Cheapest way to maintain ferm temps

[bagpiperjosh]

I live in pa and im wondering the best way to keep constant temps for my brews. Ill be doing 10 gal batches and fermenting in a sanke keg. I have an old fridge i could lager in, but i brew in my basement and id like to find a way to keep ales from getting too cold. I cant afford a fancy dual stage temp control right now, so ill have to find a cheaper alternative for the time being. Any suggestions?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

This is how I maintain temps. Very cheap and easy.

 

[pabloj13]

I live in pa and im wondering the best way to keep constant temps for my brews. Ill be doing 10 gal batches and fermenting in a sanke keg. I have an old fridge i could lager in, but i brew in my basement and id like to find a way to keep ales from getting too cold. I cant afford a fancy dual stage temp control right now, so ill have to find a cheaper alternative for the time being. Any suggestions?

Rope tub, water, frozen 2 liters. You will like. See here.

Edit: Beat me to it, Nordeast.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Rope tub, water, frozen 2 liters. You will like. See here.

Edit: Beat me to it, Nordeast.

You should know by now, I have a homing device for these sorts of questions.

 

[bagpiperjosh]

Yea im not worried about keeping it cool. As i said ill be keeping everything in my basement and i have a spare fridge. I just worry that my basement may get too cold at times for ale ferm temps. I think the aquarium heater is a solid idea though. Id imagine it would take some tinkering to get it to your desired temp

 

[pabloj13]

Yea im not worried about keeping it cool. As i said ill be keeping everything in my basement and i have a spare fridge. I just worry that my basement may get too cold at times for ale ferm temps. I think the aquarium heater is a solid idea though. Id imagine it would take some tinkering to get it to your desired temp

Not really. The thermometers have a set point on them. Should be straightforward.

 

[ennis2000000000]

Use a baseboard thermostat hooked up to a light balb set your temp and forget about it

 

[Spartangreen]

What's the ambient temp is your basement?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Yea im not worried about keeping it cool. As i said ill be keeping everything in my basement and i have a spare fridge. I just worry that my basement may get too cold at times for ale ferm temps. I think the aquarium heater is a solid idea though. Id imagine it would take some tinkering to get it to your desired temp

Not really. The thermometers have a set point on them. Should be straightforward.

Exactly. Most quality brands of aquarium heaters have internal thermostats that are fairly accurate. I'd always found the Rena brand to be spot on in my aquariums, and have the same experience using them in my swamp buckets. If you want to be extra sure of temps, a Johnson temp controller will def do the trick, you're LHBS should have them.
I really only need a heater in the wintertime since I ferment in a small front room that's very drafty and chilly. Ambient temp in that room can be as low as the mid 50s near the outside walls, and the small heater works great. I'd go for something 100w or larger if you're worried about ambient temps being too low, the smaller heaters work fine, but the larger ones are more stable and will better handle an ambient temp drop, IME.

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

Use a baseboard thermostat hooked up to a light balb set your temp and forget about it

Rather than a light bulb I'd suggest a ceramic reptile cage heater that happens to screw into a light bulb socket.

 

[ennis2000000000]

That would be fine 2 I just went cheap with it and cover all my carboys with a sweatshirt to block the light

 

[dawgmatic]

look up the t shirt trick, its an easy way to keep it 5 degrees cooler. I guess that its not the best way to keep it constantly cooler, but it works

 

[g-star]

look up the t shirt trick, its an easy way to keep it 5 degrees cooler. I guess that its not the best way to keep it constantly cooler, but it works

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkfDpfjEnbA

Ugh. This guy has it ass-backwards. Letting your typical ale get up to 77F during the most active fermentation and then dropping it down to the low to mid 60's in a day and half doesn't address the problems associated with a hot fermentation and runs the risk of dropping the yeast prematurely.

This trick, while labor intensive, will work. The key is to maintain pitch temps in the 60's. Don't ignore it until its too late and then try and band-aid it.

 

[ennis2000000000]

I ment I have my wort in my cabinet with my thermostat and light ball to set temp and just use the sweatshirt to block light trust me it works fine