temperature control for a 240 liter brew

[OzzyPeeps]

Greetings brewers ...

I hope this is in the appropriate sub forum.

I cant seem to find the info Im looking for with the search function, but this may be down to my newbiness on the site, so any pointers on that are welcome.

I have been brewing standard 5gal extract kits for a few years now, but Im planning to scale up.

I am planning to buy a 300 liter stainless steel fermenter for extract brews.

My question is in relation to temperature control for a brew that size.

with a standard 5 gal kit I just put the fermenter on top of a 45 watt seedling heat matt in a cupboard and plug it into the inkbird heating output -

but that is obviously not going cut it with 240 liters of wort in a 300 l stainless vessel

so im wondering what would be the best heat source to use to maintain fermentation temps for a setup like that.

I live in a very cold house where ambient temps of the brewing area could potentially touch zero degrees C in winter at times -

and I want to have a go with Kveik so the challenge, and my objective, is to be able to maintain stable ferm temps in the range 20 -38 C - even if ambient temps are around freezing.

I could drop a few sanitized 500w aquarium heaters into the wort - but that is obviously to be avoided if at all possible.

some sort of heating plate would be ideal but I dont know if such a thing exists.

Id love to hear from members who have run those sorts of volumes and what they use for temp control

many thanks in advance!

Ozzy

 

[IslandLizard]

I am planning to buy a 300 liter stainless steel fermenter for extract brews.

300 liter is 2.5 bbl (beer)!

Why do such large volume extract brews? Large volume brewing is all-grain territory, for cost alone. There are other reasons.

Is you fermenter single wall or jacketed (double wall)? In that cold of an area, to keep fermentation temps even and steady you need some sort of insulation on the outside. Not sure about how to heat it, that's pretty large.

Once fermentation is going, it generates heat. Most breweries chill their fermenters (using propylene glycol) to keep temps down.

 

[OzzyPeeps]

single wall 0.6 mm.

The reason I want to do extract is, well many reasons.

the cost is the same whether its a 5gal batch or a 300 liter batch - about 60 cent a pint

the work and hassle of cleaning and sanitising etc on brew day is also the same whether its a 5 gal batch or a 300l batch.

so for a single day's work I bag myself a couple of months worth of beer instead of having to brew a 5 gal batch every 3 or 4 days

to do a batch that big all grain you are into microbrewery equipment costs which are far beyond my means

but I dont want to derail this into extract V all grain, just looking for advice from anyone who has done a batch that size.

Im aware fermentation is exothermic but no idea as to what size batch would "keep itself warm". Ill need heat towards the end either way. any advice on that issue from pros greatly appreciated!

whats bbl mate?

 

[OzzyPeeps]

is it against the rules to post a link to the fermenter?

 

[marc1]

Greetings brewers ...

I hope this is in the appropriate sub forum.

I cant seem to find the info Im looking for with the search function, but this may be down to my newbiness on the site, so any pointers on that are welcome.

I have been brewing standard 5gal extract kits for a few years now, but Im planning to scale up.

I am planning to buy a 300 liter stainless steel fermenter for extract brews.

My question is in relation to temperature control for a brew that size.

with a standard 5 gal kit I just put the fermenter on top of a 45 watt seedling heat matt in a cupboard and plug it into the inkbird heating output -

but that is obviously not going cut it with 240 liters of wort in a 300 l stainless vessel

so im wondering what would be the best heat source to use to maintain fermentation temps for a setup like that.

I live in a very cold house where ambient temps of the brewing area could potentially touch zero degrees C in winter at times -

and I want to have a go with Kveik so the challenge, and my objective, is to be able to maintain stable ferm temps in the range 20 -38 C - even if ambient temps are around freezing.

I could drop a few sanitized 500w aquarium heaters into the wort - but that is obviously to be avoided if at all possible.

some sort of heating plate would be ideal but I dont know if such a thing exists.

Id love to hear from members who have run those sorts of volumes and what they use for temp control

many thanks in advance!

Ozzy

Wow! This is certainly something uncommon. I don't think you're going to get too much first hand experience from people here on batches this large under those conditions, but hopefully someone has something!

Have you considered building an insulated chamber to house the fermenter? With near freezing ambient temperatures, you're going to be fighting to keep that much volume at warm kveik temperatures.

 

[doug293cz]

is it against the rules to post a link to the fermenter?

It's ok to post the link, as long as you are not associated with the vendor.

doug293cz
HBT Moderator

 

[Barbarossa]

Wait a minute. Are you going to brew an extract bathtub beer?

 

[OzzyPeeps]

I have an old boiler house shed that will be the ideal space for that, not much bigger than the FV, but its leaking badly and nasty and mouldy so not gonna happen this winter.

I will buy the vessel, wrap it in earthwool, test temp solutions with tap water and deal with standard ale yeast at 20c for this winters brew. ( zero c is worst case scenario, just planning for the worst)

I should get away with it - what could possibly go wrong???

I will update how I get on

this thread has me thinking a suitably modded 50 squid induction plate with a fan speed controller and an inkbird might be my ticket

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/induction-plate.683941/
I know its in relation to the boil not fermenting, but in principle it could still be my solution if tuned right given that the core issue is thermal mass. if i can automate the plate apply and cut heat it could work quite well. in theory. haha

 

[OzzyPeeps]

Hi mods. Im not associated with the vendor in any way. im just a cheapskate shmo.

this is what im looking at. I wont be offended if you need to delete it. glad to be part of the community and want top behave myself!

https://www.polsinelli.it/en/380-l-stainless-steel-beer-fermenter-P2473.htm

 

[Lalo_uy]

I recommend to wound up heating cable on the fermenter and then isolate it with 2cm foam all around.
That way the heat is keep inside the insulation.

This is an example wire:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/328...d0-0&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id":"10000015490376280"}

 

[doug293cz]

I recommend to wound up heating cable on the fermenter and then isolate it with 2cm foam all around.
That way the heat is keep inside the insulation.

This is an example wire:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/328...d0-0&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id":"10000015490376280"}

65°C is way too hot for fermentation. You would need a temp controller to keep from overheating if using this.

Brew on

 

[Lalo_uy]

Of course. You always need a temp controler to archive the desired fermentation temp.