Fermentation chamber heater

[InspectorJon]

I made a FC out of a dorm room refrigerator. I’m thinking of using this Reptile Heater as a heat source. Any thoughts on this idea? The incandescent light bulb wrapped in aluminum foil I'm using using smells bad and doesn't seem like the best idea.

 

[Transamguy77]

If you put the light bulb in a paint can it might work better but I would not just wrap it in aluminum foil.

I use one of these. Works great, has a fan to circulate the air and is designed to heat a small space.

 

[DBhomebrew]

I've got one of those reptile heaters, only 60w. Works great. I'm not sure if I'd go all the way up to 150w such as in your link.

 

[toadie]

I use a seedling heat mat which I wrap around the carboy with a big copper wire inside my small chest freezer. I put the probe in between the wire and carboy away from the mat. In march I grow stuff with the mat.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I use 40 watt ceramic "reptile" bulbs in my two 17cf ferm fridges. That's plenty large enough for basement fridges, imo.
I used cheap ceramic fixtures mounted behind pc fans in open-backed wood boxes.

Forget the Lasko, it's waay overpowered and will drive a ferm controller batpoopy...

Cheers!

 

[Spartan1979]

I use one of these, stuck to the side of the fermentation chamber. It works well but it is more expensive than your soluction.

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...Temperature-Control/Brewers-Edge-Space-Heater

 

[MusicLife]

I use one of these, stuck to the side of the fermentation chamber. It works well but it is more expensive than your soluction.

https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Hom...Temperature-Control/Brewers-Edge-Space-Heater

using the pad do you need/use a little fan? Also is 1 pad that size adequate for a fridge?

 

[Spartan1979]

using the pad do you need/use a little fan? Also is 1 pad that size adequate for a fridge?

I do use a fan, but I use it when I'm cooling too. I used one in a full size fridge and it worked fine. But I wasn't trying to get temps in the 80's or 90's either.

 

[NTexBrewer]

I’ve used reptile heaters in the past and the heat source is directional and melted the inside of my ferm fridge. I now use a fermenter wrap similar to this. FermWrap Fermentation Heater | MoreBeer

If I have one fermenter in the fridge, I’ll loosely wrap it around the fermenter (I ferment in 1/4 barrel kegs). Last week I was fermenting a 10 gallon batch in 2 kegs and I just had the ferm wrap in the chamber not touching either fermenter. Garage temperature was 45 degrees and with active fermentation and the ferm wrap I could easily keep the temperature at 65 degrees. I like the ferm wrap since it is a very small profile compared to bulbs, heaters etc.

 

[Nagorg]

Forget the Lasko, it's waay overpowered and will drive a ferm controller batpoopy...

I guess that all depends on your fermchamber... Maybe too much for those small fridges. But works great in a ~25 cu/ft upright freezer with a 1/2 barrell conical in it!

 

[day_trippr]

The OP has a dorm fridge. What's that - 1/15th your beast?

Cheers!

 

[InspectorJon]

I ended up getting: this
It works great. Just finishing up the first ferment using it. It moves the temperature pretty quickly in a small dorm style fridge.

 

[day_trippr]

Exactly what I've been using for years now...

Cheers!