Bottling temps

[arienjaynes21]

I have noticed that with a room temperature of about 70 degrees bottle temp is only 60 could this be a reason for slow carb? It's been almost two weeks I drank a bottle and it was hardly carbed, but I'm thinking of leaving for one more week and than trying before putting them in a cooler area, I'm having to run a heater to keep to room warm enough to have them at this temperature

 

[ncbrewer]

60 degrees would give you MUCH slower carbonation, but the bottles wouldn't stay at 60 in a 70 degree room, assuming the room is staying at 70. Are they in a closet that stays cooler? This video shows one way to keep the bottles warm: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUcWADuFhTg[/ame]
(I haven't tried this.)
I keep mine next to a heat register with a towel "tent" over both to keep them warmer. I had really slow carbonation when I left them in a closet on an exterior wall.

 

[arienjaynes21]

I have mine in cardboard boxes, in a room with a little box heater, I'm using a digital mastercraft thermometer items in the room are 68-70 degrees (table surface, wall, shelf thing I have, all right around 68-70) the bottles are only at 59-60 degrees in the cardboard box on the floor. Maybe I need a towel under them to insulate any cold coming from the floor? I follow Craig's channel on YouTube and have seen this but I am using clear bottles for this which is why I'm keeping them in the boxes also covered with a black garbage bag to block out any light, I didn't want to put lights in with the beer with clear bottles or I would be doing this, I'm just starting out bottling and do not have a collection of bottles yet which is why these are in clear, I'm going to collect swing top style bottles for easy capping eliminates the need for new caps all the time and a capper

 

[arienjaynes21]

I thought about doing the xmas light thing but put a towel over the bottles to block the light I have a bigger box I can put all the bottles in and have some room above to put a towel or something to block light and than the lights ontop of the towel maybe? How do you think that would work

 

[Brownalemikie]

I don't understand....how is it your bottles are 60 degrees in a 70 degree room? I keep my bottles at 70-71 for 3 weeks and they turn out great every time.

 

[arienjaynes21]

Like I said above I am using a mastercraft digital thermometer, the one with the laser. I take a temp off of the table surface or wall and it reads 68-70 depending on the time of day, I grab a bottle and it reads around 60 and I checked a few bottles to see if the temp varied between bottles and it does not, it could be due to having the boxes sit on just the floor, keeping them colder, it's a basement suite so the heat comes out of the ceiling maybe I just need to move the boxes up onto the table and off of the floor

 

[whovous]

I'd expect the floor to be the coldest thing in a basement room. Get the bottles off of the floor. It probably does not matter much how far.

 

[arienjaynes21]

I'd expect the floor to be the coldest thing in a basement room. Get the bottles off of the floor. It probably does not matter much how far.

Ok thanks I will put them up on the table and see if the temp comes up

 

[arienjaynes21]

Temps already up 3 degrees in a couple hours, is anyone taking readings from the temps of their bottles or is the 70-75 for bottling just room temperature?

 

[ncbrewer]

Temps already up 3 degrees in a couple hours, is anyone taking readings from the temps of their bottles or is the 70-75 for bottling just room temperature?

I don't read the temperature of the bottles, but mine are on the main floor of the house (with carpet) rather than on a basement floor.

 

[arienjaynes21]

They are only up to 63-64 degrees after 2 days of sitting up on the table now, room temp is 70-72 the last couple of days

 

[bruce_the_loon]

Like I said above I am using a mastercraft digital thermometer, the one with the laser. I take a temp off of the table surface or wall and it reads 68-70 depending on the time of day, I grab a bottle and it reads around 60 and I checked a few bottles to see if the temp varied between bottles and it does not, it could be due to having the boxes sit on just the floor, keeping them colder, it's a basement suite so the heat comes out of the ceiling maybe I just need to move the boxes up onto the table and off of the floor

Is it this one? http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/mastercraft-digital-temperature-reader-0574554p.html

IR thermometers like this have issues with shiny surfaces like glass or SS and have to be adjusted to accurately read temperatures from those surfaces. Somewhere in the manual there should be a section on emissivity and a list of emissivity values for various types of material. By default the setting would have been 0.95 for non-reflective materials like wood, skin etc and that would read glass incorrectly.

Some of the cheaper units have a fixed emissivity value of 0.95 which will cause low readings off reflective surfaces. If you can't adjust the emissivity value, then you can place a piece of matt tape, e.g masking tape, on the glass and take the reading off that spot to be accurate.

 

[wilserbrewer]

fill a bottle with water and take the temp after a day using a probe immersion thermometer. IR thermos have there uses, but I don't think this is a good one.

 

[arienjaynes21]

Why is this not a good use of one of these? I have it for use with my snake and that's what your recommended to use for a snake habitat inside a "shiny glass aquarium" to take temps from either side of the tank even the floor of the tank temp I have a stick on thermometer on the hot side of the tank and it reads exactly what the digital one reads so I don't see a problem with using it? I will have a look on google for a manual, I doubt I will have any luck finding the original one laying around but I will try to adjust it properly and see if this changes anything. My question is has anyone else read temps off of there bottles or do they just go off of room temp?

 

[arienjaynes21]

Although it makes lots of sense if the glass reflects it, you are takin the temp of what the reflection is hitting correct?

 

[arienjaynes21]

Please correct me if I'm wrong on anything thanks for all the replies

 

[whovous]

You need to do a test. Get an empty beer bottle. Fill it with water that you've left standing in the room for several hours. This is to minimize the fact that tap water is gonna be cold in the winter. Drop in a conventional thermometer to take the temp of the water. Now take an IR temp of the same bottle from the outside of the bottle. Do you get the same result? If not, then the reflection problem mentioned above is your likely culprit.

Or an easier test. Put some water in a non-shiny bowl. Point the IR thermometer directly at the water and take the temp. Now pour the same water into a beer bottle and take the temp through the glass. Different result? Same explanation as above. Doubt the result, or think the bottle has changed the water temp somehow? Pour the water back into the bowl and take the temp again. It will almost certainly be the same as when you poured it in.

 

[Brownalemikie]

If it were me and my bottles were up off the floor and the room temp is 70-72, I'd just trust that everything is fine. JMO

 

[kh54s10]

It seems pretty obvious that the IR thermometer is giving a false reading. There is no possible way that bottles kept in a 70 degree environment would be 64 degrees.

As said, put a bottle with water among the others then use a reliable probe thermometer to measure.

BTW, it often takes 3 weeks and sometimes longer to bottle condition at 70 degrees. It the temperature were truly lower it could take longer.
I sometimes get good carbonation at 2 weeks, but ALL of my beers have tasted better at 3 weeks or longer.

 

[arienjaynes21]

I will try the bowl test idea I don't own a probe thermometer so I will test that to see if the readings change

 

[arienjaynes21]

I got one degree of difference from reading a beer to reading the bowl of water after leaving it for a solid day

 

[bleme]

When you are bottle carbonating, pressure will build in the head space early, then gradually even out in the bottle. I will often drink a bottle at 1 week, and another at 2 just out of curiosity, and would often get a big hiss on opening, but have a poorly carbed beer. By 3 weeks, it is usually good.

 

[beermanpete]

The emissivity of the surface you measure with the infrared thermometer will effect accuracy. Try placing a spirit thermometer near the bottles to see what the air temperature is. The bottles and beer within have to be the same temperature s the air if they have been in that environment for more than a few minutes and the air temperature is stable.

 

[arienjaynes21]

When you are bottle carbonating, pressure will build in the head space early, then gradually even out in the bottle. I will often drink a bottle at 1 week, and another at 2 just out of curiosity, and would often get a big hiss on opening, but have a poorly carbed beer. By 3 weeks, it is usually good.

Sounds about right my first test bottle had a small Hiss no carbonation tested another a week later and alright carbonation so im thinking it should be good by three weeks I was just being to paranoid