Brew belt or heat pad?
- Thread starter brauscjm
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william_shakes_beer
Well-Known Member
I use a brew belt connected to a temp contrioller. Honestly, if you have a well insulated ferm chamber, it doesn't really matter. You're heating the chamber as much as the fermenter. I had first tried a small ceramic heater. Didn't work because it had a "emergency power off" feature to keep people from using it continuously. After a certain amount of time the heater automatically turns itself off and will not restart until you push the button. I have also read about people using a 60 watt light bulb.
I think a heating pad has more output (40W perhaps?) than a belt (20W). I wrap a heating pad around the fermentor when doing Saisons or Lacto cultures. Can get it to about 100-120°F under a blanket or a few layers of bubble wrap.
With a heating pad, make sure it doesn't have an auto shut off. Something like this.
They don't last forever anymore like the ones your grandma had. Something will break, like the cord connection inside the pad. But if you're handy they're usually fixable with some soldering or crimping.
With a heating pad, make sure it doesn't have an auto shut off. Something like this.
They don't last forever anymore like the ones your grandma had. Something will break, like the cord connection inside the pad. But if you're handy they're usually fixable with some soldering or crimping.
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brauscjm
Well-Known Member
Don't have a fermentation chamber so its sitting in the warmest room on the floor. Was just thinking I could get a belt for half the price, then wrap a blanket around it if I had to to bring the temp up easier
Beernik
Well-Known Member
I use a brewbelt to heat my ferm chamber, a full sized upright freezer in a detached garage.
I use heat tape (http://www.reptilebasics.com/12-heat-tape, a couple blankets, STC1000 and a cold garage in the winter. This way i can use my fermentation chamber for ramps and the garage for simple temp profiles. It has tripled my brewing capacity. The heat tape is durable and inexpensive and i like that i can cut it to size so it almost completely surrounds the fermentation vessel.
dyqik
Well-Known Member
I use this 17W 9"x19" seed heating mat held to the fermentor with bungee cords. It gets an ale pail up to 68-70F in a 55F basement even after fermentation finishes. I have it on an STC-1000 as I do most ales in the 64-68F range. It's also waterproof, which is useful in case of explosive krausen.
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brauscjm
Well-Known Member
Didnt even think of a seed mat, plus i could get my wife on board because she does a lot of organic gardening and starts everything from seed. 2-for-1 purchase there
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dyqik
Well-Known Member
That worked for me. As long as I don't brew ales in mid-Feb, anyway.
WI_Wino
Well-Known Member
I use brew belts controlled by stc 1000 temp controllers. I wrap a moving blanket around the carboy or bucket for insulation. I have no problem maintaining ale temps in my basement when ambient temps drop to low 50s.
How about using a tub of water with your fermenter set in it and an aquarium heater. You might still need to control it with something like an STC 1000 as the control on the aquarium heater may not go as low as you want.
Put my primary in a big storage tub of water and put a $10 aquarium heater in there - they have thermostats on them. I use my aquarium pump from my aeration system to put a hose in the water to help it circulate, thus keep the water at an even temp.
