Digital Temperature Controler

I stopped by the LHBS yesterday to pick up ingredients, and I picked up the Ranco Digital Electronic Temperature Control for $99. It is simple to program and works easily. You can set it to heat or cool to a preset temp and can adjust the amount of temperature swing before it kicks on. I just need to rig up a heat source in my refrigerator to keep the temp up to proper temps. I bought an electric heating pad, but it has an automatic shut-off and has to be turned on everytime after it shuts off, so it's not going to work. I guess I can rig up a light bulb or something like that.

I don't know if they'd work as heat sources in a refrigerator, but what about a reptile "hot rock"? These are basically heating pads for use in snake, lizard and turtle enclosures to provide an optimal temperature for the animal. To the best of my knowledge these heaters don't have thermostats like "people" heating pads, although they ARE limited in how much heat they generate. If you check out your local pet shop or an Internet pet supply site, you should find plenty of choices. I have a pad that fits under the reptile enclosure that I intend on using in my future brewing efforts.

This is what I use and it seems to work pretty good.
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/BREWER_S_EDGE_SPACE_HEATER_P518C100.cfm
Here you can see it suck to the back of my freezer:

That hot rock sounds like an interesting idea. I might check that out too.

If you're savvy with wiring, the next time you want a Ranco (there WILL be a next time...they just work so well!), look on eBay. You can get the unwired factory direct version for usually under $50.

Wiring is not really my specialty. But with all of the spare fridges I have now, I'm not really worried about messing up. Something to think about for next time.