What ambient temp do you use?

After recently breaking my glass carboy I bought a bucket. However I used to use athletes tape and some padding to attach my stc-1000 probe onto the fermenter wall so I can control my freezer accordingly. But with the bucket, I feel its not going to be accurate. Am I wrong?



So I was wondering what everyone uses for ambient temps in their chambers, style specific or not.



Alternatively, has anyone come up with a good way to add the probe inside so its as accurate as possible?

 

I use styrofoam bungeed to my bucket and go for the low end of the yeast spectrum. My tolerance is set to half a degree celcius

 

I know golddiggie uses a tjermowell for his cornies. You could install a bung in the lid and put the well in there

 

I did some searching on the thermowells just now and it seems a lot of people have trouble with the freezer making the beer too cold. In fact I found a lot of people like the insulated tape the probe on the side method. Maybe I'm just looking for an issue where there is none.

 

Yeah, I've been using the insulated-taped-to-the-side method for a while now with no ill effects. Just stick to the lower range of fermentation temps for the yeast you're using and you'll be fine. I turn beers around in 10 days grain to glass sometimes and have no off flavors.

 

I keep the probe in a 1/2 gallon of Star-San in the furthest corner from the cooling plate.

I have a .5 degree spread and 10 min cycle break.

It stays 62 for US-05 or Notty. I have had excellent results.

Any thoughts on my set up?

 

You have to keep in mind with that setup that active fermentation generates heat in the wort. The temp in the starsan solution won't accurately reflect the temp in the fermenter, sometimes by as much as 5-8 degrees. The tape on the side of the bucket works well for me. I have an LCD style thermometer on the side of the bucket and i randomly sample batches of beer to verify temp directly and the temps have always been pretty close.

 

I usually rotate back and forth between taping the probe on and using the 1/2 gallon jug which has the probe. I usually kept it at 62 also and have had good results. But I still would like to be more precise, so I've gone back to sticking it on the side.

 

I tape my probe to the side of my Carboy. I have the temp set for 66 degrees. It stays right there. I also have a regular thermometer in the freezer which reads the ambient air temperature which is 60 degrees. This leads me to believe that the temperature of the fermenting wort is approx 6 degrees hotter (?).
Slainte