How do you adjust your Heating and cooling differential for your fermenting chamber?

[Finlandbrews]

I want to have a better control of my fermentation and I thought I would set the heating and cooling differential values lower at 1 degree celsius each (instead of 2 celsius each) so my HD and CD are each about 1.9 Farenheit now. Also instead of 3 minutes compressor delay I've set it at 2 minutes instead. Is that dangerous for my compressor, what adjustment do you have? I have heard people setting 1 farenheit HD and 1 Fahrenheit CD with 3 minutes compressor delay, could I safely do that or is it risky?

 

[The_Bishop]

You want to max out the compressor delay. If you're using an STC-1000 it should max out at 10 minutes. Cycling the compressor too rapidly will dramatically shorten it's life.

Also, where is the temp probe? In a thermowell, attached to the side of the fermenter, or hanging free? At a bare minimum you want it attached to the side of the fermenter.

 

[suprchunk]

At a bare minimum you want it attached to the side of the fermenter.

This. I put my temp probe next to my fermenter and surround with copious amounts of bubble wrap. Has worked fairly well thus far.

 

[Finlandbrews]

You want to max out the compressor delay. If you're using an STC-1000 it should max out at 10 minutes. Cycling the compressor too rapidly will dramatically shorten it's life.

Also, where is the temp probe? In a thermowell, attached to the side of the fermenter, or hanging free? At a bare minimum you want it attached to the side of the fermenter.

I have the inkbird itc 308 I stick the probe to the wall of my fermenter with tape! A Thermo well will be great but I have not yet found a an airlock which would allow me to use a Thermo well together with the air stopper...

 

[Finlandbrews]

This. I put my temp probe next to my fermenter and surround with copious amounts of bubble wrap. Has worked fairly well thus far.

Great, thanks for the advice!

 

[day_trippr]

I have the inkbird itc 308 I stick the probe to the wall of my fermenter with tape![...]

The probe must be insulated - the more the better - otherwise its readings will be influenced by the chamber temperature, which is unhelpful for maintaining good control over fermenting beer...

Cheers!

 

[gifty74]

I have the inkbird itc 308 I stick the probe to the wall of my fermenter with tape! A Thermo well will be great but I have not yet found a an airlock which would allow me to use a Thermo well together with the air stopper...

I have a thermowell on my Speidel, but it is not good for helping to maintain a consistent fermentation temp. The problem is the wort takes a while to absorb the temp of my chest freezer, and by that time it's near 0° in the freezer, and it's insulated, so stays that way for a long time and the wort gets way too cold by the time it reacts. It's good for checking real-time temperature of the wort at the core of the fermenter, but not good at all for controlling the temp. I found that taping it to the outside seems about as good as anything. I then put down the thermowell every now and then to see what the delta is, which is nice to see during active fermentation.

 

[Morrey]

Taping the probe to your fermenter is great, but then you need to insulate the probe with something like a neoprene beer hugger taped over the probe.

If you are using a carboy, I think MoreBeer sells a dual hole cap that accommodates a thermowell and an airlock.

I use 6.8G plastic pails and drill a second hole in the lid, use a 3/8" rubber grommet, then slide the thermowell into place. The Inkbird 308 probe fits just right into the thermowell opening. Brewershardware.com sells thermowells in a variety of lengths depending on your fermenter height. I like my probe to be close to the middle of the wort's depth, so measure your fermenter to choose the right length. Filling the thermowell's hollow shaft with water helps conduction keeping the temp readings stable.

 

[petrolSpice]

My differential is set to 0.3C with a 5 minute compressor delay. During active fermentation is does great holding temp. However after fermentation it does tend to overshoot since there isn't adequate mixing of the wort. My temp probe is in the center of the wort.

With how slowly the temps fluctuate you don't really need to worry about damaging the compressor. Even during peak fermentation it only comes on once every couple of hours.

 

[cegan09]

I have the inkbird itc 308 I stick the probe to the wall of my fermenter with tape! A Thermo well will be great but I have not yet found a an airlock which would allow me to use a Thermo well together with the air stopper...

I bought this, and have used it probably a dozen times already.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ODSS3Q8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

some reviews aren't great, but mine has been perfect. It's also super easy to make one. Find a stainless thermowell, and then just drill two holes in a stopper.

 

[Finlandbrews]

My differential is set to 0.3C with a 5 minute compressor delay. During active fermentation is does great holding temp. However after fermentation it does tend to overshoot since there isn't adequate mixing of the wort. My temp probe is in the center of the wort.

With how slowly the temps fluctuate you don't really need to worry about damaging the compressor. Even during peak fermentation it only comes on once every couple of hours.

Excellent, thanks! I will try to put. 0.5 celsius at first with 5 mins compressor delay. Is it so that cooling differential value is the one when temperature goes above it starts to cool down and heating differential is the temperature under which the heating element activates, or is it opposite? Thanks

 

[petrolSpice]

Excellent, thanks! I will try to put. 0.5 celsius at first with 5 mins compressor delay. Is it so that cooling differential value is the one when temperature goes above it starts to cool down and heating differential is the temperature under which the heating element activates, or is it opposite? Thanks

I'm not sure. On the STC-1000 there is only one differential value you can set.

Example: If you set it 70F and the diff to 0.5F, the fridge/freezer will turn on once it reaches 70.5F and turn off once it gets back down to 70F. The heater will turn on once it drops to 69.5F and turn off once it gets back up to 70F.

 

[jddevinn]

Conical with thermowells, glycol chiller and electric heater elements..... I use a 0.5°F hysteresis for most beers

 

[jeremy2027]

I use an STC1000 with a thermowell and Fermwrap in my fridge. I have the compressor delay set to 5 min but there is so much thermal mass in the carboy the fridge may cut on a couple times every 30 minutes or so. I also have my differential set to 1*F and with this setup I can keep fermentation temps on the money year round (ferm fridge is in my garage in TX) Since using this setup my beers have drastically improved. You can buy a thermowell from brewershardware, brewhardware or any place you choose and get a cheap rubber stopper then drill an extra hole works like a charm.
:rockin: