Carboy heater (DIY? Maybe?)

[blasterooni]

I purchased some voss kveik for a future cider brew, and being quite new to brewing, I am looking for the right kind of carboy heater so that I can get the temperature up to 90 degrees or so given this is the recommended temperature for this yeast. I see heaters that wrap around the carboy and apparently heat 5-20 degrees above room temperature, but these don't seem to be the right kind. Are there other ways of going about heating a carboy? What is your method?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Heater:
https://www.morebeer.com/products/fermwrap-heater.html

Controller:
https://www.morebeer.com/products/inkbird-digital-temperature-controller.html

I also use a roll of reflectix around and above the carboy so the heater doesn't need to cycle very often.

 

[blasterooni]

Heater:
https://www.morebeer.com/products/fermwrap-heater.html

Controller:
https://www.morebeer.com/products/inkbird-digital-temperature-controller.html

I also use a roll of reflectix around and above the carboy so the heater doesn't need to cycle very often.

Thanks man, I will take a look. I have some ideas rolling around my brain too. Btw, when the temp is supposed to be 90 degrees, does that mean the ambient temperature, or the actual temperature of the brew?

 

[blasterooni]

Heater:
https://www.morebeer.com/products/fermwrap-heater.html

Controller:
https://www.morebeer.com/products/inkbird-digital-temperature-controller.html

I also use a roll of reflectix around and above the carboy so the heater doesn't need to cycle very often.

Looks like it will reach the mid 90's so this thing should work fine. I am going to get a mini fridge to put the carboy in, and to help keep the temp consistent (this whole thing is stupidly fun as hell I have to say!)

 

[RPh_Guy]

The beer should be 90-100°F.

I fermented Omega Voss at 95°F and it was quite good, very flavorful -- fresh orange and marmalade.

Good luck!

BTW, you can DIY the heater and even the controller if you really want. I'd rather buy stuff that's quality and reasonably priced, which I believe both these things are.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

If you can find a bucket or some container it will fit in with a couple inches space around fill it with water and use a small aquarium heater. I did that to keep a particular strain of Brett happy. Maybe a $15-$20 investment.

 

[blasterooni]

The beer should be 90-100°F.

I fermented Omega Voss at 95°F and it was quite good, very flavorful -- fresh orange and marmalade.

Good luck!

BTW, you can DIY the heater and even the controller if you really want. I'd rather buy stuff that's quality and reasonably priced, which I believe both these things are.

That's what I bought, the Omega Voss Kveik. And I agree, why reinvent the wheel... But, maybe I can make it roll more smoothly

 

[tellyho]

Reptile heater and aquarium temp controller on eBay + reflective pipe insulation = $30 altogether.

 

[tellyho]

I have run Voss up to 104 with no issues.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Reptile heater and aquarium temp controller on eBay + reflective pipe insulation = $30 altogether.

Sounds like "Just get the cheapest stuff available. Find it yourself."

 

[tellyho]

Sounds like "Just get the cheapest stuff available. Find it yourself."

Pretty much

 

[eric19312]

The ebay aquarium temp controller is usually an STC-1000. I used one of these successfully for several years with no issue--they are good. But two things to consider...they are a fun little DIY project and may require some extra leg work to round up the rest of the parts you need to wire and mount in a job box. Also they are celsius only...no farenheit. Not a huge deal, I just taped a conversion chart to my fridge. But the Inkbird linked above is basically the same product with fahrenheit and the DIY parts taken care of, likely cleaner and sturdier that you will be able to DIY.

Inkbird+fermwrap vs using the aquarium heater in the bucket of water. The inkbird (or the STC option for that matter) gives you flexibility to add dual control in the future. Right now with Kveik you are only needing to control temps by providing heat. But if you try ale yeast in future you might want flexibility to add heat or remove heat using a minifridge or similar.

 

[blasterooni]

The ebay aquarium temp controller is usually an STC-1000. I used one of these successfully for several years with no issue--they are good. But two things to consider...they are a fun little DIY project and may require some extra leg work to round up the rest of the parts you need to wire and mount in a job box. Also they are celsius only...no farenheit. Not a huge deal, I just taped a conversion chart to my fridge. But the Inkbird linked above is basically the same product with fahrenheit and the DIY parts taken care of, likely cleaner and sturdier that you will be able to DIY.

Inkbird+fermwrap vs using the aquarium heater in the bucket of water. The inkbird (or the STC option for that matter) gives you flexibility to add dual control in the future. Right now with Kveik you are only needing to control temps by providing heat. But if you try ale yeast in future you might want flexibility to add heat or remove heat using a minifridge or similar.

I'm going with the mini-fridge/fermwrap method. SOmeone gave me a temp controller the other day, mother in law has the fridge, and the wrap is $30. No-brainer at this point. I talked to a cider maker last week I think who brews cider with the yeast on the apples she picks, and said its best to keep the temps around 60 degrees, and at some point I'd like to give it go.

At any rate, thanks for all of the help folks, sometimes I just need a sound board to bounce an idea off of until I land on a decision

 

[RPh_Guy]

50-60°F is good for wild cider. Higher temps will generally give more funk.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

If you can find a bucket or some container it will fit in with a couple inches space around fill it with water and use a small aquarium heater. I did that to keep a particular strain of Brett happy. Maybe a $15-$20 investment.

I use a 30g tub, a 300w aquarium heater, an $8 harbor freight fountain pump for re-circulation, and an STC-1000 temperature controller. Note that aquarium heater temperature settings are completely wrong; it maxes at 84° per the dial but I've used this setup for 100° for kettle sours, which is ambient +35° in my basement. I use the same setup for big Belgians too.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

^^^ the accuracy and range of the aquarium heater depends on the brand, at least back in the day, with that said, above 90F would be too much for most tropical fish habitats. Of course the fermentation will also create heat.

 

[blasterooni]

^^^ the accuracy and range of the aquarium heater depends on the brand, at least back in the day, with that said, above 90F would be too much for most tropical fish habitats. Of course the fermentation will also create heat.

Yeah, I talked t two people today about fermentation temperature and both said that fermentation can create a lot of heat, more than you might expect. One guy I spoke with today at the LHBS said he made a fermentation chamber out of a plastic bin lined with foam insulation and a foam lid that allowed only the neck of the carboy peek through the top. HIs intent was to keep the fermentation chamber cool; he put jars of ice in the water that his carboys were sitting in. When he opened up the lid, he got a blast of warm air coming from the chamber and the ice, well, it was no longer ice

 

[mirthfuldragon]

Of course the fermentation will also create heat.

I have a tilt hydrometer too, which logs temperature. For me at least, the difference between the water bath and the fermenting wort is ~2°, with the bath running warmer. YMMV.