Controlling temp in a poorly insulated house

[switters]

I use an Igloo cooler (the Ice Cube model). I took off the lid (which is hollow anyway) and made a lid out of three or four layers of foam. It works great!

That's a great idea. I just remembered I have an Igloo Ice Cube cooler in the basement. My 6.5 gallon carboy does fit in it, but the top 1/5 of the carboy is exposed. I think your cooler is larger than mine. Still, I may be able to fit some kind of top over it to prevent heat loss.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

That's a great idea. I just remembered I have an Igloo Ice Cube cooler in the basement. My 6.5 gallon carboy does fit in it, but the top 1/5 of the carboy is exposed. I think your cooler is larger than mine. Still, I may be able to fit some kind of top over it to prevent heat loss.

Stack enough styrofoam to make up for the height deficiency and cut the centers out of the stack. ( basically make a styrofoam donut) that sets down on the lip of the cooler. take a piece of styrofoam and make it a lid with a small hole for the airlock to stick through.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

I would probably get a larger heater than I thought I needed also. You are heating the water to heat the wort so I think a bigger one may be more efficient.

 

[rico567]

It's not a question of the swing in air temperatures. Air is way less dense than a liquid like water or beer, and the swing in 24 hours will be much, much larger in the air than in the liquid.
The first instructive thing to do is take temperature readings of the beer over a 24 hour period and find out what the swing of the liquid is. I'll wager you'll find that it's a small fraction of the air temperature swing. The difference of the amount of heat retained as a function of the density of the medium is sometimes called the "thermal flywheel."
This is where a water bath comes in. Some large container in which to immerse the fermenter that has maybe 15-20 gallons of water serves to multiply that "thermal flywheel" and retard even further the temperature swing in the beer. Add the aquarium heater, as some suggest, and you have an inexpensive way of keeping the temperature constant.

Me? I'm lucky to have a basement that runs low '60s most of the year.

 

[dantodd]

I made my fermentation chamber for $106. Check out the link in my sig.

For that price you could get a full refrigerator on craigslist.

 

[switters]

Stack enough styrofoam to make up for the height deficiency and cut the centers out of the stack. ( basically make a styrofoam donut) that sets down on the lip of the cooler. take a piece of styrofoam and make it a lid with a small hole for the airlock to stick through.

Where do you get pieces of styrofoam like this?

 

[dantodd]

Where do you get pieces of styrofoam like this?

They are housing insulation. 1" thick is $13/4X8 sheet and 2" is $24@ at Home Depot in SFBay area

 

[switters]

They are housing insulation. 1" thick is $13/4X8 sheet and 2" is $24@ at Home Depot in SFBay area

Thanks. I imagine 1" is sufficient and probably easier to work with.

 

[springer]

For that price you could get a full refrigerator on craigslist.

Did you look at his fermentation chamber build?
It looks like a refrigerator to me . He modified it with a love dual controller so that he can heat the unit or cool it

 

[theacolyte]

For that price you could get a full refrigerator on craigslist.

Power is not free. Think about that before buying a 2nd refridgerator.

 

[ajwillys]

Power is not free. Think about that before buying a 2nd refridgerator.

Especially a very old refrigerator on Craigslist. Although, for fermenting, power is very cheap because you don't need to go very cold at all.

 

[Tripod]

Yep, that's what I do. A water bath, with a floating thermometer. It minimizes fluctuations since the water insulates so well. It takes a LONG time for the beer and the water to change temperature! I use frozen water bottles to make lagers and an aquarium heater for ales. It works great! I can maintain temps in my basement for fermenters from 34 degrees up to 72 degrees that way!

+1. The "swamp cooler" is amazing for helping control temps on a budget...

-Tripod

 

[Tripod]

I use an Igloo cooler (the Ice Cube model). I took off the lid (which is hollow anyway) and made a lid out of three or four layers of foam. It works great!

I really like this Yooper! I have been using a rubbermaid bin with great results but I've always wished it was insulated so i don't have to change the ice-bottles as often in the summer and use less power for the aquarium heated in the winter. Even if I have to wait a while on the full cooler I may still make a custom lid like that. Thanks for sharing!

-Tripod

 

[RunBikeBrew]

+1 on the aquarium heater and water bath. Mine works great (in my old, cold house). I recommend the "Marineland Stealth" models. They are all plastic, unbreakable, and have much more reliable thermostats than the cheap glass ones (bad experience speaking).

They also work great for bottle carbing. Again, water bath with aquarium heater, but set it for around 73F. Also, for carbing, I add a tiny water pump from Harbor Freight to keep temps even.

 

[splifs]

never thought to use a water bath to bottle carb, might give that a shot

 

[switters]

+1 on the aquarium heater and water bath. Mine works great (in my old, cold house). I recommend the "Marineland Stealth" models. They are all plastic, unbreakable, and have much more reliable thermostats than the cheap glass ones (bad experience speaking).

I ordered the Marineland Visi-Therm. Do you have any experience with that one?

 

[gerbache]

I'm in an apartment built into a hillside in Oakland, so it's a bit like being in a basement, but I've never seen the temperatures inside swing anywhere near that much during the day. During the winter, we'll get down into the mid 60's after a few days in a row of chilly weather, and in the summer heat waves, we will get up close to 80 inside, but normally it stays a constant temperature. That's without any air conditioning and possibly the world's least efficient heater unit.

I see you placed an order for a heater, which I suppose might not be a bad idea, but I don't think the temperature is that tough to control here.

 

[mr_clean]

A bathtub will work even better,it will bring temps even lower.

 

[RunBikeBrew]

I ordered the Marineland Visi-Therm. Do you have any experience with that one?

I don't have experience with that particular model, but I've been pleased with the Marineland brand.

A couple of other notes: put a splash of bleach in the water bath to keep it from getting stinky. Also, when I bottle carb, I cover the water bath to keep evaporation down. And, don't get the bottle caps wet, they rust.

 

[Hopheader]

Power is not free. Think about that before buying a 2nd refridgerator.

Thumbs-up to that one. I mentioned this in my 'cost of brewing' replies to another poster. (though, yes, with a themo-regulator, you're not running juice like you would keeping food constantly cold in a fridge or freezer) There are points in my brewing 'career' where I get that icky 'not-so-green' feeling.

Then, I usually have a couple hefeweizens...

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

There are points in my brewing 'career' where I get that icky 'not-so-green' feeling.

Then, I usually have a couple hefeweizens...

You can rest assured that brewing your own beer is likely the greenest thing you do in your life. You probably have no idea how absolutely aweful consuming packaged beverages, especially wine and beer is for the environment. Brewing your own on site is great for the environment. I don't mean to be snarky, I just find the green movement laughable, and this is a fact many people look over while sipping a bottle of French wine and expounding on how great there Prius is and how they are saving the world. Yawn. [/rant]

 

[Hopheader]

No, sorry, you took my posting without the chuckle it was meant to be imbibed with. Truly, sometimes, I just feel bad with the water usage. But I'm well aware of the environmental issues of corporations and large companies and etc. worldwide. So no worries.

p.s. I grow (some of) my own hops and live in one of the great grain belts so have easy easy access to fine 2row barley. Can even bring some home with me now and then when I visit my folks a couple hours away.

 

[justflow1983]

One way to get around the energy use thing, if it does bother you, is just to change your expectations for temp control. Like how big of a temperature range can you live with if you aren't lagering? Can putting a couple of icepacks in an insulated box and realizing that the temp might swing a little be okay? I'd bet for most of history the temp control on brewing was pretty rough.

Its just a thought, the have a few beers method is pretty effective too