At the moment I'm using a few 30W heat pads to heat both my fermenter and bottles while conditioning but I'm having a hard time with temperature control (it's winter here in NZ). I use a 30L fermenter and then bottle.
For the bottle conditioning, I was thinking of getting an indoor grow tent and then putting a light bulb or small heating element or something with a temperature controller so I can leave the bottles for 2 weeks to condition before moving them to storage.
My real question is:
For the fermenter temperature control, should I put it in a box with a heater or light bulb (wouldn't the light skunk the beer?) that has a controller measuring and controlling air temperature, or should I use a heat pad with a temperature sensor inside the actual wort itself in the fermenter? Keep in mind I live in NZ with 230V electricity so need something that suits.
For the bottle conditioning, I was thinking of getting an indoor grow tent and then putting a light bulb or small heating element or something with a temperature controller so I can leave the bottles for 2 weeks to condition before moving them to storage.
My real question is:
For the fermenter temperature control, should I put it in a box with a heater or light bulb (wouldn't the light skunk the beer?) that has a controller measuring and controlling air temperature, or should I use a heat pad with a temperature sensor inside the actual wort itself in the fermenter? Keep in mind I live in NZ with 230V electricity so need something that suits.