Fermenting Chamber Temp and Fermentation Length Question

[CavAv8tr]

Team,
Quick question, I have a Porter going in my fermentation chamber (nicely vigorous the first couple of days). My chamber is a coffin freezer with a thermostat controller plugged into a little space heater (thermo is set to heat and 68 degrees F). Temps here dropped from the 40/50s to the 30s the last couple of days (teens at night) and I have noticed the chamber is reading a pretty steady 50 degree range and fermentation has slowed. Should I:
1. Let it ferment longer in the primary and secondary
2. Adjust the thermostat to try to get the temp up (say set for 80F hoping to maintain 68F)
3. Both

I am not all that worried about it, other than maybe the yeast going dormant and then having to restart a stalled fermentation.

Any advice is welcome.

Cav.

 

[CerealKillerStout]

Team,
Quick question, I have a Porter going in my fermentation chamber (nicely vigorous the first couple of days). My chamber is a coffin freezer with a thermostat controller plugged into a little space heater (thermo is set to heat and 68 degrees F). Temps here dropped from the 40/50s to the 30s the last couple of days (teens at night) and I have noticed the chamber is reading a pretty steady 50 degree range and fermentation has slowed. Should I:
1. Let it ferment longer in the primary and secondary
2. Adjust the thermostat to try to get the temp up (say set for 80F hoping to maintain 68F)
3. Both

I am not all that worried about it, other than maybe the yeast going dormant and then having to restart a stalled fermentation.

Any advice is welcome.

Cav.

What yeast are you using ?

 

[CavAv8tr]

Nottingham

 

[Arkhomer]

I've got the same set up and our nights have been getting into the 20s. I am using a 60W lite bulb to heat and it has no problem maintaining the chamber at 71°F as we type.

 

[CavAv8tr]

I've got the same set up and our nights have been getting into the 20s. I am using a 60W lite bulb to heat and it has no problem maintaining the chamber at 71°F as we type.

Awesome. Weird that your light bulb does a better job than a little space heater. I might have to rig that up. I am not sure why the heater is not coming on (though I have seen it run on the thermostat).

 

[jtrux]

I use a chest freezer with a loves temperature controller. The freezer is plugged into the cold side and this
https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Brewers-Edge-Space-Heater-P518.aspx
Is plugged into the hot side. Temp probe is tapped to Corboy. It has dropped into the low 30s outside and my beer has held a constant 68f +/-2f

 

[kh54s10]

You should be setting your temperature controller to the temperature you want the fermentation to be... Tape the probe to the side of your fermenter with insulation over it so it reads the wort and not the air. Whatever heat source should run when the temperature is too cold and go off when at the right temperature.

You don't need to do a secondary at all. But let the fermentation finish. 2 gravity readings the same a couple days apart.

 

[cloudybrewer]

Is there some sort of "time out" that only allows the heater to run a short time? A space heater should have zero problems keeping a space the size of a freezer at 68F.

 

[CavAv8tr]

Is there some sort of "time out" that only allows the heater to run a short time? A space heater should have zero problems keeping a space the size of a freezer at 68F.

I don't think so. I picked up with a bunch of other stuff from a guy getting out of Home Brewing (seems his wife put her foot down). He used it in his chamber. Honestly I never plugged it in a let it just run, figured it worked.

 

[Arkhomer]

Awesome. Weird that your light bulb does a better job than a little space heater. I might have to rig that up. I am not sure why the heater is not coming on (though I have seen it run on the thermostat).

I bought a cord and housing for a lamp at walmart for $4. Drilled a hole in a piece of wood and ran threaded part through and secured with nut (all included in lamp kit). Wrapped bulb in foil. Poof. I was using a little space heater but kicking on and off for such specified temp burned it up pretty quick.

 

[CavAv8tr]

I bought a cord and housing for a lamp at walmart for $4. Drilled a hole in a piece of wood and ran threaded part through and secured with nut (all included in lamp kit). Wrapped bulb in foil. Poof. I was using a little space heater but kicking on and off for such specified temp burned it up pretty quick.

Have you thought about an LED Bulb? They generate a significant amount of heat (or used to) and should withstand the cycling better.

 

[kh54s10]

Have you thought about an LED Bulb? They generate a significant amount of heat (or used to) and should withstand the cycling better.

That is wrong. LED bulbs create very little heat. Even when they have been lit for hours you could take one out of a socket with only a slight warm to the touch.

 

[CavAv8tr]

That is wrong. LED bulbs create very little heat. Even when they have been lit for hours you could take one out of a socket with only a slight warm to the touch.

I have tactical LED Flashlight that gets Hot AF! I might just turn it on and throw it in there. I did caveat my response with (or used to).

 

[kh54s10]

I have tactical LED Flashlight that gets Hot AF! I might just turn it on and throw it in there. I did caveat my response with (or used to).

Are you absolutely sure it is LED. I have been replacing incandescent with LED for about 6 years. I have never seen any LED get anything more than slightly warm.

I bet that flashlight was Halogen.

 

[CavAv8tr]

It's LED, first gen INOVA; but we are going down the rabbit hole.

 

[kh54s10]

It's LED, first gen INOVA.

IDK, I have never seen an LED that you could not touch comfortably.

 

[Arkhomer]

Yes LEDs are much cooler burning than an incandescent bulb, much. They use very low voltage and a diode to produce light.

 

[MaxStout]

LED bulbs have a rectification circuit built into the base, that can dissipate a small amount of heat. But I've never encountered one that was anything more than slightly warm to the touch, even after running several hours.

In my ferm chamber (5 cu. ft. chest freezer), a 25W incandescent bulb in a gallon paint can provides plenty of heat. And my ferm chamber is in an unheated garage. I also have a small 120V computer fan running inside to circulate air--keeps the air temp consistent throughout.

 

[balrog]

AAF

(Always Add Fan) This is really key.

 

[CavAv8tr]

Think I will look at rigging up something then.
The fan never really did work out...pulled the beer inside for secondary fermentation.
It was sitting at 5.4% when I transferred it Saturday and now has a nice layer of yeast on the bottom (I keep the house at 72).