Keeping a steady fermentation temp

Hello all!

I'm new to the hobby and I am planning my first brew. I've picked out my brew kit, my ingredient kit, and I've read (and still reading) as much as I can. I know I'm going to start with a very easy, extract kit. I know I want to first learn the rules so I can break them later. I know I want to start with something easy.

Through all this information gathered, I'm still a little foggy on one part and I'd like to clear it up before I take the plunge and start buying stuff.

HERE'S MY QUESTION (for those who want to skip my ramblings!):

What is the most cost effective way to keep fermentation at a stable level?

I live in Georgia and I plan to start my brew soon (within a month). So outside temps will be at the lowest at night of 30˚ and the absolute highest of 70˚. We set the inside temp to 68-70˚ but turn it off at night.

So here's what I'm thinking for my first brew. I'll get a relatively large container, large enough to fit an ale pail, fill it with water, submerse my ale pail, insert an ample aquarium heater (which I already have. Aquaria is one of my hobbies) and pump, set it to 69˚ and circulate the water to ensure even temps throughout the ale pail bath. I'm planning on keeping this in my garage where temp aren't quite inside or outside, this way the environment temp isn't too high, ensuring the bath will never rise above 70˚.

Am I way off here, or should this work?

Now, for the scenarios.

Winter:

During winter, what do you guys find is the best cost effective manor in keep fermentation at the desired temp? Most of the time we will have the heat off and have a fire going. I've seen our living room temp rise to 80˚ before while the rest of the house has no heat at all (still probably in the 60s though).

Summer:

Summers here are flat-out miserable. We set our inside temp to 78˚ while outside it remains a constant 75˚+. Is this the point I will need to get a mini fridge and external temp control? Or start using frozen bottles of ice?

Here's a summary:

1. Will my water bath + aquarium heater suffice for my first brew?
2. How do you maintain constant temps during Winter when the house temps can fluctuate?
3. How do you maintain 68-70˚ temps duing summer when inside temps are 78˚?
4. Does anyone have any homebew that they want to send me? I've actually never had any before!

Thanks in advance! I really appreciate the amount of information I've obtained here and I really enjoy the crowd! Thank for letting me be a part of this great experience!

And BTW, I don't know what to search for or this post wouldn't exist.

 

1. yes
2. see #1
3. use frozen bottles of water, and if you want more efficient cooling recirculate with your pump.
4. The sooner you brew the sooner you'll get to experience the sweet nectar of the gods!

 

I should add in that I have a full size fridge (+ freezer) that I hung on to after upgrading my kitchen appliances this summer. I just use it to store beer, so it's not really used at this point. Is there a cheap way to regulate the temp on this?

 

+1 on this. That's the way.

 

Know of a cheap thermometer that has a probe that I can stick into the water to monitor the temp of the bath during the summer months when I'll be using frozen bottles?

 

I don't know what you mean by "cheap", but a good temp controller unit can be had for about $70. Best investment you can make in your beer.

 

Honestly, I don't think you really need the frozen bottles. I live in Arizona, and my house is kept at 77*. I have short tubs that I put water in, wrap the buckets/carboys in towels and dip them in the water. I dip the towels before and after work (or keep a gallon of water around and just pour it over the towel). I keep my ceiling fan on high in the room where I ferment, and I can keep these at ~67* consistently.

Evaporation is the key to this method.. however, if your house is really humid, then this may not work out as well for you. A

 

If you have an unused fridge, then that would absolutely be the best fermentation chamber, with a good controller such as a Ranco, or Love you will be set to ferment in any weather. You may have to rig a heating source depending on where you keep it, and how cold it gets in the winter months, but a heating source could be something as simple as a light bulb,a reptile heater or a small space heater.

Jeebus what do you pay in electricity to keep your home at 77° in the summer!?! Do you have a super-duper A/C system? It gets hot here in Tucson, and I keep my home at 78°, and I pay a hefty electric bill in the summer months. PHX is practically hell in the summer.

 

Offtopic: Um.. yeah, its not cheap in the summer... I do the flat rate power bill thing so I pay the same amount year round. Comes out to ~250/mth I think. When I was not on that, I did hit 400 in the summer months.

 

Thanks for all the info! I think I'll start out with the water bath/aquarium heater combo first, and once spring rolls around, I'll go ahead and get a temp controller for the fridge.

 

I have recently stated using a "son of fermentation chiller" in Florida which has most of the same issues you do in GA. Ultimately a cheap fridge and a temp controller would be not much more but my indoor temps are more steady (and always higher than ferm) so I just need to cool rather than heat. It seems to work well enough and didn't cost me much because I had a t-stat lying around already...

 

Not sure about your neck of the woods but up here in SE PA basements are common. Do you have access to an underground room, spring house, that sort of thing? Temps tend to stay nice and steady under ground.

 

Hoppus - Very, very few basements in the south. Ground water is too high. Flooding becomes problematic.


Welcome to HBT, dpittard!