Cheapest solution[s] for temperature regulation...

I stumbled upon a reptile heatpad thing-a-ma-jig, and was wondering if it would work with some kind of temp controller... but then I realized it's 76 degrees at night [and rising], and I need my fermenter to be about 60 degrees.

Most reasonable thing I can see is a small box with window A/C unit facing inward, toward the fermenter.

Is there anything cheaper??

Swamp cooler.

1. Buy a plastic tray that is about 6 inches deep and make sure your carboy will fit in it.

2. Place carboy in tray.

3. Fill up tray with water.

4. Place a cotton t-shirt over carboy. This will allow the water in the tray to creep up the t-shirt and keep it wet.

5. Place a fan aiming towards your carboy and turn it on.

6. Freeze plastic pop bottles filled with water. 2 liters, 1 liters, 20 oz., etc.

7. Place the bottles in the tray.

8. Replace thawed plastic bottles with freshly frozen ones as needed.

Most people have a box fan lying around.

When I do this it will make a 10 degree difference (room temp is 72° and the carboy will hold a steady 62°). When I don't need the full 10° difference I just leave out the frozen bottles.

We do the swamp cooler thing right now, minus the ice and fan.

I'm sure it could work alright, but I'm trying to get an electronically regulated temperature control setup.

I figured that such a solution would be readily available for $50 or so....

Free fridge on craigslist, $40 ebay aquarium thermostat. Done.

http://home.roadrunner.com/~brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF

Not the cheapest, but works like a charm.