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So, I bought a bunch of Thermo Electric Cooling diodes and as a quick experiment, I put together the pictured cooler/fermenter. It's just salvaged computer PS, fan and cooling plate sandwiching the TEC to an angle of aluminum. The aluminum bends into the cooler and submerges about 1cm into...

Good points. I'll watch for those variables and continue to consider others.

Agreed, but a temperature probe outside the cooler should be able to track the temperature difference. I suspect temperature difference will be the deciding factor (ie it takes x amount of energy to keep the inside at 30 degrees in a 60 degree room and x amount of energy for 60 in a 90 degree...

I really should put my money where my mouth is before posting. Especially when I want to try something a lot of people have tried, but it never caught on. But, if anyone reads this and wants to run with my ideas, you'll probably outpace my trying to find time for the project. I want to use...

Do I see that you ferment in a cooler? I had that thought and searched forums once on it, but didn't come up with anything. Thoughts, if so?

That does help with my generally feeling about the equations, and yes, I'm digging too deep for the problem at hand. It's also going towards other heat exchanger ideas/questions I have. Thanks for the edu-mah-cation! BTW, this one has a 10-100% flow versus 0-10V input voltage curve...

I didn't think you were being a decibel at all. :tank: That website does help...and raise a whole bunch more questions for some other time. What I was asking is if you change your flow rate by operating the discussed valve, what will the actual change be in temperature out of the cooler...

@BigBlock - yes, if you can model the switch than stability calculations can be done. (Not by me, but yes... :o ) I agree with all that you just have to get one and see. Anyone have any input on how big (and linear or otherwise) the contribution of flow rate in a heat exchanger is?

I agree w/ Matt and BigBlock. The PID loop will take care of the control based on the temperature error. The feedback does look to only indicate limits, but that could do wonders to limit power draw in the PID loop when full open or closed just isn't enough. Getting the right coefficients...

Ok. I see everyone's point. Shaving the steep and extract addition corners would save about the same time. I was just trying to follow the instructions. Thanks!

It's really not that complex. Maybe explaining it seems more so, but I'm not really adding much work. It's just another pan and burner. Only additional steps are separating the volume of water into two pans and pouring them together at some point. Saving time is my primary goal, and it does...

I don't have any complaints, but I'm new enough and not honed in enough to be a reliable source. Haven't tasted but one batch also. Ask me tomorrow ;) I'm also still changing too many variables.

I love this idea. Who wants to take it one step further? You could cook two different recipes with a common hop tea and maybe combination of extracts, but different character hops and steeping grains. Or, you could make 5 different 1 gal batches with slight variations in ingredients in order...

Sorry, trying to stay succinct. Pot 1 is 2.5 gal and is warmed to 150-170 for stepping grains with about 1 gal water per lb of grain. At the same time, pot 2 is a full brew kettle and has the balance of a 5 gal batch worth of water (plus some extra for boil off.) Pot 2 is brought to a...

I need to go double check my source, but I thought I read John Palmer say to steep your grains in no more water than a 1gal to 1lb grains ratio*. In the interest of saving time** I decided to steep the grains in some of the water while boiling extract and hops in another. I'd then bring the...

I used boomchugalug (aka. Jasper's) Oatmeal Stout extract kit and couldn't tell the difference between it and Samuel Smith's in a taste test. That was force carbonated w/ a Tap-A-Draft. The dextrose primed bottled versions weren't as good. PS. Love the Jasper's bottle labels. Shameless...

Sanguine advice. Ok. Thanks!

@Weezy - ok, I'm gathering cliff notes version is hop tea can be very effective and efficient, but don't destroy your alpha acids by cooking too long.

Afraid I don't know the proper method in this forum to quote from one of the articles, but https://www.homebrewtalk.com/bittering-hops-in-15-minutes.html indicates wort lowers the pH, which reduces your alpha-acid utilization. That makes perfect sense. It's easier to get more acid into a...

So Weezy has done what I'm going to ask. Steven Deeds' 15 minute brewing perfects the hop tea method. Why do we add any LME or DME at the beginning? Is anyone adding all extract near the end?