"Brewing Belt"??

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Meatball358

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I came across this "Brewing Belt" heat strap which plugs into the wall and wraps around your carboy/bucket. It says to keep a constant temp of 75 degrees Fahrenheit. From what ive read 75 degrees is too hot for fermentation. Has anyone used this product before? Does the fact that the belt is heating 5 gallons of liquid lower the temperature to an acceptable fermentation temperature? or is this product just a waste of time?


link:
Brewing Belt
 
That is for fermenting in your basement or garage (a.k.a. an unconditioned environment) in the winter where it gets cold. It's certainly not going to maintain a 75*F temp in the summer. In any case I agree that's a bit on the hot side. I'd rather have my fermenter at 65.

I have never used a "brewing belt" per se, but would think you could also use it when you are trying to get from say room temperature up to the correct temperature ranges for brewing Saisons. I use a regular heating pad for that purpose, but I assume it's basically the same thing.
 
Oh, sorry. I thought this thread was for guys that have beer guts and need bigger belts. I'll move along...
 
Many people will use a brew belt with a digital or analog temperature controller. That way they can set the temperature that they want the brew belt to keep. I really don't see a need for one unless you ferment in a relativey cool area like a garage. 75 degrees is a little warm for fermentation but some belgian beers need ~80F for the esters to start being produced at the level desired.
 
I use one in the winter (unheated basement). By sliding the belt up or down the bucket, you can control the temp, somewhat. Lower on the bucket, higher temp. It has been handy, Do Not use it on glass.
 
And here I was thinking that there was a stretch of America where everyone who brewed lived... sorta like the Bible Belt or the Rust Belt...

*sigh* I'll get me coat.
 
a stretch of America where everyone who brewed lived

That's the Pacific North West. I do wonder where the highest concentration of homebrewers would be in the US. Would be in areas with more craft brewing or less?
 
I thought the thread would be about a brewing utility belt. Like a bat belt, but with hops, timer and hydrometer at the ready! :tank:

BoB

To the OP, another member once suggested a drugstore heating pad. They run <$20. If you wanted to get fancy you could use a timer, or a thermostat on the plug side.
 
And here I was thinking that there was a stretch of America where everyone who brewed lived... sorta like the Bible Belt or the Rust Belt....

To be honest for once, I thought the same thing and want to know where I needed to move to.
 
They make something similar for those of you with glass carboys.

Heating blanket with a controller?
Of course I think I will have to wait till Gore comes out with "Global cooling" We need to save the parrots movie to have to deal with that.
 
My basement in Edmonton is too cold in the winter. Like said previously setting the belt higher keeps beer at a cooler temp with belt up this high my temp is staying 18/19C it's worked for me for years I bought it around 2004. I don't need it June to Sept here and use it the rest of the year.
 

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I recommend you use this (or a fermwrap) with a temperature controller and sensor in an area that is cooler than your target temperature. You can get an InkBird temperature controller for $25-$30 that includes a sensor. Tape the sensor to the side of the bucket or carboy with some insulation. The controller and heat source will keep your beer at the target temperature as long as the ambient air is cooler than the target.
 
Definitely, dual hole stopper with thermowell, inkbird controller, and something more flat like a seed heating mat are what I use.

Anyone with something that works should keep using what works. But if anyone's looking for new, that's one idea at least.

Also we are replying to an 11 year old thread, FYI. But I suppose keeping fermentation temps up is still very much an important thing.
 
I use something similar--it's reptile tape which is meant to heat reptile tanks. It looks a lot like fermwrap but a lot cheaper. It will heat up a full bucket about 10-15f but I can get a small glass carboy up to 120F if I need to (for lactic fermentations). I also use it attached to a temperature controller and inside the small fridge I use for fermentation (but not running, of course). Inside the small fridge I can get a full bucket 20-30f above ambient because I'm not losing heat to the ambient environment. (I use this to ferment saisons warm in my much cooler basement.)

I'd be a little less keen on a single strip of heat but I'm sure they work fine.
 
I thought this thread meant that folks got a different belt for every level of brewing that they achieved, like in martial arts. A white belt for a pale ale, a brown belt for a brown ale, a black belt for an extra stout. What a let down!
 
Since this an eleven year old thread going in multiple directions anyways I’ll take it on another twist. I’ve just invested in a Penguin chiller that will provide cooling to a Jacketed Fermenter (think Brewers Hardware). I’m wondering how I can raise the temp a few degrees near the end of fermentation for diacetyl rest. Obviously I can increase the Inkbird set temp which will shutdown cooling cycle. But how do I heat? The inkbird does have a heating outlet so I guess I could wrap fermenter but I’m wondering if by heating the vessel exterior wall / glycol / insulation trying to heat wort beyond the interior wall if this will result in temp overshoot on the wort. I bought the jacketed fermenter used and alas the previous owner didn’t do many lagers / didn’t worry about diacetyl rest. Anybody doing this that has a solution?
 
If there's no way to apply the heat directly because of the glycol jacket, you could increase the temperature in the room where the fermenter is to the target temperature for the diacetyl rest. One way to do this would be to plug a space heater into the heating output of the InkBird controller and put it near the fermenter, and maybe cover it with a blanket.
 
I thought this thread meant that folks got a different belt for every level of brewing that they achieved, like in martial arts. A white belt for a pale ale, a brown belt for a brown ale, a black belt for an extra stout. What a let down!

Nobody's stopping you
 
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