A couple questions about heating a fermentation chamber

[Veedo]

True. I just hate Radioshack and can't think of anything else I would ever use it on.

Haha, yea I was thinking the same thing!

 

[collinsDPT]

I am pretty much debating on:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XDTWN2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10841743 (for free)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hydrofarm-S...648?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac51dba20

Thoughts? I'd rather not do the paint can bulb.

 

[Veedo]

Is the ferm chamber going in a cold garage for the winter? I'm thinking the ceramic heater is way overkill if not. I didn't build a can, I just found an old short lamp housing, stuck a 15 watt cfl in there and called it a day.

 

[collinsDPT]

The freezer I am putting it in will be in a garage year-round. The keg fridge will be in the basement. I plan on getting something for both setups. Do you have any pics of your setup?

 

[Veedo]

I can take some when I get home, but its nothing fancy. Just the stc1000 hard wired on the outside of the freezer, lamp hard wired to stc1000, and 2 unmounted 120mm computer fans wired to an old 12 volt adapter. I tape my sensor to the side of my fermenter.

 

[thehopbandit]

The freezer I am putting it in will be in a garage year-round. The keg fridge will be in the basement. I plan on getting something for both setups. Do you have any pics of your setup?

It sounds like you are already planning on it, but I recently did the STC-1000 build and I highly recommend you wire it with a power outlet on the front so that you can just plug into that. That way, if you decide to change heating or cooling methods down the line, you just simply unplug instead of rewiring the hardwire.

As for the fermentation heater, I am getting the feeling that using a ceramic heater is way overkill, especially if you have a small fermentation chamber. I have a small space, and I think of it this way:

If I have the temp probe insulated against the carboy/bucket, I'm measuring the temp of the wort (or close to it). The 5 gallon liquid mass takes a long longer to heat up than air. So, using the ceramic heater example...Let's say you want your wort at 65. Maybe the heater kicks on at 63. Let's say it's going to take (a hypothetical) 30 minutes for that wort to rise to 65. That heater will be on the whole time. It's going to heat the air up inside that space like crazy before it kicks of due to the small space and the difference in heating time. It seems to me the air would be damn hot in there, which could probably even approach damaging temps.

Obviously, if you are closer to your temp range to begin with, it probably won't be a problem. But I think, from what I gathered, is you want a slow, steady heating source (like a pad or light bulb) so that the differential isn't too crazy.

 

[collinsDPT]

It sounds like you are already planning on it, but I recently did the STC-1000 build and I highly recommend you wire it with a power outlet on the front so that you can just plug into that. That way, if you decide to change heating or cooling methods down the line, you just simply unplug instead of rewiring the hardwire.

As for the fermentation heater, I am getting the feeling that using a ceramic heater is way overkill, especially if you have a small fermentation chamber. I have a small space, and I think of it this way:

If I have the temp probe insulated against the carboy/bucket, I'm measuring the temp of the wort (or close to it). The 5 gallon liquid mass takes a long longer to heat up than air. So, using the ceramic heater example...Let's say you want your wort at 65. Maybe the heater kicks on at 63. Let's say it's going to take (a hypothetical) 30 minutes for that wort to rise to 65. That heater will be on the whole time. It's going to heat the air up inside that space like crazy before it kicks of due to the small space and the difference in heating time. It seems to me the air would be damn hot in there, which could probably even approach damaging temps.

Obviously, if you are closer to your temp range to begin with, it probably won't be a problem. But I think, from what I gathered, is you want a slow, steady heating source (like a pad or light bulb) so that the differential isn't too crazy.

Great point. Thanks!

 

[DrunkleJon]

Is the ferm chamber going in a cold garage for the winter? I'm thinking the ceramic heater is way overkill if not. I didn't build a can, I just found an old short lamp housing, stuck a 15 watt cfl in there and called it a day.

I would be careful with the CFL's. Fluorescent bulbs generate UV light (far more than an incandescent does) and usually plenty less heat. Do you notice any skunking?

Additionally. I am one of those that uses the incandescent in a can in a chest freezer to great effect. I have my ferm chamber in the garage, and after a few batches have no growth in there at all. I did put one of the eva-dry plug in units in though because here in the DC area we have really humid summers.

 

[SpeedYellow]

Thehopbandit nailed it. If you insulate your temp probe to the fermenter (or use a thermowell) and use a space heater or blow dryer, you are seriously risking a catastrophe. Or what if the thermostat fails or gets mis-adjusted? The simple rule here is: ONLY use a heater that you could safely run continuously in your enclosed space. And that means low power.

 

[Veedo]

I would be careful with the CFL's. Fluorescent bulbs generate UV light (far more than an incandescent does) and usually plenty less heat. Do you notice any skunking?

Additionally. I am one of those that uses the incandescent in a can in a chest freezer to great effect. I have my ferm chamber in the garage, and after a few batches have no growth in there at all. I did put one of the eva-dry plug in units in though because here in the DC area we have really humid summers.

I ferment in a keg now so that's a non issue for me, but prior to that I used buckets with no issues. Carboy might be a problem. Agree on using a low power heat source. Slow and steady wins the race, I have my stc set to .5 degree differential, seems to work perfect.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Did you really get much heat from the CFL? I seem to remember the fluorescent bulbs themselves do not create much heat (part of their energy conserving properties) and that if anything the transformer would be the only thing to make any heat.

 

[Veedo]

Did you really get much heat from the CFL? I seem to remember the fluorescent bulbs themselves do not create much heat (part of their energy conserving properties) and that if anything the transformer would be the only thing to make any heat.

Yup. But my basement doesn't dip below is 60f ambient and I'm only bringing fermenter temp to a max of 70f after fermentation. It does that no problem and still cycles the bulb off and on. I don't really pay attention to how often. Freezer is 7cf

 

[scotprice]

I tried to avoid having lightbulbs, and fans in mine so I use a waterproof seed heat pad like this.

 

[gavball6]

For those of you using the light bulb in a paint can, how many degrees over ambient is this capable of heating? I am going to build a fermentation chamber in my detached garage, which could drop near freezing in the winter. My chamber is going to be a little less than 9 cubic feet of space.