Help? Best way to control ferm. temps?

[HPEtech]

I'm still new to brewing, and I'm trying to learn more about controlling temps during fermentation. I live in the south, so it's HOT. My home gets up to around 75 degrees during the day, and 72 or so at night. I've got 6 gallon carboys and a few buckets.. What is the best way to stabilize my temps that won't break the bank? Any help would be appreciated!

Travis

 

[daksin]

My favorite current way is a big plastic tub (muckbucket, ~$5 here) filled with water. Keep a bunch of water bottles in your freezer and periodically swap out the bottles. Even lower budget is to wrap a towel around it tightly and point a fan or AC at it, and keep the towel wet constantly. This really only works if you have low-ish humidity, though. For either method, invest in a stick on thermometer and tape over it tightly with packing tape to keep moisture away from the thermometer, which will ruin it.

 

[podz]

Do you have a basement or cellar? Tornado shelter?

 

[TangoHotel]

I agree with the swamp cooler. It is cheap and it worked for me for about a year. Having a stockpile of frozen waterbottles and switching them out every so often (8 -12 hours depending on what temp I wanted to maintain) is a little bit of a pain in the rear.

If you want a DIY project, roll around some neighborhoods and see if anyone is parting with an old refridgerator. You could use it as a fermentation chamber as long as the compressor still works. All you would need would be a johnson control thermostat and a thermowell for your carboys. I know its a little more on the pricey end, but it can control your temps within a few degrees with little or no effort. I have 2 beer fridges (SWMBO is awesome!) And one is wired with a JC A419. Works like a charm, and it produces great beer!

Or, since your temps are high in your house, brew some saisons and take advantage of higher temperature fermentation. That is, if you like the style. Cheers!

 

[HPEtech]

Thanks guys.. I'm looking around for fridges right now.. I might buy a cheap chest freezer and convert that over.

So the thermowell allows you to take a reading of the temp inside your carboy, and will adjust the ambient temp around it down until the liquid inside reaches the desired temp?

 

[TangoHotel]

Thanks guys.. I'm looking around for fridges right now.. I might buy a cheap chest freezer and convert that over.

So the thermowell allows you to take a reading of the temp inside your carboy, and will adjust the ambient temp around it down until the liquid inside reaches the desired temp?

Jewel (Albertsons) will sometimes have a deal where you buy a chest freezer for $160 and you get $160 in coupons for food to fill the freezer. Not sure if its a company wide thing or a local promo, but that seems like it would be a sweet deal. A man's gotta eat, right? Get a freezer for free!

Yes that's the thermowell. Mine works like magic. I take the probe and put it right in the slot for it and it runs the fridge until the liquid is the temperature that the unit is set to.