I am missing something in my brews.....

[camp20]

since I will be using a swamp cooler, will that thermometer read a lot cooler than the wort?

I was thinking of using a tote for the swamp cooler, how much water do I put in it? 3/4 up the fermenter bucket? I have some frozen mike jugs filled with water well ice now, I was thinking of using to cool the water, I think that should work.

 

[glick]

No, the thermometer reads the temp of the fermentor. It works. The tote will also work well, and so will frozen milk jugs. I would also freeze some smaller bottles to fine tune the temp. A full milk jug will drop your temp pretty far pretty fast which is great if you can't get it cool enough from the start but may be too much during fermentation. maybe fill one only half full and one all of the way. It depends on the ambient air temp.

 

[camp20]

Glad you said that about the milk jugs may be too cold. I will freeze different sizes so I can regulate the temp better.

How much water do I put into the swamp cooler?

 

[glick]

fill it so that it's level with the wort. Once you get the wort at the temp you want it's really easy to keep it there. Just keep your eye on the thermometer and when it warms up from where you want it to be... add ice!

 

[Malric]

Remember, time is your friend. Give it 2-4 weeks in the fermentor before you bottle. Give it at least another 2-4 weeks in the bottle.