Cooling Question.

Is there an effective way to cool your carboy without creating massive amounts of humidity? The method of choice seems to have be a bucket with water and a box fan blowing on it. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

 

Get a bunch of plastic soda bottles, fill them with water and stick them in the freezer.

I'll let you figure the rest out.

 

invest in a fridge/freezer with ranco controller, best money i ever spent.

 

While it may not be practical for everybody (the expense, or the space required) I'll agree that a chest freezer and controller is a wonderful addition. It's so nice not having to worry about temperature. At all!

 

If your speaking of bring humidity into the room and not just around your carboy/bucket (which I am not sure why that would be a concern) you can go to the hardware store and buy foam sheets, I like the type that go behind paneling, and a hot glue gun or tube of silicon and build yourself a cooler. You then can freeze partly filled water/pop plastic bottles, or buy re-freezable polar packs (those blue blocks) and just throw them in it.

Personally, I just did my first brew and just wet down a towel about ever 8-10 hours and leave on the ceiling fan. Since fermentation has slowed the temperature is down to around 63 degrees. I might also add keep lights off as much as possible, as well as your computer if it's in the room with your beer (your beer should not be exposed to light anyway. There are all different methods off this, some as simple as a brown paper bag with a whole cut to slid over your airlock). The reason I say turn off the lights and computer is because I never realized how much heat the lights and computer threw off until I brewed this batch and started keeping track of the temperatures in the room.

My towel is just now starting to smell a little sour (Since Saturday), so I am going to mix up a bucket of bleach water and dunk in that next time around.

Bill

 

Check Creig's list for those; I see freezers listed as "free come and get them" all the time around here.