aren't finding that the yeast or wort nearest the heat source is damaged in any way? Especially with aquarium heaters? I was thinking about doing an aquarium heater setup as its not very stable in my house, my fermenter with beer in it is at about 60 right now.

Click to expand...

Don't hang the aquarium heater in your fermentor! Stick it in the water jacket surrounding it. That will even out the temps and keep it more even over longer time. Low 60s is great for most ales. Then after a week or so ramp it up to high 60's to finish out. One of those Inkbird (or STC-1000) controllers is a great asset.

IslandLizard said:

Don't hang the aquarium heater in your fermentor! Stick it in the water jacket surrounding it. That will even out the temps and keep it more even over longer time. Low 60s is great for most ales. Then after a week or so ramp it up to high 60's to finish out. One of those Inkbird (or STC-1000) controllers is a great asset.

Click to expand...

OK that was what I was hoping you all meant!

Got a aquarium heater.
Shattered it by turning it on when 1/2 submerged. Pulled out, and dunked it.
It popped
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1454073641.509123.jpg
Bought another one
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1454073664.395464.jpg
Now I am conditioning my beer at about 68,
Therm strip says 78 when the foam insulation is covering the cube.
Water is 68
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1454073794.261426.jpg

2 weeks later, water is 70.
Lot of moisture on the inside of the lid.
Caps are starting to show signs of oxidizing or rusting

I've just started my very first brew on Saturday and because I'm using the garage and it's a bit cold at the moment I bought a thermostatic immersion heater set to 24C (75F) and put it directly in the FV. http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/75_Immersion_Heater.html#.VrjlafDfWK0
My airlock isn't bubbling yet but the lid of the bucket is domed and if I press gently something bubbles thru so fingers crossed, the lcd thermometer is reading 20c so should be fine.

to add to this thread, my insulated detached garage dropped down to 49 degrees last night (the reported low outside was in the mid to upper 20s). Do you think a water bath with aquarium heater will be able to keep the water in the mid 60s? If not, what system would you recommend to keep my primary and secondary containers warm enough?

Thanks,
donald