Brewing equipment

What is the single most important piece of brewing equipment to get if I had to choose. Controlled temp term chamber, O2 infusion system or yeast starter or something else?

Ferm chamber. The others are way down the pecking order.

arturo7 said:

Ferm chamber. The others are way down the pecking order.

Click to expand...

+1
A stable ferm temp is more important than the others.

That's what I thought. I am going to buy a freezer this week. Ty

Are you doing lagers?

two_one_seven said:

Are you doing lagers?

Click to expand...

Not yet but maybe in the future.

Then why the freezer? Do you have a basement, if so then that will do quite nicely for ales.

Or DIY a fermentation chamber that uses frozen water bottles and a pc fan for cheap cheap cheap

Swamp cooler. = a $20 plastic storage box and soda bottles filled with water and frozen. It is adequate for ales in all but the hottest conditions.

You need to control your fermentation temperatures and pitch the right amount of yeast.

So you can go cheap on the storage box and ice fermentation chamber or extravagant with a freezer or mini refrigerator and sheet foam chamber.

Making starters is easy with a DIY stirplate and a 2l flask.

I vote ferm chamber. I started building mine last night.

I don't have a basement and water bottles for a four week fermentation with rotating batches? Would be continuously changing frozen bottles.

martyjmc said:

I don't have a basement and water bottles for a four week fermentation with rotating batches? Would be continuously changing frozen bottles.

Click to expand...

Don't be so sure about that...when i was fermenting my lager (50) I only had a few inches of water in a metal beer party-bucket and I only had to change out the frozen water bottle every 2 days. Granted my basement was 60 but I'm guessing if a room is 70, then changing out a bottle every morning would hold it around 60 nicely. Just something to consider...

martyjmc said:

I don't have a basement and water bottles for a four week fermentation with rotating batches? Would be continuously changing frozen bottles.

Click to expand...

If you are making an ale, the temperature control is only important while the fast part of the ferment it happening. Once the majority of the sugars are gone the temperature isn't nearly as critical. In fact, letting your beer warm up to room temperature will encourage the yeast to eat the compounds that the yeast threw off during the fast part of the ferment and will get you better beer and helps get to a lower FG too.

Lagers are a different problem and you need temperature control for a much longer period for them.

I agree, I use a swamp cooler during the first week of fermentation only and rotate 4 frozen water bottles, after the first week I brew another batch, remove the first primary and replace with the second primary, works like a charm!

I built a nice ice chilled and heated ferm chamber at first, it served it purpose well but ultimately I got sick of changing ice every day here in the summer of sunny so cal. I now use a chest freezer and enjoy the heck out of being able to set it and forget it.

I just picked up a chest freezer on CL and ordered a A419 controller. With it getting warm here in Florida, this is probably the only way I can continue to brew.

Can you get a a freezer to go up to 60-62 degrees?

I bought a 7 cubic foot chest freezer off of Craigslist for fifty bucks and bought a two stage temp controller for sixty. I will be brewing this weekend.

I can heat and cool with the controller I bought and keep a very tight tolerance according to the manual.

I bought a small ceramic heater to put into the freezer for 12 bucks and wired the dual temp controller to a receptacle. I broke the tab on side of the outlet so I can control plugs separately.

Fermentation chamber. Go with the freezer. Works well to keep temps at a constant level, cheaper on electricity than a fridge, and you can drop it down to freezing when you are ready to crash cool before racking to a bottling bucket or keg.

D_Ranged_Eskimo said:

Fermentation chamber. Go with the freezer. Works well to keep temps at a constant level, cheaper on electricity than a fridge, and you can drop it down to freezing when you are ready to crash cool before racking to a bottling bucket or keg.

Click to expand...

I like the idea of crash cooling with it also! I didn't think of that. I just hooked everything up to the 7 cubic foot fridge and tested it all out....can't wait to brew another beer. Will be able to brew all year long now.

martyjmc said:

I like the idea of crash cooling with it also! I didn't think of that. I just hooked everything up to the 7 cubic foot fridge and tested it all out....can't wait to brew another beer. Will be able to brew all year long now.

Click to expand...

It was a must down here. You can get away without one for a month, maybe two if you are lucky in South Texas.

D_Ranged_Eskimo said:

It was a must down here. You can get away without one for a month, maybe two if you are lucky in South Texas.

Click to expand...

It interpreted fridge but I bought a freezer....or maybe I had a few and wrote fridge. I love this setup. I'm gonna brew my last extract brew kit ( chocoholic stout) this weekend. I have bought all grain equipment and made my first one last weekend..... Got a little too drunk and not sure how it's gonna turn out but it's fermenting.