speed of temp ramp-ups

[mwill07]

I just built a new fermentation chamber. As my basement tends to be in the mid 60's (especially during the winter), I need to add a heating element into the chamber if I want to do any kind of temp ramps.

I installed a 15W reptile heat cable by zip-tying it to the sides of the chamber, and I have spent the past couple of days putting it through it's paces.

It appears that I only have the ability to heat up 5 gallons of water at a rate of ~ 1 degree F every three hours. Will this be enough to be useful, or should I find a better heating method?

I like the heat cable because there is minimal work to my fermentor - I don't have to drill any holes or make any permanent modifications. The cable easily pulled thru the ice-maker hole. also, there is little risk to damage via blow-off...I hate the idea of a powerful fermentation blowing off and dripping down onto a heating pad...wort + electricity is probably a bad combination.

If I need more power, my options are a bigger cable (25W is available), or installing an outlet of some type that I can plug in something else...not really something I want to do.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

If your leaving it in the air for ambient temps and the chamber gets to your warmer set temp that's all you can ask for....The beer is only going to rise so fast.

I only put the probe in the thermowell for maintaining fermentation temps during fermentation.

For a cold crash or raising the temp at the end of fermintaion or diacetyl rest the probe hangs in the air. Attaching the probe to the bucket for big temp swings will result in overshooting your air temp while the beer is trying to adjust and freezing up or turning your chest into a sauna...I'm sure youll be fine...I use a 40W light bulb to heat the chamber and it works fine....they make products specifically designed as a heat jacket for carboys/buckets but I don't see the need inside a ferm chamber

 

[mwill07]

If your leaving it in the air for ambient temps and the chamber gets to your warmer set temp that's all you can ask for....The beer is only going to rise so fast.

I only put the probe in the thermowell for maintaining fermentation temps during fermentation.

For a cold crash or raising the temp at the end of fermintaion or diacetyl rest the probe hangs in the air. Attaching the probe to the bucket for big temp swings will result in overshooting your air temp while the beer is trying to adjust and freezing up or turning your chest into a sauna...I'm sure youll be fine...I use a 40W light bulb to heat the chamber and it works fine....they make products specifically designed as a heat jacket for carboys/buckets but I don't see the need inside a ferm chamber

I guess I should have been more clear on my set-up: it's a mini-fridge controlled by a STC-1000. Right now I don't use a thermowell, but that is in the plans. Right now I use a bungee-cord around the carboy, holding in place a folded towel. The temp probe gets placed between the towel and the outer wall of the carboy. This way, the STC-1000 tracks the temp of the carboy directly and not the ambient air temp inside the fridge.

The heat cable is strung along the sides of the fermentor, a good foot at least from the carboy. The cable heats the air and the air heats the carboy (probably some radiant heat transfer directly from the cable to the wort too). There may be some overshoot but probably not enough for the fridge to kick on.

 

[mwill07]

some pics:

full write-up

 

[Calder]

To answer your original question:

It appears that I only have the ability to heat up 5 gallons of water at a rate of ~ 1 degree F every three hours. Will this be enough to be useful, or should I find a better heating method?

Yes.

You don't want to raise temp too fast, as it can shock the yeast.

A separate question: How high can you heat the wort up to?

 

[mwill07]

A separate question: How high can you heat the wort up to?

I haven't found that out yet. I've been letting it run since Wednesday evening. The temp is still increasing but at a slower rate. It's closer to one degree every 7 hours now. It just hit 80 dF in my basement (ambient temp = 68 dF).

If it plateaus at 81 or so, that will be more than fine as I don't do sours. Really, what I'm most after right now is being able to brew Belgians at the correct temps, and some of those strains want to be in the upper 70's.

I'm thinking that ultimately, it's a function of not over-chilling the beer. If I start at the appropriate pitch temp (or even a little higher), my rig won't have a problem maintaining.

 

[Calder]

If it plateaus at 81 or so, that will be more than fine as I don't do sours. Really, what I'm most after right now is being able to brew Belgians at the correct temps, and some of those strains want to be in the upper 70's.

If you get into Belgians, you may find 80 to be limiting. Dupont ferments at 90, for a couple of reasons; to get brews done quickly, and to not have the yeast stall on them. Brett also likes temp 85+. I've seen other Belgian strains say 85 F as a min.

Using 'regular' Belgian yeasts, I like to run them to 85 F to finish them off. I really don't know if it helps any more than 80 F, but the beer turns out OK.

 

[Dcpcooks]

You can add a little more wattage if needed down the line. I use a small personal heater. A brew belt will also add more heat if needed. See if your set up works for you for a few batches. Mug

 

[mongoose33]

Why not heat the fermenter directly?

If I were you, I'd wrap the heat cable directly around the fermenter; cover it with a towel or anything that will help reflect the heat into the fermenter.

I have a 20-watt reptile mat I've used to heat a 5-gallon fermenter. When I wrap it around the fermenter I also cover it with a towel on the outside to insulate it from the air around the fermenter and which will direct the heat into the fermenter.

You're heating the entire fermentation chamber when what you really want to heat is the wort. You already have a great way to monitor and control temp, so just let the heat tape work best against the fermenter.

 

[mwill07]

Why not heat the fermenter directly?

If I were you, I'd wrap the heat cable directly around the fermenter; cover it with a towel or anything that will help reflect the heat into the fermenter.

I have a 20-watt reptile mat I've used to heat a 5-gallon fermenter. When I wrap it around the fermenter I also cover it with a towel on the outside to insulate it from the air around the fermenter and which will direct the heat into the fermenter.

You're heating the entire fermentation chamber when what you really want to heat is the wort. You already have a great way to monitor and control temp, so just let the heat tape work best against the fermenter.

That's exactly right but I'm striving for the simplest first. My preference is to have the heating apparatus permanently installed to the walls of the fridge so I never have to mess with them and they wouldn't get wet if I had an accidental blow-off.

 

[mwill07]

If you get into Belgians, you may find 80 to be limiting. Dupont ferments at 90, for a couple of reasons; to get brews done quickly, and to not have the yeast stall on them. Brett also likes temp 85+. I've seen other Belgian strains say 85 F as a min.

Using 'regular' Belgian yeasts, I like to run them to 85 F to finish them off. I really don't know if it helps any more than 80 F, but the beer turns out OK.

yeah, I think I am going to need more power here.

 

[mwill07]

so these guys have published a bunch of Belgian recipes that I'd like to try. My current set-up can handle all of this (except for Berliners or anything funky).

Most of the ramps are <10 dF and over a week or so...around a degree per day, give or take. my set-up can certainly handle a degree per day, so I should be ok as is.