Small heat source for fermentation cabinet

Its starting to get cold enough now that I need to add a heat source to my fermentation freezer (which I keep in an uninsulated outbuilding).

I was thinking of using a 7-watt nightlight. Its not too bright, its shielded, and I can tuck it into a corner to keep it out of the way.

Will this provide enough heat? Should I do something bigger, what do you recommend?

FWIW, I have a two stage RANCO so I can run heating and cooling at the same time.

You can also try a heat rock sold for warming up your lizard tank. I guess it depends on how much further above ambient your setpoint is but going with too high a wattage is just about impossible when it's on a controller.

If you're going to have the thing on a controller anyway, I would think you might as well go with something bigger than 7 watts...

At pet stores you can buy heat lamp bulbs, they're like regular household bulbs but designed to emit mostly heat, and not much light. They'd be smarter than regular household bulbs for that reason, though you'd probably still want to shield them with some sheet metal or something just in case they are emitting enough UV to skunk your beer in fermenters.

On the other hand, you can get small desk-top ceramic heaters for like $20, and those would have the added benefit of the built-in fan circulating the heat whenever they're running. They do put out like 500-1500 watts, but since there's a fan and you're using a controller, they should be okay...

I'd go with a warming pad... simple, easy, cheap

do an opposite of swamp cooling...

put the fermenter in a tub of water, and heat the water. either with a heat pad underneath (might be a fire hazzard....) or use a simple FULLY submersible aquarium heater. Online you can get them for less than $10. You want 3 watts per gallon for aquarium use.
I'd suggest one of the 'shatter proof' types that automatically shuts off if it gets too warm.

pull a glass submersible out of the water for more than 30 seconds and it usually explodes from temp. shock when re-emmersed.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'll look into the reptile tank heater and desk heater.

For tonight, tho, I'll drop in the nightlight and see where its at in the morning.

I use an aquarium heater, but submerged in a separate bucket in my fermentation chamber. The temp fluctuates about 3 degrees using this method.

I used a 25 watt lightbulb and left it on all night.

This morning the outside air temp was 38, the temp in the garage was 46, and the air temp inside the freezer was 66.

I doubt that a 7 watt bulb would have been sufficient.

Adding a small fan to circulate the air would help avoid hot and cool spots, so maybe I'll do that.

When the temp drops further this winter, I'll just swap in a higher wattage bulb.

I use an old external hard-drive. About 25 watts of heat and it has its own fan.

david_42 said:

I use an old external hard-drive. About 25 watts of heat and it has its own fan.

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Interesting idea, thanks.

you should try a compact spiral fluorescent bulb. it still puts out the heat, but uses less wattage.
they also last a hella long time.

malkore said:

you should try a compact spiral fluorescent bulb. it still puts out the heat, but uses less wattage.
they also last a hella long time.

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I thought the main reason fluorescent bulbs were more efficient than incandescent is because they put out LESS heat and more light for the same wattage?

I have on eof these and it works great http://www.williamsbrewing.com/BREWER_S_EDGE_SPACE_HEATER_P518C100.cfm
You cab see it on the back wall of my chest freezer.

Thanks for the tip Brewiz!! I might get one of those.

Bike N Brew said:

I thought the main reason fluorescent bulbs were more efficient than incandescent is because they put out LESS heat and more light for the same wattage?

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Right, we're actually trying to solve the opposite problem. We want our lights to put out no heat. We want our ferm cabinet heater to put out no light. That's why resistive based heaters are best... ceramic desktop heater is a good one ($15 at walmart).

I don't care for the ideas based on submerging the fermenter in water. In a sealed cabinet, the last thing you want is a bunch of excess moisture that can cause mold.

I agree with the suggestions about ceramic heaters that's what I use. Most of them have built in thermostats and the more expensive ones have digital thermostats.

The next thing I'd do is put some insulation in that outbuilding or around the fermenter. Unless you just like giving $ to Duke power or who ever you've got providing power.

Some of the brew stores sell a heat strip belt that goes around your carboy

Beer and light is not a good combination.

abracadabra said:

I agree with the suggestions about ceramic heaters that's what I use. Most of them have built in thermostats and the more expensive ones have digital thermostats.

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I'll look into the ceramic heaters. Its not even that cold yet and I can already tell I'll need one that gives out a lot more than 25w of heat. This is why I like the light bulb idea - I can up the wattage easily.

abracadabra said:

The next thing I'd do is put some insulation in that outbuilding or around the fermenter. Unless you just like giving $ to Duke power or who ever you've got providing power.

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DOH! Why didn't I think of that? I think I have an old water heater blanket I can use. I'm currently working to rip apart and reconstruct the garage, so insulating it is not going to happen any time soon.

abracadabra said:

Beer and light is not a good combination.

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I have the fermenters themselves wrapped in towels to shield them from the light.

An Ice Cube cooler by Igloo would make a really good insulated storage box. Some folks cut a hole in the top others make a new lid out of styrofoam. Most people use them to keep the beer cold for lagering but there's no reason it wouldn't work in reverse to keep it warm.

I haven't tried it but those electric pipe wraps you can get at Home Depot to keep you pipes from freezing might work. Or your light bulb idea might keep something like that warm enough. I'd still wrap the light bulb in aluminum foil to stop any light from getting to it if it was my beer.

I'm further south than you and I was really scrambling last winter to keep the fermenter warm.

abracadabra said:

I'm further south than you and I was really scrambling last winter to keep the fermenter warm.

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Insulating the freezer like you suggested and using light bulbs or ceramic heaters will keep it suitably warm, I hope. If not, I'll ferment ales in the 'basement' and lager in the freezer until April.

Its a learning experience. Its all good.