Temprature control help

I've looked through the forums (best I could while browsing on my phone that is) so I'm not sure if this had been answered or not but I have a question about temps.

I have a second refrigerator that we hardly use and want to use it to to hold my main carboy during fermentation. My only problem is getting the temp right with the 1 thru 9 cold dial ...

Do I just have to do it by trial and error and eventually get the dial turned in the direction? I have been trying for several days and just the slightest turn of the dial really moves the temp :-(

Start by turning it up as far as it can go. Put a thermometer in there and come back in a day or two - see what it is. If it is under 60, not going to be much good for most ales for you. lagers - 48-51 degrees would be fine. Some ale yeasts (1007) are good at 55. Ideally - get this:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...on-controls-a419-digital-temp-controller.html

What about putting a bowl of water with a lid on it or water in a container/carboy and letting it sit and checking the temp of the water after a day? Would that be effective?

Yes, it should be. You just need to make sure it can get to ale yeast temps unless you want to ferment only lagers in there. You just need to know the range of temps for the dial, so just make sure you give it enough time to get as warm as possible. If it doesn't get warm enough, you will a temp controller. That is the primary concern with fermenting ales in a refrigerator (most won't get warm enough).

The problem I've been having is that I can get it to between 65 and 78 ... The issue I'm having is just pin pointing the temp really ... Guess I just need to keep (barely) moving the dial in order to find "the right spot" ... Was hoping for a temp between 69 - 72

The analog temperature control found on the typical fridge has a pretty wide error band. You may be asking too much...

Cheers!

Why 69-72? That is pretty high for most ales. Fermenting beer is another 5-10 degrees higher than the air temp around it. I would be shooting for 60-65 for most ales.

"asking to much" ... Yeah that's what I'm afraid of ... It just might be impossible ... Although for now I'm going to keep trying ... I'd like to have my fermentation container in a more temp controlled place than it is right now! I'm going to have to settle for more of a 65 - 75 range instead of 69/72 and see what I can do? ... Back to the drawing board ... Or in this case fridge temp control knob... :-(

Smarty you need to buy a temperature controller. Most Homebrew suppliers sell them. Like this;
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=12193
or this;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390439422307?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648

Why 69-72? Well, um ... I don't know actually ... This is my first ever batch and that's the temp I've been told and or read about that seems to work best? I'm doing a Hefeweizen as my first brew/batch and am open to any and all suggestions...

That's a pretty good range for a hef. I'd probably go 70F it was me.. But... that's just me!

Stauffbier said:

Smarty you need to buy a temperature controller. Most Homebrew suppliers sell them. Like this;
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=12193
or this;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390439422307?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648

Click to expand...

+1 on this. You need fermentation temperature control, so do it right. Those ebay aquarium controllers are hard to beat for price, if you don't mind doing a little wiring. I prefer my Auber PIDs http://www.auberins.com/index.php?m...s_id=1&zenid=f225e3433ba1bf07b96fdaee9b85f542

These are robust and more precise, but a bit more expensive. They're not turnkey like the Johnson, but I think they are cooler when installed. I first went with a bottom dollar analog controller from CHI, but it's probe broke, and was not repairable or replaceable, making it a $40 paperweight. That's not an issue with the Aubers.