Does a fermentation freezer/chamber need a blow off of it's own? & other questions

[natewv]

I, being a cragslist ninja, acquired a nice 7 cu ft chest freezer for free a few weeks ago. So I got a STC1000, project box, and power cord and went to work, and now I've taken one of the real big boy steps in brewing to really being able to dial in my fermentation temperature control.

It turned out to be perfect timing because my first batch, a wit, the air lock blew out which hasn't happened in 2 years.

1) However, with that batch (using WLP400, notoriously slow) after the first night of a blow out I did not see a single bubble in the times that I opened the chamber. I found that very strange and as a result took like 5 samples, way more than I usually do, but in a month it fermented down to 1.008 and is cold crashing now.

2) New beer, a clone of a Loose Cannon (just using S-05 because it's basically WLP001), I made on Saturday, and I will admit I didn't aerate as much as I would like (I have a new elbow in my BK now trying to get it ready to use with my new pump, and it got clogged with some amarillo whole hops, mistake #2), but it was bubbling away happily yesterday evening. I checked it twice today and neither time have I seen visible bubbles.

It is too early to take a reading and I know I shouldn't be impatient, but it brings up a question I was thinking about even before getting the chamber/temp controller. Am I using my fermentation chamber correctly? Is the CO2 that typically would just vanish in the air filling up this relatively small, relatively airtight chamber and "pushing back"? Is this affecting my fermentation? Should I maybe open the drain hole to allow an opportunity for the CO2 gas to escape? If not, where does it go?

EDIT:
3) I took someone's advice and tape the probe against the fermenter wall surrounded by a 2x2" chunk of styrofoam. Short of getting a thermowell and all that crap, is that what everyone pretty much does? What kind of "error" do you estimate when setting your fermentation chamber temperature?

 

[day_trippr]

- Wits fermenting for a month seems wrong.
- With all this talk of fermenting bubbles, yee shall shortly draw the wrath of many Revvy clones. Be strong, take it like a man.
- remember, bottle carbonation takes place at fairly high pressures (especially, a bottle carbed wit). Yeast can handle pressure - up to explosive levels.
- yes, a probe slapped tight against an uninsulated fermentation vessel and in turn insulated against external influence has been shown to be within .5°F of a thermowell style probe in the relatively small vessels home brewers use (ie: 5-6 gallons).

Cheers!

 

[natewv]

- Wits fermenting for a month seems wrong.
- With all this talk of fermenting bubbles, yee shall shortly draw the wrath of many Revvy clones. Be strong, take it like a man.
- remember, bottle carbonation takes place at fairly high pressures (especially, a bottle carbed wit). Yeast can handle pressure - up to explosive levels.
- yes, a probe slapped tight against an uninsulated fermentation vessel and in turn insulated against external influence has been shown to be within .5°F of a thermowell style probe in the relatively small vessels home brewers use (ie: 5-6 gallons).

Cheers!

It didn't ferment for a month, persay, but it stayed in primary for a month.

You are right about the bubble thing, however I've brewed maybe 30 beers, and I've never had one not bubble away for a few days, and the only real change to my process is the chamber, so I'm just wondering if that affects bubbling, or CO2 release, or something.

From a purely logical perspective, the CO2 has to go somewhere, doesn't it?

 

[TBaGZ]

I highly doubt a chest freezer is air tight when closed. It'll seep out.

 

[duboman]

Congrats on the Ferm chamber!

Now, learn to let it do its thing, pitch, put the blow off rig on set the temp and close the door for 10 days!

There is no need to take multiple samples in a day, especially when you just brewed it 2 days prior....the yeast knows how to make beer and requires no babysitting

Regardless what the gravity is on day 3, the beer is not done!

Learn to set and forget

 

[BigFloyd]

It didn't ferment for a month, persay, but it stayed in primary for a month.

You are right about the bubble thing, however I've brewed maybe 30 beers, and I've never had one not bubble away for a few days, and the only real change to my process is the chamber, so I'm just wondering if that affects bubbling, or CO2 release, or something.

From a purely logical perspective, the CO2 has to go somewhere, doesn't it?

I've fermented with both chest and upright freezers controlled by STC-1000 boxes (love 'em).

In either, ferment and airlock activity occurs as it would anywhere else.

 

[dinnerstick]

What kind of "error" do you estimate when setting your fermentation chamber temperature?

if you are very nervous about the error, you can check the temperature of your fermenting beer with an accurate (sanitized) digital thermometer and compare to the reading on your controller. personally i wouldn't bother; i rather aim for consistency. do the same thing every time, and dial any minor temp changes for your next batch after tasting the beer. temperature is obviously important, but a precise (0.5-1 deg) ferm temperature might not translate from one brewer to another, in the noisy context of all of the other variables (batch size, fermenter, pitch amount, system error, etc.)

 

[natewv]

Congrats on the Ferm chamber!

Now, learn to let it do its thing, pitch, put the blow off rig on set the temp and close the door for 10 days!

There is no need to take multiple samples in a day, especially when you just brewed it 2 days prior....the yeast knows how to make beer and requires no babysitting

Regardless what the gravity is on day 3, the beer is not done!

Learn to set and forget

I know, I know...I haven't been impatient for over a year, it's just with the new toy I suddenly want to fiddle with it again!

 

[Darwin18]

I know, I know...I haven't been impatient for over a year, it's just with the new toy I suddenly want to fiddle with it again!

The point of a temperature controlled refrigerator or freezer is that you don't have to.

 

[BigFloyd]

The point of a temperature controlled refrigerator or freezer is that you don't have to.

Exactly. :rockin:

I have had to do a bit of fiddling a bit with mine today. I pitched harvested 2124 (Bohemian Lager) on a Maibock last night @ 60*F. I let it run at that temp during the night, saw signs of activity beginning this morning before work and have been slowly stepping it downward on the way to 49*F. Of course, I'll have to mess with it later to bring it up for a D-rest and then cold crash it. It is soooooo nice to be able to do that by pressing a couple of buttons.

So, do a lager. Then you'll get to fiddle with it until you're tired of fiddling with it.