Cool Brew vs Cool Zone temp control

[jturn3]

I'm looking into fermentation temperature control setups and have come across a couple of good options in the forums, but I haven't been able to find any comparisons of the two. I cannot build a whole fermentation chamber because I need to be able to pack the whole thing away between brews. I've been looking at Cool Brewing ( http://www.cool-brewing.com/ ), which is just an insulated chamber that you can add frozen bottles of water to in order to control the temperature, and the Cool Zone setup( http://www.gotta-brew.com/cool-zone-kits/ ), which has a similar insulated chamber but adds in a jacket that cold water is pumped through.

I definitely like the Cool Zone setup better, but cannot buy the whole package right now and they don't seem to just sell their insulated chamber. So I'm wondering, first of all, if anybody has used both of these and has any notes about one being better than the other, and also what people's thoughts are on getting the Cool Brewing chamber and then later adding in the jacket and pump from Cool Zone to use in that chamber rather than the Cool Zone chamber. My main concern is that the Cool Zone chamber looks like a tighter fit, so I'm worried that the extra space in the Cool Brewing chamber would damage the efficiency of the cooling jacket when I eventually add that in. Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[wfowlks]

I will say that I do have a Cool Brewing, which is simple and elegant. I have not used it to do a lager, but it is great for keeping the fermentation a few degrees cooler. IMO a swamp cooler will be cheapest and give you the highest cooling amount granted you dont live in a humid area.

Swamp Cooler setup:
Big Tub (the $5 ones from Walmart that people use for putting clothes in)
Put about 4 inches of water in there, and put the carboy in.
Dip a towel in the bottom so its wet, and wrap it around the carboy.
If you want it even cooler, Point a fan at it.

Without the fan I have managed about a 8F degree drop. Ive gotten even more using a fan.

 

[jturn3]

Thanks! I don't think a swamp cooler will work long-term because of storage issues in my apartment, but I think I can rig something up for my next brew.


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[wfowlks]

Put all your brewing stuff in the bucket when not in use... Problem solved, that's what I do

http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-20-gal-Tote-2020-0108/202523597?N=5yc1vZc89jZ1z0tuqh

 

[Brew_Dude41]

Personally, I was going to go the exact same route until I came across a 5 cu freezer on CL for $20 that I was able to convert to a ferm chamber/lager cave for about $30 more.
Back to your question, I still use my Cool Brew for ales when I have a lager in the ferm chamber, and it works well. I think that the insulation of the cooler works well enough and that you shouldn't worry about losing as much efficiency due to the additional space between the walls of the cooler and your vessel. In fact, I think it would act as additional insulation as long as you aren't keeping too much of the top open to run your hoses and sensor wire letting the cool out.
It all really depends on where you are going to place it. If it is near a heat source, in direct sunlight, or in a garage or shed where temperature is not controlled there are going to be bigger challenges in maintaining a steady temp inside. For a normal room, closet, or basement I think your planned set up will work fine.

 

[GreatDayBeer]

I have been using the Cool Brewing bag for over a year and a half down here in sunny South Florida. Room temp is 80 and I can hold 68-70 with no problem. I change the ice bottles twice a day. I am sure I could lager by just adding extra ice bottles. It stores flat and has kept things in the room clean after a few unforeseen blow offs. Really simple solution.

 

[Beer-lord]

I have 2 Cool Brewing bags and my room temp is 78 and I can easily keep my fermenter at 65-66. This week I actually put one bag inside the other just to see if I could and what would happen. 1 bottle seems to do the trick. I think I could easily get it down to the upper 50's after 2 days with 4 bottles in this set up. But, that's really over kill as I've already gotten it down to 62 with 1 bag. Not cool enough to lager but using a yeast like 1007 at that temp you really can't tell the difference.

 

[Woodbrews]

I have a Cool Zone setup. I used a round Igloo cooler and a STC-1000 temperature controller for my first fermentation, but this last go around, I drilled a hole in my kegerator (a refrigerator) and put the water reservoir and pump in it. It worked great. I actually used the system to finish cooling my wort to pitching temperature because my tap water was not cool enough. Here's a thread describing my setup.

 

[jturn3]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I went ahead and got the Cool Brewing chamber and will eventually upgrade with the Cool Zone jacket and pump with a reservoir in my keezer.

 

[gishua]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the posts. I just purchased my bag and it should be here next week and ready for my next brew. I live in HOT Central Florida and my brews have been coming out a bit funky lately given the heat of summer.

I was wondering when i'm ready to pitch my yeast and start fermenting, should I prep 2 - 1 liter frozen bottles and put them in the bag before I'm ready to put the bucket in the bag? Or do I just put the bucket in there and the ice bottles at the same time?

If i'm doing s-05 yeast what should I aim for in changing the bottles? Once a day? Twice a day? How many bottles have you guys done that works well?

Thanks in advance, hoping this makes a world of difference in my brews.

Josh

 

[jturn3]

I've gone ahead and upgraded to the Cool Zone setup, but I used the Cool Brewing bag for several brews with pretty good success.

I don't think cooling the chamber before you put your bucket in there will help- Id just put the ice in when you put the fermenter in. As for how often you have to change the bottles, that will vary a bit. At the beginning of my fermentations I would have as much as 4 liters of ice just to get the wort down to the right temperature (ground water isn't cool enough here in the summer to get down to 68°) and would have to change every 12 hours or so. Once I got it down to temp I could usually maintain it with about 3 liters, and then after a few days I could start swapping only once a day.

I basically just used my judgement based on how much of the ice had melted. Just be careful not to open the bag too often so you can keep the cool air in. Also be careful sticking your head in the bag to check temperatures- CO2 builds up pretty well inside the bag and you can get light headed fast!


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[gishua]

Great guys! Thanks again. I should be getting the Cool Brewing Bag today. I'm gonna get my next recipe moving here this weekend hopefully.

Thanks again!
J