Heat source for fermentation chamber

[BigTerp]

Working on getting a chest freezer to use as a fermentation chamber. Throwing around ideas for a heat source and wanted to see what would be best and safest. Been looking at mini ceramic heaters on amazon and ebay that look like they would work well. My setup will be on a GFI protected outlet, so good to go there. Wanting to avoid anything that is even the smallest fire hazard.

What do you guys use?

 

[m00ps]

A lot of people jsut use an incandescent light bulb in like a big tin can.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

I just use power resistors intended for electrical circuits. 100Ohm at 120V draws 1.2A and provides 120W. I bought the ones with a variable tap so I can adjust the resistance down to increase the power. They're not pretty but they're bullet proof.

 

[Dolomieu]

Lasko my heat heater is what I currently use in my 17cuft ferm chamber. I have also used 3ft of lizard heat tape. Both kept temps well through out the winter. My chamber is in the garage. I like the my heat because it has a fan and it plays well with my brewpi, but most things would.

 

[alphaomega]

I loathe the bulb in a can. And especially the instructions for how to build them that are around are flawed (i.e. they could be made a lot safer).
Ceramic heaters are normally way over powered. And you have a fan that can fail.
I'd say if you want something reasonably cheap and safe, stick with low power (30-60 watts depending on ambient) and large surface area. A brew belt or similar that you wrap around the fermenter would probably be easiest.
If you don't want to wrap it around the fermenter every time you can entwine it into a piece of welded mesh wire or something and mount it in the fermentation chamber.

I've ordered a 'tube heater' from Great Britain (seems like it's an English thing). And that is pretty sweet.

For safety, a properly sized fuse and a thermal fuse adds heaps of safety for pretty much no cost.

Cheers!

 

[Owly055]

I use a heat pad............There are heat pads for reptiles, or for sprouting plants, etc...

 

[Dolomieu]

I loathe the bulb in a can. And especially the instructions for how to build them that are around are flawed (i.e. they could be made a lot safer).
Ceramic heaters are normally way over powered. And you have a fan that can fail.
I'd say if you want something reasonably cheap and safe, stick with low power (30-60 watts depending on ambient) and large surface area. A brew belt or similar that you wrap around the fermenter would probably be easiest.
If you don't want to wrap it around the fermenter every time you can entwine it into a piece of welded mesh wire or something and mount it in the fermentation chamber.

I've ordered a 'tube heater' from Great Britain (seems like it's an English thing). And that is pretty sweet.

For safety, a properly sized fuse and a thermal fuse adds heaps of safety for pretty much no cost.

Cheers!

You gotta link for that? I have seen then but was having issues finding one a couple years ago when I first saw them. They did seem to be the safest option.

 

[JonM]

I use the Northern Brewer version of this. Works great, takes up practically zero space, and I feel comfortable leaving it on for weeks at a time (while hooked up to a controller.). I've even used it for 90 deg lacto fermentation.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064O92WS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Dolomieu]

Heat tape source: http://www.reptilebasics.com/12-heat-tape

Choose your length

 

[jpb2716]

I use one of those heat panels that you put under a desk to keep your legs warm. It does not get anywhere near hot enough to catch fire.

This is the one I use. It works great.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FRFFC4W/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Rockindaddy]

I just use a incandescent light bulb and it works great. Of course, mine is an upright freezer so I have it clamped in one of the racks in the door.

 

[alphaomega]

You gotta link for that? I have seen then but was having issues finding one a couple years ago when I first saw them. They did seem to be the safest option.

Just search ebay or ebay.co.uk, though you have that pesky low voltage electical thing going on, so you might need a pair of 'em or so But on the flip side it will be even safer

 

[user 163849]

The little Lasko personal heater (200 watts) fits nicely on the door shelf of the refrigerator that I use as a fermentation chamber. I have never had a problem with it.

 

[beernutz]

I use a small low-power hair dryer because the air flow does a good job of distributing the heat. I stick it inside a mason jar on the small shelf in my chest freezer pointed away from the fermenter. I only have to use it during our few weeks (or days) of winter or when I'm fermenting something like a saison.

 

[BigTerp]

Thanks.

I want to avoid anything like a brew belt that wraps around a fermenter. I typically have 10 gallons of the same batch split into 2 fermenters. The Lasko personal heater looks perfect.

 

[Dolomieu]

Just another quick note, when I did use the reptile heater I ran it along the walls of my chamber because at the time I was splitting 10galon batches as you describe. I now use a 14gal conical.

 

[Dolomieu]

Just search ebay or ebay.co.uk, though you have that pesky low voltage electical thing going on, so you might need a pair of 'em or so But on the flip side it will be even safer

I forgot you are in Sweden. Wish a homebrew place would start getting these manufactured for the US.

 

[kombat]

A lot of people jsut use an incandescent light bulb in like a big tin can.

I used that for a while. It worked fine in the winter when the freezer was in the garage and the circuit only ever had to provide heat (and it would naturally cool back down pretty quickly, as the garage was below freezing), but in my indoor setup, I was getting wild temperature swings that ruined a batch of Kolsch.

Now I use those heating belts you can buy at the LHBS.

 

[b-boy]

Ceramic reptile heater bulb in a Lowes ceramic light fixture. It's mounted on a heavy piece of wood that keeps it up off the freezer floor, and makes it pretty stable. I use a 60W bulb. You really don't need much heat - even in the middle of the winter.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AQCPK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[BigTerp]

Just another quick note, when I did use the reptile heater I ran it along the walls of my chamber because at the time I was splitting 10galon batches as you describe. I now use a 14gal conical.

Makes sense. Thanks.

 

[BlueHouseBrew]

I use a heating pads (Sunbeam 756-500) stretch-wrapped to the sides of the fermentors. Works like a charm and very inexpensive.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Another vote for the Lasko MyHeat...for $16 off Amazon w/ prime it cant be beat IMO.

One thing of note that the OP mentioned the Lasko MyHeat does have is a overheat failsafe. If for some reason your Temp controller fails or something happens and the heat gets stuck on the MyHeat automatically turns off once it reaches a certain temperature..i think 125F or something and even if the temp controller tries to cycle it off and on again it wont work. You have to physically turn the power button off for a few seconds then back on before it will work again.

I had it trigger once when my old STC1000 failed with the heat on...so for that reason i choose to use nothing else. Reptile tape is also probably a good bet because its so low power, i would never use a bulb in a can...that **** gets so hot so fast its an incredible fire hazard.

 

[alphaomega]

Well, I downvote the Lasko MyHeat. Even though the price might be right, it's still to much heat. The overheat protection is a good thing, but for safety, there are better options.
Look at this for example. 5m @ 50w is a few bucks more than the Lasko, but a lot less heat density.

 

[jbb3]

Another vote for Lasko personal heater. It works perfectly.
Low power, overheat protection, AND you can get it in the color you want!

 

[pretzelb]

I bought a lizard heat pad last year that works well but the Lasko looks good.

 

[mredge73]

If the freezer is frost free it already comes with a heating element pre-installed; you just need to do some clever wiring.
If not the little 100w personal heaters work well.

 

[ericbw]

I have a small heater and a plant sprouting mat. Fermenters sit on top of the mat, or half on/half off. The heater makes me nervous and if I can get away with just the mat, I think it's better.

Before I wired up the temp controller, I used to set a time that cycled it on for half an hour every couple of hours. I had to watch it and adjust the timing sometimes to keep the temp right.

With the STC-1000, it keeps steady and it seems like it is a slower change than what the heater causes.

I also tried the ceramic bulb, but it didn't seem to do anything.

 

[kevink]

i would never use a bulb in a can...that **** gets so hot so fast its an incredible fire hazard.

Light bulbs also go out all the time. The only way I would recommend a light bulb is if two are wired in parallel.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Well, I downvote the Lasko MyHeat. Even though the price might be right, it's still to much heat. The overheat protection is a good thing, but for safety, there are better options.
Look at this for example. 5m @ 50w is a few bucks more than the Lasko, but a lot less heat density.

I think your Overestimating how much heat this thing puts out..yes 200W sounds like its outputting a furnace but its really not. Its hard to explain if you havent used it but its meant to be a desk heater pointed at your face so obviously its not going to be blowing scalding air out...it puts out a mildly warm air I find similar to say turning the heat on in your car. It works great with a BrewPi I can attest to using it for well over a year, but i could maybe see it being too powerful for the STC1000 to not prevent wild overshoots but even then i doubt it? Still its not that hot and takes a long time to heat up my 7Cft stand up freezer..

 

[user 163849]

Mine is on an STC1000 and and I have had no problem with overshooting the temp. Of course this is this is monitoring the temperature of the beer, not the air temp inside the chamber.