Easy way to ramp up fermentation temps for Saison?

[schreck]

I already did some background research, searched through the forum, and circled through my house looking for a solution...

background:
I started fermenting a Saison on tuesday, currently at ~70*F. Now that its had some time at lower temps, id like to get it up into the 70's, hopefully around 80*F. Problem is, i was banking on the weather being hot here in NY, but after a minor heat wave it seems the temps are headed to the 50s!!! BAD NEWS FOR MY SUMMER SAISON! :cross:

The upstairs of my house has been around 72*F, but will drop soon to the 60's.

I have a heating pad and some rubbermaid bins. Would it be wise to do a warm water bath for my fermentation buckets in those rubbermaid storage bins, placing the heating pad underneath the water filled rubbermaid bin? Id rather avoid a trip to purchase an aquarium heater, and use whats lying around..

any good DIY advice for a quick fix to this problem?, i doubt that wrapping the buckets in blankets (i have plenty!) wouldnt suffice?...

Thanks in advance!

 

[JewBrew]

try securing the heating pad to the side using rubber bands if you dont have an automatic temp controller watch the temp very carefully

 

[schreck]

i dont have a temp controller.. and this pad does low, med, hi so il have to watch my probe thermometer - or set the alarm on it.

i plan to do a "dry" run, without the fermenting buckets in place.. see what affect the pad will have to the water on low after being on an hour or so.

 

[Jethro]

I've wrapped a heating pad to the outside of a ferment bucket and can attest to it working well. If you are doing a dry run you might see what temp it will settle to on low setting. My guess is that this might be a bit too warm without a temp controller but who knows.

 

[schreck]

any alternatives... like a potentiometer of some sort to regulate heat? an outlet timer?

 

[billvon]

any alternatives... like a potentiometer of some sort to regulate heat? an outlet timer?

A potentiometer won't work but a variac (variable transformer) will. That won't regulate temperature - it will just adjust heat output so you will still have to play with it.

Or just get a $10 Home Depot mechanical thermostat and use that. Make sure you get one that's intended for baseboard electric heat, and make sure that it's in good thermal contact with the fermentor (like under the carboy cover.)

 

[gratefuldisc]

fish tank heater and rubbermaid bin full of water? I did this in winter, it maintained 68* in a 55* basement.

 

[bendavanza]

+1 sumbersible aquarium heater. They have a thermostat built in. I have had better luck with the stainless tube kins then the glass on my tank but any decent one will work well.
Check for temp with a known thermometer against the dial on the heater.

 

[BeerPressure]

Blankets have worked well for me when I had to raise a fermenting temp up to 82

 

[AN_TKE]

I have been using a space blanket wrapped around both the carboy and a baseboard heater, making a little tent in the pantry. This works pretty well in the winter when the heat comes on frequently, but might be less effective as the heating season ends.

Since I picked up a fridge on craigslist I have upgraded this approach to using a light bulb as a heat source - a trick used for concrete test cylinder curing boxes. I set my fridge's thermostat to 75 (or whatever temp the yeast wants) so that the fridge kicks on and keeps the light bulb (heat source) from cooking the crap out of the wort (or burning the house down). Even a low wattage fluorescant gives off enough heat.