how do you maintain fermentation temp?

[h22lude]

Just trying to get different ideas on how people keep temperatures steady while fermenting. I have heard people using a bucket with water and either an aquarium heater or ice (depending on the beer). Obviously a freezer with temp control or fridge for colder yeasts like lagers.

What else do people do to keep a good steady temp? Blankets and one of those heating belts would work but I would think it wouldn't keep the whole thing at a steady temp.

 

[Sdragon980]

I made a big beer a couple months ago that I needed to keep the temp between 80-83 degrees for pretty much the whole fermentation. I used a heating pad duck taped to the bucket and then wrapped a blanket around the whole thing. It worked ok while I was able to watch it but when I went to work, it dropped down to 78 once for the 12 hours I was gone. I don't think it hurt anything though cause the beer tasted great at bottling!

Recently I picked up a free frig that I will turn into a controlled inviroment. I just need a temp controller.

 

[MalFet]

If you only need to heat, the heating wraps are extremely good. I keep my temperatures within a half-degree of my set point.

If you need to cool, it gets a bit more complicated. I use a mini-fridge. I always found it very difficult to get precise control without some kind of digital monitoring, and that makes the whole ice bath thing something of a no-go for me (though something like this would work)

 

[TheBrewinator]

During the winter months I just use the spare bedroom because we keep the house between 60-65 and I brew primarily ales at this point. During the summer months I built a modified son of fermentation chamber since my basement will get up to 80 and we do not have AC in the house.

 

[ayoungrad]

I have not made a beer as of yet that required temps above ambient. Keep in mind that the fermentation temp is actually anywhere from 3-10 degrees above ambient (fermentation is exothermic).

I definitely got off-flavors (phenols, fusel alcohols) in early batches because I was fermenting at ambient 73-77 with american ale yeast. For a few batches I would open a window (it's pretty cold in Boston) to lower the ambient temp but it would always widely fluctuate depending on how long/when the window was open. Now I use a Johnson Controller and a NuCool minifridge. I have no worries about temps, the frig is very quite, there is no smell of fermentation and the frig sits in my living room under our network printer so I get no complaints from my wife.

 

[h22lude]

If you only need to heat, the heating wraps are extremely good. I keep my temperatures within a half-degree of my set point.

If you need to cool, it gets a bit more complicated. I use a mini-fridge. I always found it very difficult to get precise control without some kind of digital monitoring, and that makes the whole ice bath thing something of a no-go for me (though something like this would work)

Which wrap are you using? Does it have a temp control wth probe to keep it that close in temp?

Cooling I do wth a chest freezer and digital johnson contol. Keeping the beer warm for an ale, especially during the winter, is what I have problems with. I turn my heat down to 60 when I go to work.

 

[thughes]

Stand up freezer with Ranco ETC. In the winter (when basement temps get in the low 50's) I simply switch the Ranco to heat mode, swap the ETC power cord from the freezer to an old hair dryer, and put the hairdryer on the top shelf in the freezer. Work the same as using a heat-lamp, only better because it moves the air around as it's heating it. :rockin:

 

[MalFet]

Which wrap are you using? Does it have a temp control wth probe to keep it that close in temp?

Cooling I do wth a chest freezer and digital johnson contol. Keeping the beer warm for an ale, especially during the winter, is what I have problems with. I turn my heat down to 60 when I go to work.

I have a homemade fermwrap made from reptile heating tape. It is more or less what is described here. I have a thermowell with a temp probe sitting in my wort, but taping a probe to the side of a carboy and insulating it is pretty much just as good.

 

[Homercidal]

I think the ferm wraps would be pretty good even without additional temp control.

I obtained a broken freezer from a guy at work and used that with a heater in the garage this winter and it worked like a champ. However, now that it's going to warm up, it's basically worthless for a ferm chamber to me. I just placed a heater in there wired to a temp controller.

For cooling, an ice bath/swamp cooler works ok if you are willing to swap ice packs, and the ambient temp is not too much higher.

But for a really good control, and a more hands off method, a freezer and temp controller work fantastic.

I've also seen a project that used 2 coolers, one with the fermenter in it, and the other with ice water or block of ice. The system used a temp controller to control cold water from one cooler to the other to control temps better. I have not seen it working, but I imagine it would work very well if built right.

 

[RedHouse]

For heating, I am using a wrap hooked up to a dimmer so I can adjust the temp. It works pretty well, but you do need to make small adjustments here and there....it's not hands off.

For cooling in the summer, I'm not sure what Im going to use. I'd like a fridge to ferment in, but not sure that's in the budget yet. May try the water bath with bottles of I e and see how that works.

Sent from my DROIDX using Home Brew Talk

 

[Yooper]

Here's my solution:

In the summer, or for lagers, I fill it with a water bath and drop in frozen water bottles and milk jugs as needed. For winter, to bring the temperature up, I use a water bath with an aquarium heater. It works great!

 

[jangelj]

i made a fermentaion chamber from an old dorm fridge, some insulation board and an analog johnson controller. holds 3 carboys or corny's easily. I live in FL, so never have to warm up a brew.

 

[nilo]

Do this

 

[krazydave]

Google "Mother of a fermentation chamber". I built something similar to that except I modified mine for heating as well. For heat I use a 15w ceramic reptile heater that screws into a lightbulb socket. The fan circulates air over it and keeps the temp right where I want it within a degree or so.

I also tape my probe under a rag to the side of my fermenter so I'm adjusting the temp of the wort and not just the air.

 

[h22lude]

I might have to try the wrap with temp control. I don't have a problem with cooling since I use a freezer

 

[h22lude]

Google "Mother of a fermentation chamber". I built something similar to that except I modified mine for heating as well. For heat I use a 15w ceramic reptile heater that screws into a lightbulb socket. The fan circulates air over it and keeps the temp right where I want it within a degree or so.

I also tape my probe under a rag to the side of my fermenter so I'm adjusting the temp of the wort and not just the air.

This sounds like what I need. Ill search this.

 

[krazydave]

Let me know if you want more details on the heat side of it. I bought a $5 relay to switch the heating element on with the thermostat, so a little bit more wiring is involved than you'll see online.

I can take some pics also, if needed.

 

[h22lude]

That would be great!!! Im going to research it and see what I can find. If I need anything further, ill send you a pm. Thanks a lot

 

[VoodooManX]

I put my fermenting bucket on my hddvr box. Keeps it just at 70. Room temp here is about 65.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[h22lude]

I put my fermenting bucket on my hddvr box. Keeps it just at 70. Room temp here is about 65.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

Hahaha I think I could boil my wort on my hddvr box

 

[krazydave]

Ok, here are some pics of my setup. I modified some pre-exisiting shelves in my garage and turned them into this, but you could build it standalone just as easily.

Lower Portion (I use 6qt rubbermaid plastic shoeboxes for my ice blocks, the lids also make great condensation drip trays)

Closeup of the heater element, PC fan in the back to circulate air around it (or the ice) and back to the top.

The wood in the corner is the air duct to direct the air to the top. There's a hole on the front left of the shelf to get the air back to the bottom again. You can see the hole in the top two pics.

The thermostat and Relay(in the grey box)

The relay with the cover off. This is a 12vdc coil, DPDT relay. An overkill, but it's all I could find at the local Fry's Electronics. Radio Shack looked at me like I had four heads when I asked for a relay.

If this looks like something you want to do, let me know and I'll show you how I wired it.

 

[h22lude]

That is exactly what I want to do.

How does the air get from the bottom 3 chambers up to the main fermenting chamber? I see the hole on the front left corner but how does the air from the fan blow hot air into each chamber?

 

[krazydave]

There's a hole on the shelf in the back right corner also, then if you look at the 4th pic, that piece of wood in the corner directs it to the top of the top chamber, and also hides the hole from your view.

When the door is closed, the top and bottom are two separate chambers.

Also, the dividers at the bottom are arranged so that that the air snakes its way through them. So the left divider actually has a 2" gap between it and the back wall and sits flush against the door. The other has the gap in the front and is flush to the back.
Hope that makes sense!

EDIT: The fan also sucks in from the heater side and blows towards the back of the chamber. The wall that the fan is mounted to is about 3-4" away from the actual back wall.

 

[bengerman]

For winter, to bring the temperature up, I use a water bath with an aquarium heater. It works great!

same here. first batch brewing away in the garage, which has hit temps as low as 30 since i started fermenting. water bath and $7.50 aquarium heater keep it at 67F (i do check it 2x a day, and it does fluctuate). next brew i'm going to spring for the $25 submersible heater (recalling back to my fish-keeping days, the higher-priced submersables were also significantly more accurate.)

EDIT: if you cheap out like me and get the non-submersible aquarium heater, you need to check the water level pretty much daily, as they have a very small band of acceptable levels.

 

[camus]

I am a bit cro magnon, I have a cmu fermenter I call a basement. In the winter the fermenter sits on a milk crate, in the summer the floor.

 

[krazydave]

I am a bit cro magnon, I have a cmu fermenter I call a basement. In the winter the fermenter sits on a milk crate, in the summer the floor.

Wish I had a basement... they're pretty much non-existent in this part of CA

 

[camus]

Wish I had a basement... they're pretty much non-existent in this part of CA

Well they are couple of drawbacks a few times a year, you just have to brew accordingly. The other being your significant other may never be able to throw anything away as it is memorabilia so you just have to slowly let it disappear, definitely a balancing act.

Anyway, nice build.

 

[h22lude]

Does this look like an OK one to use with the ebay temp controller DIY.

http://www.petco.com/product/113622...ferralID=51346c8c-7a44-11e0-8773-001b2166c62d


Has anyone tried using an aquarium cooler?

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewi..._campaign=mdcsegooglebase2&utm_content=CW1111


Could I use a thermowell with a bucket? I would have to drill a hole the size of the stopper. I don't see why that wouldn't work. I would like to use that so I don't have to put the ebay controller probe in the water since no one really knows if it is water proof or not.

 

[C-Rider]

Wish I had a basement... they're pretty much non-existent in this part of CA

Living in Hawai`i, I would not know what a basement was if I hadn't grown up in Brooklyn.

 

[Jewrican]

converted side by side fridge