Can light and movement of the fermenter during fermentation affect negatively? If so,

I have been moving my mini batch which is fermenting in a transparent glass and I have left the light on to watch if any changes happen. Can it be bad for the fermentation?

Light CAN be bad for fermentation and finished beer. Are you turning off the light? Some light here and there is fine. Extended exposure can be unhealthy to yeast.

cyanmonkey said:

Light CAN be bad for fermentation and finished beer. Are you turning off the light? Some light here and there is fine. Extended exposure can be unhealthy to yeast.

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Yes I have put light on but light was off for the first 11 days in my fermenter. Does it affect also at this stage? How does it affect yeast?

The main concern is that it'll skunk the hops.

Finlandbrews said:

Yes I have put light on but light was off for the first 11 days in my fermenter. Does it affect also at this stage? How does it affect yeast?

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Yes, it can, but UV light is most detrimental. You're fine. Just keep it out of the sun and keep the light off as much as you can.

Like stated before, if it can skunk your beer, but as long as it's just to look at it and turn it off I can't see any real issues.

Just cover it with an old t shirt.

I always put a black garbage bag over the carboy

I'm searching for a heating system to heat my fridge for temperature control and I ve seen these ceramic heat bulbs of 150 watts that can heat up to 100 gallons space. It works with infra red heating and it doesn't give any light and can stand very high humidity levels.

My questions are how safe is it (fire wise and human health wise) and could the infra red rays skunk my fermenting beer?

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That's pretty much exactly what I use. You'll be fine.

Finlandbrews said:

I'm searching for a heating system to heat my fridge for temperature control and I ve seen these ceramic heat bulbs of 150 watts that can heat up to 100 gallons space....

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I just picked one up and while I haven't set it up in the chamber yet, I've found that the 100W one that I purchased gets SERIOUSLY hot. I don't have a way to check the "bulb's" surface temp, but dang!

I'm betting the 100W bulb I have is going to be overkill for my ferm chamber. Does anyone else in the thread have input about the size ceramic heater they put to work in their chamber? I've seen them in 50, 75, and 100W varieties.

I run a 40W bulb in a 17cf top-freezer ferm chamber. The ambient gets as low as 55°F but that bulb can easily hold the fridge interior above 75°F...

Cheers!

I live in Texas so I don't have to fight temps. much lower than the 30's and have my fermentation chamber in an unheated garage. I use the 100 watt version of that bulb and it works great. Have used it for over 2 years now, no problems at all. I do use a metal lamp guard to keep the bulb off the surface and to provide some protection. Other than that I just lay it on the 'step' in the ferm. chamber.

How did you install it inside of your fridges? Did you all make a hole through your fridges or not? If you did so, any instructions I could use somewhere?

No holes for me. I just put it in the ferm chamber and close the lid. The seal is soft and pliable enough to seal around the cord. Plus, in the Spring and Summer I just remove it to keep it from be damaged or in the way.

I use one of these-
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001F9CV7K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
I installed a std bulb fixture in my ferm chamber and the power cord is connected to my dual stage controller.
I also ha a small fan that runs continuously to better circulate the air and keep temps stable throughout.

I drilled through the side. I just picked a spot that I knew no refrigerant ran through and drilled.