Electric Fermentation Heater vs. Brew Belt

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ShaLaH

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Just curious if any of you have used the Northern Brewer Electric Fermentation Heater: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/electric-fermentation-heater.html

It's about the same price as a brew belt but I like that it wraps most of the carboy as opposed to a very thin surface area of a belt. This design seems more effective as it heats a larger area.

Anyone used one of these?
 
how do you plan on monitoring the temp of your brew?

i use stick-on LCD thermo-strips ("fermometers"). the problem with the electric blanket is that it covers the entire surface of the carboy so you have no spot that isn't directly heated by the blanket, so you can't get a reading of the actual carboy.

i've been using a brew belt and like the fact that i can put it on the lower half of the carboy and still have the top half for a thermometer.
 
If it helps you make up your mind, I have a NB fermentation heater that I used once and I don't really need. You can have it for $20.

I live in Southern CA so I don't really need it anymore as wintertime is pretty much ideal fermentation conditions here.

If you don't mind a little DIY and a little bit of a rough finish, you can build the same thing out of Flex Watt. It is exactly the same product as Flex Watt (which is used for heating reptile enclosures) but the connection is a bit better than you would get with DIY.

The one time I used it I found that it can raise the temperature of the beer by a maximum of about 10 degrees F. Make sure you plan for that. If you are fermenting an ale in your garage in NY during the winter, I don't think it's going to cut it unless you have some kind of insulated box to keep it in.
 
I use a $12 space heater (about 6-8 inches away from fermenter) and a Johnson Control unit. Works perfectly in a cold garage.
 
Ive used both the wrap heater by NB and the brew belt before. My reccomendation is the wrap. You're going to get more consistent temps that way throughout the fermenter. But use a temp controller with it if at all possible. Consistent temp control equals quality beer that is repeatable.
 
beergolf said:
I have not used either of those, but will throw another option out there.

I use a big cooler with an aquarium heater. Works great. The heater I have will get the water up to the high eighties in the winter in my 58 degree basement. Thsi allows me to brew Saisons even in the winter.

This is the one I have http://www.aquariumguys.com/aqueon-pro-heater-150w.html

Thanks beergolf, interesting idea. I have a small fridge that onlynholds a better bottle and blow off bucket so this wouldn't work for me though.
 
sweetcell said:
how do you plan on monitoring the temp of your brew?

i use stick-on LCD thermo-strips ("fermometers"). the problem with the electric blanket is that it covers the entire surface of the carboy so you have no spot that isn't directly heated by the blanket, so you can't get a reading of the actual carboy.

i've been using a brew belt and like the fact that i can put it on the lower half of the carboy and still have the top half for a thermometer.

That was gonna be my follow up question. I'd be attaching the ferment wrap to a ranco controller, but where would you put the temp probe? I don't want to use a thermowell. I just don't like the idea of introducing the risk of contamination or having something electrical submerged in water - I know many people do it, but I'll be that "one" guy that electrocutes himself checking his ferm temps. The other option is taping the probe to the better bottle and insulating it with bubble wrap, then putting the ferm wrap over that. But I would think that the ferm wrap would heat up the probe even with a bit of insulation. For this reason, I think the brew belt might be the way to go.

Thanks!
 
Put the temp probe in the outside of the carboy in a spot not covered by the wrap or belt. Insulate it and tape it to the side. You'll get a very good temp reading this way.
 
Just figured I'd update ya.

I ended up getting the brew belt, I found one pretty cheap online. I only make 3 gallon All-Grain batches so I think the belt more than suffices to heat my fermenter up. I taped the probe a couple inches below the brew belt and covered it with bubble wrap and it's working perfectly. The adhesive thermometer and ranco thermostat temp readings are spot on. :ban:
 
Put the temp probe in the outside of the carboy in a spot not covered by the wrap or belt. Insulate it and tape it to the side. You'll get a very good temp reading this way.

+1. I use a dual stage temp controller in a chest freezer. My heat source is a brew belt fastened just under the upper rim of the bucket,and my tep probe is set in a block of foam insulation taped to the bottom edge of the bucket. ( the probe is in direct contact with the bucket, the foam ensures the probe is reading the bucket and not ambient air in the freezer) When I first started using this setup, I also dropped a waterproofed temp probe in through the airlock hole and found that the difference never exceeded 1-2 degrees. Close enough for me.
 
Just putting it out there for anyone else that reads this thread... If you are thinking about the heat wrap/tape option look at reptile heaters. They carry the same 11" or 12" heat wrap for $3 a foot at some places and a cord/attachment pack for $4. You can order any length and cut it to suit your needs. Reptile Basics is where I ordered from.
 
Just putting it out there for anyone else that reads this thread... If you are thinking about the heat wrap/tape option look at reptile heaters. They carry the same 11" or 12" heat wrap for $3 a foot at some places and a cord/attachment pack for $4. You can order any length and cut it to suit your needs. Reptile Basics is where I ordered from.

+1

This is what I have in my fermentation chamber, and it works great. I can only put it on one carboy at a time, but I brew mostly ales with similar germ temp needs so no biggie.
 
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