Have you ever used one of these....

[Sasnz]

Hi Guys

I am a newbie to this homebrewing hobbie and I have a question to the more experienced people of this thread. I went to my neighbours the other day to see if he had any old crates of beer bottles and we got talking about homebrewing, Lovely chap and he said he used to brew for about 20yrs, Long story short i told him that i had just brought a heating pad to go under the brew to try and keep the temp in the fermenting range. EG: 18 - 28deg Celcius( its winter here at the mo so its alot colder) and he said he used to use a tropical fish tank heater, Said it was thermostatically controlled and did a real good job. Aparently these sit i the tank itself.

Just wanting to know if anyone here has or is using this type of thing for heating there brew and how they find it.

Cheers

 

[halite]

I have heard of it before. But I would have to say that I would prefer a solution that is external to the fermenter (i.e the heating pad). If you use an emersion heater you are asking for an infection.

Depending on the style of beer you should be aiming for 20c with you temperature control for most ales.

 

[bull8042]

Using the aquarium heater is fine. I would get a large tub, set the carboy/bucket in it and fill it with water. Then put your heater in the water. That way there are no potential hot spots in your wort and the heat will be distributed more evenly. That also will eliminate the need to find a way to seal around the cord where it exits your fermenter.
Welcome to HBT and the obsession, by the way.

 

[Sasnz]

Thanks guys,

I have an insulated box around my flementer at the moment so i dont think dropping that in a tub of water will work very well for me as there just isnt enough room. If i did put the equatic heater in the brew, does anyone have any suggestions on how i would seal the lead comming out the flementer container.

 

[maxamuus]

Ever thought about a brew belt?

http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/The-Brew-Belt.html

 

[bdleedahl]

very few people have a problem getting their home brew warm enough, because 18C-28C is way to warm, you should be shooting for 16C-19C, check whatever yeast you are using for its ideal temperature

 

[Retarded_Penguin_Brewing]

that brew belt seems like it would overly concentrate heat to one area. at least with a heating pad underneath, thermal dynamics would kind of take over and heat would rise to the top effectively warming everything.

 

[Haputanlas]

Thanks guys,

I have an insulated box around my flementer at the moment so i dont think dropping that in a tub of water will work very well for me as there just isnt enough room. If i did put the equatic heater in the brew, does anyone have any suggestions on how i would seal the lead comming out the flementer container.

Why dont' you take it out of the insulated box and into the tub of water (With something covering it from the light)?

You could then use the aquarium heater and should still be fine (if the heater can keep up without the insulation).

 

[Malintent]

I really prefer the tub of water suggestion for the reasons stated in that post... most excellent, sir.

If you are hell-bent on putting the heater in the beer, then the way to seal the cord would be to buy an assortment of grommets from your local hardware store and use one that fits snugly around the cord. If you are using a bucket, drill a new hole of appropriate size for the grommet selected.

If you are talking about a glass carboy, then I would either:

1) cut the cord on the heater about 6 inches from the plug and force the wire through your bung hole (lol). then reconnect the socket.
2) cut your bung in half (top to bottom, so you have a left and a right half), then glue it back together around the wire.

Obviously, either way, you will need to position the wire such that the heater dangles half way into the carboy when it is plugged up. Also, you will need to sanitize anything going in the fermentor (including the entire wire from where it comes out of the bung or lid).

Edited to add: I guess you would only need a grommet if you are using a bucket / lid

 

[Hang Glider]

I'd be hesitant to put the heater into the wort - they actually get hot - you cannot hold one! While a water-bath will extract the heat, and impart warmth to your fermenter, placing it directly in the wort will cause some of your beer to be very warm - the yeast nearest the heater will be exposed to 50C or more -

my vote (if we're voting) is the heating pad under, or place the aquarium heater in water, not wort.

 

[Bensiff]

If you have an insulated box why not use the other tried and true method from the past...a light bulb to maintain ambient temp. I completely agree with others such as Hang Glider above, an aquarium heater gets really hot in a localized area. I personally use a heating pad I stole from my wife when she wasn't looking and have it hanging on the side of my fermenation chamber to maintain an even temp on cold days. I don't like the idea of setting the carboy directly on the heating pad as the focused weight might damage it, or if it sticks on for whatever reason it will heat the wort more than if it is only being used to moderate ambient temp.