DIY Lager "chamber" help

[poptarts]

I plan on making a few lagers this winter. My issue is my fermentation chamber is a mini fridge and only has room for 1 beer at a time and I like to brew more than every 3 months so I need a way to lager my beer without use of the ferm chamber since it needs to be open to ferment more beer.
I live in wyoming so its cold here, and I think i can get away with using my garage for keeping it cold but with temps frequently going way below freezing I need a way to keep my keged lager from freezing.
My plan is to ferment and then start to lager in the ferm chamber until I need it again, generally a month. Then I will keg the lager and want to continue lagering in the keg. I want to do this using chilling power from the garage but need some way to keep the keg above freezing when the temp drops. I have a spare stc-1000 so I just need somthing to strap on the keg or put the keg in to keep it up in temp. What are your ideas? My current one is reptile heat rope, that I could wrap around the keg. but I feel like i need to wrap the keg in refletix or something to help hold the heat in, but i feel like that could be a safty issue.

 

[poptarts]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006MMJ8EE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

What about this, set my keg in a bucket of water, then toss this in there hooked up to an stc? should work right?

 

[ToilAndTrouble]

I plan on making a few lagers this winter. My issue is my fermentation chamber is a mini fridge and only has room for 1 beer at a time and I like to brew more than every 3 months so I need a way to lager my beer without use of the ferm chamber since it needs to be open to ferment more beer.
I live in wyoming so its cold here, and I think i can get away with using my garage for keeping it cold but with temps frequently going way below freezing I need a way to keep my keged lager from freezing.
My plan is to ferment and then start to lager in the ferm chamber until I need it again, generally a month. Then I will keg the lager and want to continue lagering in the keg. I want to do this using chilling power from the garage but need some way to keep the keg above freezing when the temp drops. I have a spare stc-1000 so I just need somthing to strap on the keg or put the keg in to keep it up in temp. What are your ideas? My current one is reptile heat rope, that I could wrap around the keg. but I feel like i need to wrap the keg in refletix or something to help hold the heat in.

Short version:
I've done it, and it can be done but it requires some experimentation and monitoring to get it right.

Long version:
I used to use a Walmart heating pad plugged to a Hydrofarm MTPRTC digital thermostat* with the temperature probe between the wall of the fermenter and the heating pad. You have to be very observant and diligently monitor your temps as the temperature in the fermenter can be higher than what you read at the fermenter wall. This method also requires some experimentation. The amount of heat dissipation you see may outpace the heating element you are using. I definitely don't trust it for the first 24 hours, and even then it makes me watch the weather forecast obsessively.

That being said, I've done it with good results in the past but there is something about doing it that way that always makes me nervous. I find the daily temperature swings from the weather to be a rather large variable where I live. Not to mention that I only have 3 months of lagering weather in which this is a viable option.

I have since purchased a nice used (almost new) chest freezer from a wonderful lady on Craigslist and added a Freezer Thermostat to control the temperature more precisely. I much prefer removing heat rather than adding it, but that is a personal preference really.

Just my $0.02. Good luck to you!

*: For anyone reading this, I don't recommend the Hydrofarm MTPRTC digital thermostat for home brewing. It will not activate until the probe temperature has dropped a full 2 degrees F. This is ok if you are shooting for the middle of a temperature range, but is unforgiving with yeast that have a narrow optimal temperature range.

 

[ToilAndTrouble]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006MMJ8EE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

What about this, set my keg in a bucket of water, then toss this in there hooked up to an stc? should work right?

This seems like a much more efficient option as the water will guard against any wild temperature swings. This also assumes the heat dissipation doesn't outpace the heater.

 

[brewshki]

Morebeer.com sells a gray device you wrap around a carboy that can be used with an stc. I haven't used it and idk if it can't provide enough heat to keep it that warm in such a cold environment, but it's only $30 and worth a look