Chest Freezer and Controlling Temperature

[dunbruha]

I had the same thing when I was using a light bulb in a paint can as the heater. Ruined a batch of Kolsch because the temperature of the beer was all over the place.

Now I use a heating belt around the carboy to provide the "heat" element during fermentation, and my temperatures are MUCH more stable.

Are you using a thermowell, or are you attaching the probe to the outside of the FV?

I used to used a reptile heater, but it started to melt the top of my freezer. Now I use a heating pad (http://www.homebrewing.org/Heat-Pad-for-Beer-and-Wine-Making_p_2509.html) underneath the FV.

 

[kombat]

Are you using a thermowell, or are you attaching the probe to the outside of the FV?

I use a thermowell. I have my glass carboy sitting in a chest freezer, with one of those blue heating belts around the carboy about 1/3 of the way up from its bottom. I have a thermowell stopper with an S-airlock (because the air inside the carboy contracts, creating a vacuum during cooling cycles when fermentation is not vigorous). I have the freezer plugged into the "cool" plug of an STC-1000, and the heating belt plugged into "heat." For US-05 (my usual yeast), I have the STC-1000 set to 63.5° F, +/- 0.5° F, and with this setup, the temperature stays VERY close to tolerance. As in, never higher than 64.5 and never lower than 62.5.

 

[dunbruha]

I use a thermowell. I have my glass carboy sitting in a chest freezer, with one of those blue heating belts around the carboy about 1/3 of the way up from its bottom. I have a thermowell stopper with an S-airlock (because the air inside the carboy contracts, creating a vacuum during cooling cycles when fermentation is not vigorous). I have the freezer plugged into the "cool" plug of an STC-1000, and the heating belt plugged into "heat." For US-05 (my usual yeast), I have the STC-1000 set to 63.5° F, +/- 0.5° F, and with this setup, the temperature stays VERY close to tolerance. As in, never higher than 64.5 and never lower than 62.5.

Wow, that's really good. I have pretty much the same setup as you, except I have a 1/4 bbl Sanke as my FV, and I have a heating pad at the bottom of the keg. I seem to be getting a lot of temp swings, but I only have a few batches with this system. I'm brewing another this Saturday, and I think I'll try putting the probe on the outside. If that doesn't help, I may try the heating belt.

 

[frettfreak]

I have a stainless bevair freezer for my chamber. I have the freezer plugged into the cool side of my homemade STC1000 box and during the winter months i use a ceramic reptile heater to heat the entire thing.

I have my temp probe wrapped with dome bubble wrap on one side and tape it to the FV of the newest beer.

Is heating absolutely necessary? No, but neither is a freezer. Stable temps are the key to getting the most out of your wort and yeast, not just keeping it cool enough. With this setup i do allow it to drift 0.5 degree in either direction.

 

[beernutz]

The heat part is necessary if you are brewing a Saison using Wyeast 3724 yeast which likes 90 degrees to fully attenuate without a stall.

I have my fermentation chest freezer in my garage storage room and during our few weeks of "winter" when the night time temp falls into the 30s I use a small hair dryer to heat it. I rarely use both the heat and cold outlets on my STC-1000 at the same time. By that I mean if ambient air temp is low or if I want to brew something like a Saison I just plug in the hair dryer to the "hot" outlet but nothing in the "cold" outlet.

Under normal circumstances here the ambient temp is higher than what I'm fermenting at so I just keep the freezer cord plugged into the cold outlet of the STC-1000.