Fermentation heater

[WeimBrew]

Hi all,

I'm pretty new to home brewing. I've helped a friend brew a couple batches, one from extract and one AG, and I've brewed one extract on my own. My house isn't all that big and my wife doesn't really enjoy my fermentation going on in the spare bedroom. She gave me to go ahead to convert our chest freezer into a fermentation chamber so I'm obviously excited about eventually kegging and adding taps and CO2 tanks. I have the freezer and the temperature control but my freezer is in the unheated garage so I need a heating element.

What should I use? Also I don't really want to start drilling holes into my freezer to run power chords through so I need something with either a thin chord that won't cause too much trouble with the seal or something battery powered.

My freezer has been cleaned and sanitized, please help me get the temp up.

Thanks!

 

[broadbill]

what is the plan? To serve and ferment out of the same freezer? Or just fermentation?

 

[WeimBrew]

Right now just fermentation. I also want to lager so I need something to accommodate that too. When I start kegging I hope to have a dedicated unit .

 

[Seven]

Ceramic reptile heaters like this work great.

 

[Randar]

Right now just fermentation. I also want to lager so I need something to accommodate that too. When I start kegging I hope to have a dedicated unit .

Really depends on how much capacity you decide you need to have. One carboy at a time can be done in appropriately sized dorm fridges. Anything larger than that (say you want to lager 3 different batches at once) will require something larger. Everything from walk-in-coolers to converted side-by-side fridge conversions has been done and documented on this site, so try out the search function for some specific project ideas you might have and you will probably find tons of info to dive into and waste your work days reading up on.

 

[Randar]

Ceramic reptile heaters like this work great.

yep, that's what I have in my ferm chamber.

 

[Joe13]

As far as the cord issue, build a wood collar. it will allow you to run lines in and out without damaging the cooler. since you aren't running taps right now, it doesn't have to be pretty or big, just enough space to drill holes for the lines. Check the DIY section if you are wondering what a collar would look like and entail. most keezers have one.

 

[DamageCT]

You can always get one of those wrap around heaters for the carboy, have one temp setter control the temp on the freezer, have the other be for the actual temp of the carboy, but that would mean you may need a belt and tempsetter for each carboy in the freezer.

This IS the perfect way though. Especially if you are going to have two ales and a lager. All three may need to be at different temperatures.

 

[WeimBrew]

Went with the ceramic bulb. Holding off on building a collar for now.

 

[DamageCT]

Went with the ceramic bulb. Holding off on building a collar for now.

I built one of these for a bar set up so the beer and gas lines could run through them.
They are NOT fun to make/mount if you do not have the proper Miter Saw etc.
Wish you luck! :rockin: