StMarcos
Well-Known Member
I just discovered that I have a huge problem with liquid in my fermenter stratifying to level that are totally unacceptable. I have a brewhemoth 22G conical, that I had retrofitted with a thermowell near the bottom of the cylindrical part of the fermenter. I have the immersion chiller that they sell for it, and have been using 5050 glycol/water mix in a chest freezer, 4gal of it total. I just finished installing a 300w heat mat to the outside of the fermenter. Both the power to the glycol pump and the heater are on separate controllers.
I first suspected an issue when I noticed a lot of condensation on the lower part of the fermenter when holding it at 49degF. I've been doing testing with about 17gal in the fermenter. Obviously, the bottom exterior was below dew point, but not the top. I had figured that the bottom was just below, by maybe a degree or so, and the top a bit above. I figured that the top-to-bottom temp. differential couldn't be too large.
Anyway, I just finished installing the heater, and set the temp to 75degF. The water was at about 62degF when I started. I just went out to the shed and checked the progress. I have the heater's RTD taped to the side under some insulation, while the chillers probe is in the themowell. One was reading 72.2, and the other 72.3degF. The cone of the fermenter felt cool to the touch, and the top, including the airspace, noticeably warm. I busted out another RTD and dropped in in through the airlock port.
92degF!!!!!
This is bad news. I'm sure that yeast activity will mix things just fine during active ferm, but am terribly concerned about the temp of the wort before and after this time. I'm not planning on setting the ferm temp to 75F, but the fact that the top was 20degF higher than the bottom is really disconcerting. Prior to active ferment, the bottom temp is probably the more important one, as the yeast should settle. However, if I have the temp set to, say, 66degF, and the ferm finishes, I really don't want the top half of my beer sitting at 86degF!!!
Could I make a stir plate work through the side of the conical perhaps? Anybody else have data or experiences with this issue? I'm totally amazed at the amount of the differential.
Please help!!!
I first suspected an issue when I noticed a lot of condensation on the lower part of the fermenter when holding it at 49degF. I've been doing testing with about 17gal in the fermenter. Obviously, the bottom exterior was below dew point, but not the top. I had figured that the bottom was just below, by maybe a degree or so, and the top a bit above. I figured that the top-to-bottom temp. differential couldn't be too large.
Anyway, I just finished installing the heater, and set the temp to 75degF. The water was at about 62degF when I started. I just went out to the shed and checked the progress. I have the heater's RTD taped to the side under some insulation, while the chillers probe is in the themowell. One was reading 72.2, and the other 72.3degF. The cone of the fermenter felt cool to the touch, and the top, including the airspace, noticeably warm. I busted out another RTD and dropped in in through the airlock port.
92degF!!!!!
This is bad news. I'm sure that yeast activity will mix things just fine during active ferm, but am terribly concerned about the temp of the wort before and after this time. I'm not planning on setting the ferm temp to 75F, but the fact that the top was 20degF higher than the bottom is really disconcerting. Prior to active ferment, the bottom temp is probably the more important one, as the yeast should settle. However, if I have the temp set to, say, 66degF, and the ferm finishes, I really don't want the top half of my beer sitting at 86degF!!!
Could I make a stir plate work through the side of the conical perhaps? Anybody else have data or experiences with this issue? I'm totally amazed at the amount of the differential.
Please help!!!