Fermentation temperature control??

[MistFM]

So I have been reading these forums for a few weeks now and the next and probably the most important thing that I need to do whenever I finish moving is to find some way to maintain fermentation temperature.

Currently I have my beer fermenting in my closet with is ~ 75-78 F using my metal thermometer with the spike that I can hook on to my 5 gallon pot. I know in the future I would love to be able to make lagers, so I have decided that I need to look into this more and I have a few questions.

1) When measuring temperature, where should I measure it and what thermometer should I use? What I mean by that is should I measure the air in the closet, or if I decide to use a swamp cooler just measure the water, etc? I highly doubt my thermometer now is cutting it and giving me accurate measurements, or is it?

2) If I decided to make a swamp cooler and fermented beer in my apartment (probably guest bathroom in the dark), would I be able to achieve temperatures low enough for lagering (40 F right?)? Does anyone have experience with this? I even saw a previous post about a "son of fermentation chiller" where you build something yourself??? Wow, that's cool.

3) I have a well paying career (just started ), so finding a decent mini-fridge or something that isn't a huge freezer would also work for me (living in apartment). Would spending more money now on a cooler/freezer/mini-fridge/etc. be worth it in the long run?

I know this is a long post but there seem to be so many ideas out there that I just want to hear from you awesome guys. Seriously, HBT has taught me so much! :rockin:

 

[kwingert]

You want to measure the temp of the beer not the air temp. Tape a thermometer to the carboy or bucket, cover it with some sort of insulation so it doesn't read the air temp. This will tell you what temp your beer is. A fermenting beer will be 5-10 degrees higher then ambient temperature, depending on how vigorous the fermentation is.

Get you a mini fridge and google fermentation chambers. You will find plans how to make one.

 

[jonmohno]

You can make a swamp cooler temp just like a fridge theromstat.You just have to attend to how many ice bottles and how often you switch them out.I used an open cooler in my basement that fit my 2 gal fermenter perfectly with rotating 4 20 oz bottles when i did my lager.I would get a used fridge and thermostat controller if you plan on brewing alot and have more than a few fermenters.Temps are important.You may have a pretty estery beer fermenting around 80 deg,which is ideal maybe for belgian yeast.

 

[iambeer]

If I got into this hobby, full blown, right in the middle of summer without an easy way to maintain temp I might just blow a wad of cash on anything so I could maintain my sanity. Luckily the area I live in isn't as hot as all that.

 

[chickypad]

+ 1 on the mini fridge or freezer if you have the cash. You won't regret it.

 

[Uziyahu]

I live in a small Chicago apartment, and I built a fermentation chamber from 2 inch pink foam, the guts from a small mini-fridge, hair dryer, and a temperature controller. I have absolutely zero building skills, but with some research and work, I ended up being able to put it together. It's not a difficult project, just lots of work. I'd suggest going this route rather than chest freezer or mini-fridge, because you can build it exactly to the dimensions you want. Plus, there is nothing like posting the pictures of the refrigerator you built on HBT.

Here's the link to my thread where I showed off my chamber. If you want to go this direction, I'd be happy to show you what I did so you don't have to do some of the same discovery/ guesswork that I did.
Fermentation Chamber Thread

 

[CoolBrewing]

Welcome to the HBT!

The following stick on thermometer is an easy way to see what your wort temperatures are:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004B4TS1S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Depending on how cool your apartment is you might be able to get down to lager temps 38-60 degrees with a swamp cooler but it will take a lot of dedication in changing out ice bottles.

Here is a good link about making lagers:

http://***********/stories/techniques/article/indices/41-lagering/9-10-keys-to-great-lager

I myself was in the situation where I did not want a custom refrigerated fermenter but wanted something better than a swamp cooler so I designed the Cool Brewing Fermentation Chamber.

It works much better than a swamp cooler in that it’s insulated and sealed and waterproof.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f41/new-product-cool-brewing-fermentation-cooler-296052/

I would say though if you plan on making a lot of lagers and have the money and time to spend setting up a custom refrigerated fermenter this would be the way to go for long term ease.

Hope this helps,

Cheers!

 

[garbageman]

Here's mine.

Found them on Craiglist. Less then $80 each.

52 bottle wine coolers. In 90 degree weather, in the garage, it Holds steady at 63 on highest setting and 47 on lowest.