Keeping fermentation temp UP at night

I'm looking for ideas on keeping temperature up at night so my ale yeast (US-05) doesn't stall. My basement provides perfect temps during the day, about 66F, however, we're getting a cold snap and the low will be around 46F tonight. I pitched @ 69F yesterday, put the fermenter in the swamp cooler (80% submerged), cooling to around 62F. Fermentation took off in about 6 hours and is now (20 hrs later) bubbling steadily. Not sure what the low was last night, but this morning the yeast was still working hard.

Anyone have ideas for keeping my swamp cooler around 62F when ambient is closer to 45F-50F? Would throwing a fleece blanket around it help?

Thanks!

A cheap aquarium heater would work well. This one is $15 with free shipping. Many options out there you can get smaller models as well for even cheaper here is an example.
http://www.truaqua.com/aquatop-heater-100w.html

beerloaf

Put the fleece blanket under the swamp cooler. The basement floor is what gets cold, and will have more influence on the wort temperature than the surrounding air.

+ get an aquarium heater.

Thanks for the tips.

I decided to move it inside where the water temp will be around 65F. Definitely going to buy an aquarium heater in the near future though.

I bought a cheap small aquarium heater about 6 years ago, and it works great for maintaining a steady temperature. It turns on when it gets colder, and turns off when it's warm enough, so no risk of overheating. Well, that's once you get it set right. You really have to watch it the first couple of times!

I know some people say that you need to circulate the water for it to be really effective, but I never have and it works fine.

Yooper said:

I bought a cheap small aquarium heater about 6 years ago, and it works great for maintaining a steady temperature. It turns on when it gets colder, and turns off when it's warm enough, so no risk of overheating. Well, that's once you get it set right. You really have to watch it the first couple of times!

I know some people say that you need to circulate the water for it to be really effective, but I never have and it works fine.

Click to expand...

Yes and aquarium heater will work great. I have one that I use when I need to keep a brew warm. The one I have will go to 90 degrees so I use it when I brew Sasions with 3724 that likes a lot of heat. I also use it in the winter when my basement gets pretty cool. Keeps the water temp within 1/2 degree.

im wondering if your really need to worry? what temp does your basement get down to during the cold snap? i wouldnt expect it to get down to the outdoor ambient temp overnight.

my basement is around 70 right now, we have been down to the upper 30's at night but the basement didnt drop more than a few degrees (3?).

Thanks for all the tips.

k47k said:

im wondering if your really need to worry? what temp does your basement get down to during the cold snap? i wouldnt expect it to get down to the outdoor ambient temp overnight.

my basement is around 70 right now, we have been down to the upper 30's at night but the basement didnt drop more than a few degrees (3?).

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This is what I'm going to check out. It's an unfinished basement but definitely warmer than outside temps. I have a bucket of water in there I'll check when it gets cold again. It might be perfect fermentation temps now that I think about it.

k47k said:

im wondering if your really need to worry? what temp does your basement get down to during the cold snap? i wouldnt expect it to get down to the outdoor ambient temp overnight.

my basement is around 70 right now, we have been down to the upper 30's at night but the basement didnt drop more than a few degrees (3?).

Click to expand...

Yep. How cool your basement gets is dependent on the age of your house and/or the insulation or quality of the build.

Then there's the heat flux of concrete, water, and wort. The water in your swamp cooler will keep within a couple degrees day and night unless you get a cold snap where it's cold during the day (less than 60) and colder at night. Water has a high heat capacity.

Putting a blanket under the swamp cooler is good insurance.

Monitor the ambient temperature every 4 hours and then take a reading on your swamp cooler. I can guarantee that the water will be cooler during the day and warmer during the night. I can guess that the water temp won't vary more than 5 degrees and probably closer to 3.