Need help keeping fermenting beer cool enough.

I have been using a swamp cooler for my past few brews, but it is very hot here now and I am starting work soon so I will not be able to add more frozen water bottles to keep the temperature where I need it.

What other ways are there to keep my fermenting beer cool enough? I have a large freezer that I am not really using and was wondering if there was a way I could rig it to stay at about 65 degrees.

Thanks for the help guys!

P.S. do I need to keep the wort cool once I transfer it into a secondary? (I'm adding some spices for this pumpkin beer)

Search for the eBay aquarium temp controller thread on here. I did it about 6 months ago and it works great.

If you are not into DIY projects or just don't have the time for one, you can always just get a Johnson controller. My LHBS stocks them on the shelf or you can always mail order.

You can get the johnson controllers on amazon for like $60-80 for the digital controller. I've seen them in homebrew shops for $120. Way overpriced.

I'm very happy with mine. It is easy to use. Plug it in, plug your freezer into it, put the temperature sensor in the freezer and tell it what temperature to reach and you're done.

Using a freezer would technically work, if you're not using it for anything else or if you want everything in there at the same temperature. You will need a temperature controller (I don't see why the aquarium controller wouldn't work vs. a more expensive Johnson or Ranco). I'm definitely going to find a little dorm fridge and do the aquarium temp controller box idea, running some hoses from a glycol tub into an insulated fermentation temperature.

Once the bulk of fermentation is over (week 1), temperature is not as important, and you can let it rise.

65 F is better, but if you have the beer in a swamp cooler, you can get away with 70 F or even slightly higher. The water will prevent the temperature from running away. Obviously you will get more flavors from the yeast, but should not get the higher alcohols forming in great numbers.

Home Depot sells 20G tote buckets cheap. Freeze some small water bottles or use ice packs and you can regulate the temp within a degree or two. In the summer this is all I use. The most important part is to keep it within you temps for the first 24 hours or when the yeast are multiplying. Off flavors will grow exponentially from this point on. If I'm doing 10G I use a 35-40 Gallons rectangular bin and can float a frozen milk jug in it to keep the temps in line. A small pump to keep the water moving also REALLY helps. The other trick is a splash of bleach to keep anything from growing in the water over the week.

Crystal thermometers on the side of your vessels will die in the water so forget about that. However the water regulates the temp so all you need to do is temp the water to know where the beer is at.

Good Luck