So, first batch is in the climate controlled fermentation chamber now, and it is as happy as can be, bubbling away out in the garage. Living on California's Central Coast it can get quite cool overnight here in the winters. Nothing like my old midwest days, but we do see temps in the mid-30's. No worries for my beer in fermenters as my chamber has both heat and cool, so I'm all set, but now I'm thinking about bottling...
I know I want to keep them as close to 70-75 degrees for 2-3 weeks after bottling, but there is nowhere, either in the house or in the garage, that stays that temperature during winter. I really didn't want to have to setup another fermentation chamber, so I started looking at other alternatives.
Paint can heaters, space heaters, light bulbs in boxes, and all of that sort of stuff left unattended sound just a little bit on the dangerous side, so then I got to thinking about aquarium heaters. I'm going to be storing my bottles in big Rubbermaid bins anyway, so I thought why not just fill it up about half way with water and toss in an aquarium heater set to 70 degrees?
I was thinking something like this for the heater and then something like this to keep the water moving to avoid any hot/cold spots. It almost seems to good to be true...
- Water is a better conductor/insulator than plain old air, so should be simple to keep the bottles at temp
- Water should help add more protection against shrapnel should a bottle turn into a bomb
- At $27 for the pair you've got great bottle conditioning temp control for less than anything else I could put together (some sort of heater attached to some sort of temp control)
- You can easily mount the aquarium heater to the Rubbermaid tote by drilling a couple of small holes and using zip ties
Am I missing something? Has anyone tried this before?
I know I want to keep them as close to 70-75 degrees for 2-3 weeks after bottling, but there is nowhere, either in the house or in the garage, that stays that temperature during winter. I really didn't want to have to setup another fermentation chamber, so I started looking at other alternatives.
Paint can heaters, space heaters, light bulbs in boxes, and all of that sort of stuff left unattended sound just a little bit on the dangerous side, so then I got to thinking about aquarium heaters. I'm going to be storing my bottles in big Rubbermaid bins anyway, so I thought why not just fill it up about half way with water and toss in an aquarium heater set to 70 degrees?
I was thinking something like this for the heater and then something like this to keep the water moving to avoid any hot/cold spots. It almost seems to good to be true...
- Water is a better conductor/insulator than plain old air, so should be simple to keep the bottles at temp
- Water should help add more protection against shrapnel should a bottle turn into a bomb
- At $27 for the pair you've got great bottle conditioning temp control for less than anything else I could put together (some sort of heater attached to some sort of temp control)
- You can easily mount the aquarium heater to the Rubbermaid tote by drilling a couple of small holes and using zip ties
Am I missing something? Has anyone tried this before?
Last edited by a moderator: