Ways to keep fermenting Cool/warm

Ive been looking into getting a freezer or refrig. I have a hard time keeping a warmer temp and have no safe way of keeping a cool temp. Could i use the freezer to do both. What is the best way to setup my freezer. I know there are different types if controlls that i could install.

Easiest thing to do to setup a freezer for fermentation would be to add a temperature controller to it. Mine just lets me plug the fridge directly into it. Then I plug the controller into the wall and put a temp probe into the fridge and it will let me set it at any temp I want. Keep in mind that a freezer will only allow you to cool the beer below the outside temps. They're great for summer months, but you'll still need something to warm the beer.

For that, you can put the carboy/bucket into a big tub of water (swamp coolerish) and add an aquarium heater to the water. You can find cheap aquarium heaters for around $30 with a thermostat on it so you can set the temp.

ive been reading about conditioning and some of my books say to condition at about 50-55 but still ferment at 65? Is cold conditioning still need? I havent been able to find a water heater to go below 65 any ideas

It's a little more complicated, but you can also buy a combination heating/cooling control, which will activate the fridge/freezer as temps rise, and activate a heat source such as a light bulb or small space heater as temps drop, to maintain a set range. You'd just have to be up for some basic 120 VAC wiring.

I use a Ranco Digital Two-Stage Temperature Controller kinda spendy but easy to use you plug hot into 1 and cold into 2 and set your minimum and maximum temperatures


http://morebeer.com/view_product/16664/102282/Ranco_Digital_Two-Stage_Temperature_Controller_-_Wired

ya a ranco 2 stage seems like a better way. What heat source would you suggest for a stand up frig?

Dellis0709 said:

ive been reading about conditioning and some of my books say to condition at about 50-55 but still ferment at 65? Is cold conditioning still need? I havent been able to find a water heater to go below 65 any ideas

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I'm sure your books don't say to condition every beer at 50-55. Most ales should never be cold conditioned or conditioned lower than 60's depending on the yeast. There are a few ale yeasts that will go below that though.

If you have your fridge in the house, you'll have no problem hitting those temps.

Dellis0709 said:

ya a ranco 2 stage seems like a better way. What heat source would you suggest for a stand up frig?

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i use a small ceramic heater i have 5'x5' box in the garage i do my fermenting in i think many people use ceramic heaters from a pet store w/ their refrigerators seems to workout good. i'm planning on adding a fridge maybe two this spring after i clean the garage and wire the plug ins


http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/2533/product.web

i recommend a 2 stage controller. it will allow you to control both heating and cooling with one unit. i would get a freezer or mini-fridge like you where thinking to keep it cold and a fermwrap to keep it warm. also a thermowell carboy cap or plug will also be a good idea. the thermowell will allow you to get the controller's probe down into the wart, resulting in a more accurate reading, without getting it wet. but word of warning the probe may not want to fit in the thermowell. the only way to really fix this is to get some 120 grit sand paper and sand the probe slightly till it fits. it wont take much and wont affect it's sensing ability.

rugman said:

i use a small ceramic heater i have 5'x5' box in the garage i do my fermenting in i think many people use ceramic heaters from a pet store w/ their refrigerators seems to workout good. i'm planning on adding a fridge maybe two this spring after i clean the garage and wire the plug ins


http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/2533/product.web

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I wonder if a ceramic heater is much more efficient than just a light bulb or two. For the much lower price I might go with the bulbs.

jaginger said:

I wonder if a ceramic heater is much more efficient than just a light bulb or two. For the much lower price I might go with the bulbs.

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I've been debating this as well, but even with something over the fermenters, I'd just rather have a dark environment in there.

I'm in the process of doing this right now. I have an Auburn PID controller and I'm using the alarm out relay for the compressor and the SSR out and the Brewers Edge Fermentor heater http://www.williamsbrewing.com/BREWER_S_EDGE_SPACE_HEATER_P518C100.cfm to heat. It's in the shop and I definitely need both heating and cooling.

I really had a great time playing with my PID I put the thermocouple on top of a bulb and watched the PID try to hit 78 degrees on the bulb glass in a shop at 50 degrees with the default settings. Then I had it do the auto learn and watched it get much better after learning the thermal mass and available heat control. I'd touch the soldering iron or an ice cube to the TC to make big temperature swings. Those things are really smart and are able to bring the temp to +- 1 degree in an amazingly short time with no overshoot. As a side note, my wife was thoroughly unimpressed that I could turn a light bulb on by heating the thermocouple with my tongue. Sometimes I think women don't know cool.

I am going to give this a shot in my fermenter. Not sure how accurate the thermostat will be but I can program it to the control as well.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=12338794

I use an old fridge with a ranco temp controller. The fridge does the cooling of course. For heating in the winter, I installed a $1 ceramic light fixture on a scrap of plywood, and I set it in the bottom of the fridge with one of these in it-



I got it at a local pet store, and it's worked great so far.

jaginger said:

I wonder if a ceramic heater is much more efficient than just a light bulb or two. For the much lower price I might go with the bulbs.

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I dono i purchased the heater years ago for heating my bedroom in an old house so it cost me nothing for the brew project