EdWort
Well-Known Member
How do folks who use a chest freezer in the garage to ferment beer keep the the temp up on cold nights?
Beerthoven said:I use a 25w incandescent bulb (not a compact fluorescent). It works reasonably well.
I'm going to upgrade to one of these next winter.
Beerthoven said:I use a 25w incandescent bulb (not a compact fluorescent). It works reasonably well.
Brewiz said:Here's what I have ,got home yesterday and the outside temp never got over 30 and it's in my uninsulated shed, it keeps it nice and toasty at 65:
rabidgerbil said:I about choked on my breakfast I laughed so hard.
I can just see it... guy puts in the CF bulb, comes back the next day,
beer is half frozen... "stupid idiots on that forum don't know what they are talking about"
EdWort said:The incandescent was banned by our enlightened congress last year. We have only two years to stock up.
EdWort said:I'm going to give the 25 watt bulb a try. I would like to use the heating mat, but I will need to upgrade to a two stage ranco controller then.
I have a one similar to a ranco that I switch over for heat in the winter and cool in the summer. I want to get a 2 stage....EdWort said:Nice. Do you use the two stage Ranco Controller?
bluelou6 said:Stupid question, but for you guys that use the light bulbs, do you leave the freezer plugged in or not?
Beerthoven said:Yes, the freezer stays plugged in (connected to the controller).
bluelou6 said:So the light bulb stays on full time?
Bobby_M said:You can use any heatsource really.
Heat rock for reptiles.
Fishtank heater in tub of water.
Hairdryer (not in water hehe).
lightbulb shielded from clear fermenters.
brewbelt
heating pad
electric blanket
The subject of whether or not you need a two stage controller (both heating and cooling without manual intervention) hinges on whether or not you think the ambient temp will swing to both sides of the setpoint for the duration of the ferment. If ambient is always below your setpoint, you just need to heat. If it's always above, just chill.
If it's really close...that's tricky. Let's say your ambient (say 69F) is mostly above setpoint (say 67F) but you know it might dip lower by a few degrees overnight. You could decide to leave a very low wattage bulb on all the time and just let the freezer knock it down on cooling cycle when necessary. It's a little wasteful but it works in a pinch if you have a single stage.
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