Fermentation chambers.....??

[Turfgrass]

The plan is doing something simple as pictured below, but wondering about the heat source and electrical setup. Cooling won’t be part of the setup.

Right now I’m using the plastic heat wraps (from weekend brewer) that can be taped to my carboys. I want to have 4 brews fermenting at any one time, so two 5 gallon carboys per shelf. The beers will be different, so fermentation temp will change as well, for example, saison versus IPAs and why staying with plastic wraps is preferred. 4 wraps and 4 inkbird controllers.

Anyone have pics they could share of a similar idea or have suggestions on the electrical setup? Thank you.

 

[Turfgrass]

 

[Turfgrass]

 

[WaltG]

In an envlosed area a 60-100 watt bulb is fine. Problem is finding incandecent bulbs.

I use this for fermentation and kegging and my temp stays within +/- 0.5F. For something your size a couple vent fans to ensure a consistent temperature.

 

[KarmaCitra]

What will you do about cooling?

 

[WaltG]

Unless you live in the arctic you need cooling and heat.

 

[Turfgrass]

My basement ranges from 55 in the winter to about 70 in the summer, so I Brew what matches best for time of year. Always just used the wrap around style heaters on my carboy and kept them on a table.

Would the same thought process, but now in an enclosed area raise the temp to where I need cooling? My goal is to conserve some energy by not losing heat to open air.

 

[Turfgrass]

In an envlosed area a 60-100 watt bulb is fine. Problem is finding incandecent bulbs.

I use this for fermentation and kegging and my temp stays within +/- 0.5F. For something your size a couple vent fans to ensure a consistent temperature.View attachment 599421

A bulb would create enough heat to ferment a saison around 80*F?

 

[WaltG]

A bulb would create enough heat to ferment a saison around 80*F?

Yea, my setup is a bit smaller but i've held it up to 90F with no problems. With your setup the key is good insulation.

 

[WaltG]

My basement ranges from 55 in the winter to about 70 in the summer, so I Brew what matches best for time of year. Always just used the wrap around style heaters on my carboy and kept them on a table.

Would the same thought process, but now in an enclosed area raise the temp to where I need cooling? My goal is to conserve some energy by not losing heat to open air.

I would still figure out cooling.

 

[Langchop]

A lot smaller but same concept. I had to keep it 'pretty' to allow me to use some space in the house..

With regard to heating... In my box I started with a 60w then a 40w then a 30w then scratched the countryside for a 15w which works perfectly for my small setup and climate.
Leave a separate cavity where you can have all your electrical and just run probes and wires etc through holes to the main chamber

 

[Turfgrass]

In an envlosed area a 60-100 watt bulb is fine. Problem is finding incandecent bulbs.

I use this for fermentation and kegging and my temp stays within +/- 0.5F. For something your size a couple vent fans to ensure a consistent temperature.View attachment 599421

So, does the bulb and fan in this photo plug into an external controller?

 

[Turfgrass]

Yea, my setup is a bit smaller but i've held it up to 90F with no problems. With your setup the key is good insulation.

The only other thing is me having multiple brews in a chamber. They could be at different temps depending on its stage in fermentation.

 

[WaltG]

So, does the bulb and fan in this photo plug into an external controller?

The bulb does. I only use the fan with keg. I use a thermowell when fermenting. When i set this up inkbird controllers were alot more expensive so I used the sts which was a pain to wire.

 

[WaltG]

The only other thing is me having multiple brews in a chamber. They could be at different temps depending on its stage in fermentation.

With good temp control active fermentation is 3-5 days. I would honestly only do 1 at a time and use a thermell. With good temp control I took a Belgian dark strong from 1.100 to 1.007 in 4 days. The tighter you keep your temperature the less need to "clean up" fermentation.