anybody use swamp cooler?

[mattsmitty]

was wondering if anyone uses the swamp cooler method when fermenting ur beer. Im thinking of doing this with my brew this weekend to hopefully get it at a better fermenting temp. I keep my house temp at about 73 im hoping by using this method (big plastic bin full of cold water and maybe some ice with my fermenter sitting in the water and maybe a fan blowing on it, in a dark closet) Just curious if anyone has done this and if u think by doing this i can get my brown ale at a better temp, maybe around 68 or so?

 

[kh54s10]

I did the swamp cooler route until I built my fermentation chamber. Get some quart or liter bottles and freeze a few. At the start of fermentation the temperature of the wort will be higher and you may need to change out a couple of bottles several times a day. After the height of fermentation it will be easier to keep the wort cooler and you may only need to change the bottles once a day. Try to keep the wort in the low to mid sixties for most ale yeasts and as stable as you can.

 

[crawfman]

For sure! You can easily maintain 68 with a swamp cooler. I do it all the time and just switch out the ice packs twice daily.

 

[bennie1986]

I just use a Tshirt over the Carboy in the water and keep it at 71f ish with a 76-76f house. I bet you could get to 68 from 73 and not have to worry about changing ice.

 

[Bulls Beers]

For years I used that method. I used 2 or 3 frozen sport water bottles to keep it cool. I would change them out once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Swamp cooler can also double duty as a chiller to bring your wort to pitching temps during these hot summer months FWIW.

 

[Beer-lord]

I have 2 Cool Brewing bags that work great. I change the frozen bottles twice a day and I can keep my wort at 66 in a 78 degree house. I love them.

 

[bsyoung]

I too use this method for very brew. I keep my house at 75 and I have no problem getting the temp down to mid to low 60s. I don't use a fan...just a wet t shirt in top... Works great

 

[bstacy1974]

I just finished my first summer brew 2 days ago, a red ale. I normally brew in the winter because my basement stays about 65°. Even though my basement air temp can get up to 75° in the summer, the concrete slab stays nice and cool. I chilled to 65°, pitched the US-05, and set the bucket on the floor. 24 hours in, fermentation was rolling at a 69°. Grabbed a shallow plastic storage container, put the fermenter in, and filled it with about 2.5" of cold water. Soaked an old towel, draped it over one side of the bucket and set up a box fan to blow directly on the towel. This morning the temp was 64° and has stayed there all day. Swamp cooler works and I can brew during daylight hours now.

 

[mattsmitty]

thanks alot guys, brewed on sunday and have the carboy in the swamp cooler. Works alot better than i had thought it would. Glad to hear of all the success with this method.

 

[Glynn]

I love my swamp cooler, I use mine during hot summer months. This thing is a beast. www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/sweet-find-day-348706/

 

[RmikeVT]

I use one of these: http://www.igloocoolers.com/Ice-Cube
Works great. I switch out frozen water bottles. Its 100* in MD recently and my basement is about 70*, way to warm for typical ale primary as my ferm temps would probably get up to 80*. I just brewed a Scotch ale with S-05 and its as clean as can be, almost lager like. I kept temps mid 60's.

 

[kombat]

Swamp coolers are my Standard Operating Procedure now.

I have 3 plastic laundry tubs from Wal-Mart. My basement is usually around 60° in the summer. Every time I brew a batch, I chill the wort down to 65-68°F before racking into the carboy. Then the carboy gets placed in one of the laundry tubs, which is half-filled with tap water (65° F). I cover the carboy with a wet t-shirt and drop a frozen 2L juice bottle into the tub. I aerate (with a Fizz-X on a drill), pitch the yeast, and affix the airlock.

I don't use a fan, and after the ice melts, I check the water temperature. I rarely need to add more ice. The bath water usually hovers in the low 60's, which (IMHO) is perfect. The wort might be a degree or two warmer than the water, but it'll be pretty close.

After a couple of weeks, I remove the carboy from the tub and switch out the wet shirt for a dry one (still want to keep light away from the beer), freeing up the tub for another batch.

 

[AnOldUR]

anybody use swamp cooler? [/url]

Storage bin from HD with bubble wrap and foil for insulation.

 

[hogwash]

You'll have no problem keeping it at 68, I've got a pale ale going and have been easily keeping it in the 63-64 range for the past week.

Add an aquarium heater and you can control your temps well in the winter too. Also good for getting steady hotter temps for your Belgian beers.