Warming Fermenting Fridge in Cool Weather?

[Clint Yeastwood]

Never thought I'd have this problem in Florida, but: how do people prevent temperatures in fermenting fridges from getting too low?

This winter has been great. Lots of cool weather.

I have Inkbirds on my fridges. They have sockets for cooling and heating. Reading the China-translated manual is difficult, but it looks like it's possible to have both heating and cooling devices on the same Inkbird.

 

[McMullan]

Yes, either 'heating' or 'cooling' is on at any one time, not both. Whatever gets plugged in. A small heat cable works great as a heat source this time of year.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Thanks for confirming that. Now to find a cable.

 

[whoaru99]

I've used something simple as a light bulb in a can for heating in a ferm chamber/fridge.

Now I have a small electric heater with fan in it. 250W, I believe. Plenty big.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I have a heating pad lying around upstairs.

 

[MaxStout]

The ceramic infrared terrarium heaters that screw into a light bulb socket work well. I have a 7 cu ft freezer out in the garage and a 50w heater maintains temp in MN winters.

 

[day_trippr]

I have these fan-blown 40W reptile bulb heaters in both of my fermentation fridges...

These are in 17 and 20 cf fridges and are more than enough to keep the chamber temps in the zone...

Cheers!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

The heating pad looks like it's doing the trick. Hopefully the yeast will get excited now.

 

[DuncB]

A few pet bottles with hot water in will work as well.

 

[phbern]

Inkbird makes a warming mat for seedlings. I use a bungee cord to wrap the mat around the carboy (plastic one)

 

[Want2Brew]

Just about any thing that plugs in and makes a small amount heat will work. A coffee cup heat does the trick here.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

Google heating a fermenter. Tons of stuff available on line specifically for this.

 

[PashMaddle]

I use a fermwrap either taped to my FV with the probe in the thermowell of said FV or (for conditioning purposes) i tape the fermwrap heater to the inside of my FC (a small deep freezer in my garage) it's been in the single digits here and this configuration has held up.

Also, this cold weather has absolutely not been "great". Everything in Mississippi shuts down when the roads ice over, which is probably good because 90% of these yahoos don't know how to drive on ice and the other 10% just stay home....and there's still nothing in the grocery stores...

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

There are several keys to driving well on ice. First, make sure you don't adjust your speed downward. If anything, go twice as fast to show you're not intimidated. Second, brake as abruptly as possible, especially when there are cars directly in front of you. It also helps to have the wrong tires. And it's good to spin tires when starting from a dead stop or on hills. Finally, when you start to slide, accelerate out of it or hit the brakes with both feet.

It's 32 here. Wonderful! I think my habanero bush may be dead, though.

 

[PashMaddle]

There are several keys to driving well on ice. First, make sure you don't adjust your speed downward. If anything, go twice as fast to show you're not intimidated. Second, brake as abruptly as possible, especially when there are cars directly in front of you. It also helps to have the wrong tires. And it's good to spin tires when starting from a dead stop or on hills. Finally, when you start to slide, accelerate out of it or hit the brakes with both feet.

It's 32 here. Wonderful! I think my habanero bush may be dead, though.

It appears that the ice driving education curriculum in FL is almost identical to that of MS.
It's a whopping 17 degrees here, at least it isn't raining...again.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

We don't get ice where I am. I have lived farther north, however.

People where I live drive very well. When I lived in Miami, though, it was like Dave Barry said. Everyone obeyed the traffic laws of the countries they came from.

 

[PashMaddle]

We don't get ice where I am. I have lived farther north, however.

People where I live drive very well. When I lived in Miami, though, it was like Dave Barry said. Everyone obeyed the traffic laws of the countries they came from.

I grew up (arguably) on the Gulf Coast (pretty much all points between NOLA and Pensacola). I only remember maybe twice in my almost 20 years of living down there, seeing snow and I was too young to drive so It was just fun for me. Everyone around here (North MS) seems to think that 4wd is the answer to any and everything....weird how that's what I see the most of stuck in the ditch when the roads get slick. And this is Mississippi, the traffic laws are viewed as merely suggestions here.

 

[DuncB]

It's 32 here. Wonderful! I think my habanero bush may be dead, though.

Got to 26 here today and my Chilli is flowering nicely.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

That gives me hope.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

The pressure in the fermenter is up today, so it looks like chilling the wort to 53 didn't do lasting harm. Also, I don't smell bananas in the CO2 when I release it, so maybe the lower temperature is working as desired.

 

[DuncB]

That gives me hope.

I'm of course working in Centigrade, I'd call chilling my wort to 53 very hot.