The poorboy lagerator

I just wanted to tell everyone what an awesome deal this is! No need for thermostats and modified refrigerators when you have a towel and a bucket. I'd heard it before but didn't believe it. I used a plastic storage container, an old towel and a cap full of bleach (and some DampRid nearby, Oklahoma is a bit humid). My meager home stays around 75F and the wrapped up fermentor sitting right next to the AC outlet is at 55F... or so the $1.47 thermometer says.

It was 96 in Sactown yesterday and my 10 gallons in carboys, sitting in turkey tins and wrapped in wet towels are well under 60.

A little ice now and again helped too but I am stunned this works at all.

I did create a little "house" out of styrofoam for them but I honestly dont know if it has really helped.

BTW, the garage where they sit is well over 90 degrees most of the day so under 60 degrees is just sweet.

Cheer,

knewshound

When I started brewing I would put the fermenter in the bathtub with a black t-shirt over the carboy and fill the tub so the shirt would soak up the water. I would toss some frozen jugs of water in on hot days. It worked great.

rewerb said:

I used a plastic storage container, an old towel and a cap full of bleach (and some DampRid nearby, Oklahoma is a bit humid). My meager home stays around 75F and the wrapped up fermentor sitting right next to the AC outlet is at 55F... or so the $1.47 thermometer says.

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Question: Whats the bleach used for??

Its funny this came up. I tested this last weekend. Without beer in my carboy. I filled it with water. Put it in a kegger tub put water in the tube 1/3 of the way up. Set a fan to blow down on the wet towel draped carboy.

I stuck a 12' long needle thermometer down into the water. I had a nearby room thermometer. I borrowed a laser thermometer from work for wet towel temps

Starting temp 70'F Ambient Air & Water in Carboy.

One hour later 70 Air temp, water 69'F, towels 63'F

4 hrs later 70 Air, water 65'F, towels 60'F

6 hrs later 70 Air, water 63'F, towels 59'F

8 hrs later 70 Air, water 64'F, towels 59'F

I would be carefull about believeing the exterior temps will equalize with the center water temps.

This is pretty cool though. I need to run the test longer to verify it will equalize.

You're methods are definately more precise. My thermometer was underneath the towel/suctioned to the fermenter. However, If you have most of the fermenter under the towel...only about 2 inches in the water, would you be gaining much heat to the higher temp water?

rewerb said:

(and some DampRid nearby, Oklahoma is a bit humid).

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Nice to have another Okie aboard. What is there, like 5 of us now? 6, if you count ElP, who defected to Texas. Where you at? I'm from Tulsa, and headed to OKC in Sept.

An okie, a dropkick murphy fan, and from Tulsa... I live just east of TU! Do I know you, and not know it?

I'd think this method will be dependent on the part of the nation you live in, and not just dependent on maximum high temperature. This is because of relative humdity considerations. With a low relative humdity you will have a lot of evaporation thus increasing the cooling effect, and much less at high relative humdities.

Schlenkerla, what was the weather like in Des Moines when you did your experiment? A week ago out in the eastern part of the state it was pretty hot and humid. For a more complete experiment you'd need one more variable in your measurements--relative humidity.

I'm guessing the bleach is to keep mold from growing on the towel.

This method will work great anytime the dewpoint is below 50. Once the dewpoint is above 55, it's useless.

Works great in AZ!

Levers101 said:

Schlenkerla, what was the weather like in Des Moines when you did your experiment? A week ago out in the eastern part of the state it was pretty hot and humid. For a more complete experiment you'd need one more variable in your measurements--relative humidity.

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Levers101,

This was done in my basement with AC going temp was @ 70'F. I have two humidity meters they are off by 15-20% The older anaolog and higher of the two is 70% the other digital data logger is 54-57%. Later being more believeable. I never recorded it the other weekend. I gather it was very similar.

I believe you are right. This will work wonders in the winter when the house is much drier.

I agree. It'll be a reliable method in the desert SW and places like Idaho, ect, where the air is dry, and Iowa in the winter. But probably a bit risky in the summer in Iowa, the Midwest and Southeast.

Where in Iowa do you live?

SwAMi75 said:

Nice to have another Okie aboard. What is there, like 5 of us now? 6, if you count ElP, who defected to Texas.

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All Texans can be counted as Okies anyway, since they're properly referred to as Baja Okies anyway...also known as Okie Lite. :rockin:

Schlenkerla: I live in Iowa City.

I'm currently trying a method similar to this where I have a wet t-shirt wrapped around a plastic fermenting bucket in a large garbage can with about 3 gal of water. I have a big (~24 inches) fan setting directly on top of the plastic garbage can and blowing straight down into the garbage can. It's in the mid to high 70s in my apartement, and quite humid (don't ask why, long story), and this has managed to drop the temp (as measured by the stick-on thermometer on the side of my fermenting bucket) down about 10 degrees. I'm glad I read this as it's probably the only chance I have for my IPA to not be chocked full of fusel alchohol and esters.