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Eagle's Feather Brew House
Incubator – Heating/Cooling – Temperature Control Part 1
Ideally I would like to lager. My experiments so far consist of one ale extract brew. Next I will build an incubator to ferment wine at a controlled temperature. The idea of ruining beer is not pleasant so I will experiment on wine first.
I plan to build a cooling chamber and a heating chamber.
Part 1- The beginning
– Try to use what I have on hand and then find deals on the minimum needed equipment.
Parts on hand
Needed:
In hours of searching I found an AC temperature controller CHEAP, I could have gone with DC unit but that would guarantee I would need a solid state relay DC-AC.
XH-W3002 - 13.99 CAD including taxes and shipping from Walmart.ca
All tests for heating, cooling and time delay settings have worked flawlessly. I have yet to do exhaustive testing but at this point I recommend the product.
For 14 bucks it is worth the risk for the experiment. Meaning I'm not wasting my beer making budget.
Also, I found some solid state relays for under 10 bucks and will probably add one in the future. That will depend on current draw etc...
For a fair test I wired in a switch to simulate power failures. All programmed settings stayed and the XH-W3002 passed its tests for heating and cooling and time delay.
In the time delay function if the temperature changes then the controller reacts as programmed meaning it either did not turn on the output or off as it was programmed.
For the space heater used for the test, I might not use it again as it can really pump out the heat as shown in the picture. However I need to build the box and put in 23litres of liquid at room temperature and then try and effectively raise the temperature. Then I will see how well the heater cycles.
If you have any advice please share. If you have any questions please ask.
Ideally I would like to lager. My experiments so far consist of one ale extract brew. Next I will build an incubator to ferment wine at a controlled temperature. The idea of ruining beer is not pleasant so I will experiment on wine first.
I plan to build a cooling chamber and a heating chamber.
Part 1- The beginning
– Try to use what I have on hand and then find deals on the minimum needed equipment.
Parts on hand
- Super small fridge
- Automotive battery warmer rated 50watts/125volt
- [epiphany] I just realized I have old window ac units!
- Plywood, 2x4’s
- 4x8 sheets of insulation
- 2 small space heaters, one ceramic and the other wire resistance
- Automotive battery warmer rated 50watts/125volt
- [epiphany] I just realized I have old window ac units!
- Plywood, 2x4’s
- 4x8 sheets of insulation
- 2 small space heaters, one ceramic and the other wire resistance
Needed:
- temperature controller/PID
In hours of searching I found an AC temperature controller CHEAP, I could have gone with DC unit but that would guarantee I would need a solid state relay DC-AC.
XH-W3002 - 13.99 CAD including taxes and shipping from Walmart.ca
- it is rated for 120/230 AC
All tests for heating, cooling and time delay settings have worked flawlessly. I have yet to do exhaustive testing but at this point I recommend the product.
For 14 bucks it is worth the risk for the experiment. Meaning I'm not wasting my beer making budget.
Also, I found some solid state relays for under 10 bucks and will probably add one in the future. That will depend on current draw etc...
For a fair test I wired in a switch to simulate power failures. All programmed settings stayed and the XH-W3002 passed its tests for heating and cooling and time delay.
In the time delay function if the temperature changes then the controller reacts as programmed meaning it either did not turn on the output or off as it was programmed.
For the space heater used for the test, I might not use it again as it can really pump out the heat as shown in the picture. However I need to build the box and put in 23litres of liquid at room temperature and then try and effectively raise the temperature. Then I will see how well the heater cycles.
If you have any advice please share. If you have any questions please ask.
