How cold is too cold?

[worlddivides]

So, what I want you to do is get in the shower at the temp you prefer. Now lower it by 10*, still feel good? No you don't. Just imagine a single cell organism without any fat to insulate. Oh ,we'll warm them up during the day, then lower at nite. NOT

The most important 2 things in the fermenter, 1- the proper temp for the yeast , 2- maintaining that temp.

Did you mean to post this in a different thread? Or did you just not read anything in this thread? Raising and lowering the temperature by 10 degrees? The issue I brought up is that the temperature gets too cold at night, bringing the fermenter down 1 to 2 degrees when it was already at the bottom range of what the yeast can handle. The fermenter was at 15 or 16C, then when I woke up in the morning it was 14C (a decrease of 1 to 2 degrees), which made me worry that it could make the yeast go dormant. I raised it back up to 16C (an increase of 2 degrees), which is where it's at now, though it might drop 1 to 2 degrees over the night and be back at 14C tomorrow morning. But once the seedling mat arrives, I should be able to raise the temperature to a higher temperature and keep it there. Not sure where you got this idea of "Oh, we'll warm them up during the day, then lower them at night. Oh, what a wonderful thing to do!" That's exactly what I want to AVOID.

 

[hottpeper13]

In reading between the lines you should have figured out I meant you to insulate the FV so there is no change, but i digress.

 

[worlddivides]

In reading between the lines you should have figured out I meant you to insulate the FV so there is no change, but i digress.

I should have figured out that you meant that I should do something I've been doing for more than 10 years?

 

[amber-ale]

Why don’t you just put it into two or three smaller fermentors that you can carry up to the warmer areas of your house? Then wrap them in some towels to insulate and stabilize temperature fluctuations.

Pick your beer style, yeast and fermentation location based on what temperature you consistently get in your house at a particular time of year.

 

[worlddivides]

Why don’t you just put it into two or three smaller fermentors that you can carry up to the warmer areas of your house? Then wrap them in some towels to insulate and stabilize temperature fluctuations.

Pick your beer style, yeast and fermentation location based on what temperature you consistently get in your house at a particular time of year.

I actually think that would have the opposite effect. The more volume of wort/beer I have, the more it takes for the temperature to change. If I took that volume and divided it by three, I would need to separately cool and heat three different fermenters. Plus, I don't think wrapping towels around them would stabilize temperature fluctuations any more than the insulation I already use (which is actually designed to keep the temperature stable). Plus, it'd mean buying three small fermenters, buying three fermentation cooler bags, and pitching yeast three separate times, along with managing the temperatures separately for three of them, then combining them all into the same keg.

The seedling mat arrived yesterday and I only had it on for a few hours, but it brought the temperature up to 18C, then I unplugged it. When I woke up this morning and checked 12 hours after I had unplugged it, the temperature had only dropped 1 degree to 17C, so this definitely seems like a very viable option. It might not go that well in the middle of winter, though, if the temperature outside the insulation is 10C or so, but I'll see what I can do.

 

[amber-ale]

That's great,!!
Solution found!

 

[Deric]

Another option for a low cost heating device is a seedling mat. They're typically around 20W or so, and can maintain warmth quite well if your fermenter is inside an insulated enclosure.

You don't necessarily need to wrap them around the FV; you can let them hang alongside it. A small computer fan can move air around for more consistent heat.

Putting together a new mini fridge ferm chamber and was considering this. Do they actually heat well when just hanging? I've used 40 watt ceramic bulbs in metal lined chest freezers and they worked great. Don't have near as much room in this one and the liner is plastic so considering other options.

Thanks!

 

[MaxStout]

Putting together a new mini fridge ferm chamber and was considering this. Do they actually heat well when just hanging? I've used 40 watt ceramic bulbs in metal lined chest freezers and they worked great. Don't have near as much room in this one and the liner is plastic so considering other options.

Thanks!

I found the key to using seedling mats is to hang them about an inch away from the walls, so you don't have too much of the heat being wasted by moving outward to the walls. If you can put a small computer fan in your chamber it will help move the warm air around.

If you use a couple 20W mats, it should generate the same heat as your 40W ceramic bulb.

 

[Deric]

Thanks for the reply - that's what I was hoping to hear. I'll give it a shot.