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edie

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summer started early in Oklahoma (again). we're already into upper 90's with a couple of months of this or even higher temps. have been putting 6.5 gal buckets in a tub of water and then adding a couple of frozen water bottles 3 times a day. the water in the tub comes up to just about the height of the beer. temp in the room with the tub/bucket is apprx 75*. was going to do the fan thing but i don't like leaving something like that running while i'm at work.

think i've lowered the temp enough? 75* is the high side of ferm. temp for the yeast i'm using.

cheers
 
summer started early in Oklahoma (again). we're already into upper 90's with a couple of months of this or even higher temps. have been putting 6.5 gal buckets in a tub of water and then adding a couple of frozen water bottles 3 times a day. the water in the tub comes up to just about the height of the beer. temp in the room with the tub/bucket is apprx 75*. was going to do the fan thing but i don't like leaving something like that running while i'm at work.

think i've lowered the temp enough? 75* is the high side of ferm. temp for the yeast i'm using.

cheers

Yes, Im sure you have lowered the temps. All you have to do is test the temp of the water and that will tell you the temp of your fermenting beer.
 
75*'s a bit warm for ale yeast. Should try'n get it to 70* or lower. I use the same technique for controlling temps. Just use more bottles when it gets hot. We had a few 100*+ days here in Mpls and I have no AC and was able to keep two fernentors around 70* doing it this way, just took alotta frozen bottles.
 
I think if you lowered the water level to 1/3 to 1/2 of the beer level and wrap with a shirt or towel. This should lower the temp a couple of deg. due to the evaporation factor.
 
75*'s a bit warm for ale yeast. Should try'n get it to 70* or lower. I use the same technique for controlling temps. Just use more bottles when it gets hot. We had a few 100*+ days here in Mpls and I have no AC and was able to keep two fernentors around 70* doing it this way, just took alotta frozen bottles.

He said the ambient temp in the room is 75, he didn't tell us what the water temp was. If he is adding ice 3 times a day the water and beer temp is going to be much lowe than 75 but it doen't sound like he has checked the temp so no way to know what his ferm temp is.

To OP, you can get a cheap, I mean real cheap (like 3 dollars) electronic aquarium thermometer that will tell you the temp in the water bath then you can adjust the amount and frequency of ice additions to get your desired temp. Depending on the size of the ice bottles it is theoretically possible to lower the temp too much so you should monitor it. I also wrap the bucket in a thick blanket which helps slow the temp swings between ice additions.
 
I think if you lowered the water level to 1/3 to 1/2 of the beer level and wrap with a shirt or towel. This should lower the temp a couple of deg. due to the evaporation factor.

can someone explain why this method would keep the beer cooler?

one problem is the water bottles melting while i'm at work. replacing bottles approx 8:00am / 6:00pm / 10:00pm / repeat.

don't know why i haven't just taken the lid off the bckt and checked temp. would the first week of fermentation be the most important time to keep the temps down?
 
Yes, during active fermentation, you really want to keep temperatures down. I do the tub filled with water and ice bottles as well. During the first week (sometimes not a whole week) I try to keep the water around 60°F-65°F because active fermentation increases the temperature (by 5°F or so) of the wort/beer inside the fermenter.
 
Try to use yeast that perform well under warmer conditions. I just brewed a batch of saison and its turned out amazing... take your conditions and play to its strengths (obviously not 90* though lol)
 
can someone explain why this method would keep the beer cooler?

The energy (heat) to evaporate the water from the towel has to come from somewhere. The contact between the wet towel and the fermenter will conduct heat better than the air will, so it will pull the heat out of the fermenter to evaporate the water. It works best in drier environments, as humidity will lessen the effectiveness.
 
The energy (heat) to evaporate the water from the towel has to come from somewhere. The contact between the wet towel and the fermenter will conduct heat better than the air will, so it will pull the heat out of the fermenter to evaporate the water. It works best in drier environments, as humidity will lessen the effectiveness.

Not that this wouldn't work, but wouldn't surrounding your carboy completely with water allow you to control the temp more effectively than relying on the evaporation rate and having to change towels so often? With the complete water bath you can just add ice to reach your desired temp. Takes most of the guess work out of the equation.
 
NordeastBrewer77 said:
Not that this wouldn't work, but wouldn't surrounding your carboy completely with water allow you to control the temp more effectively than relying on the evaporation rate and having to change towels so often? With the complete water bath you can just add ice to reach your desired temp. Takes most of the guess work out of the equation.

Why would you change the towel? That's where the water evaporates.
 
subwyking said:
Why would you change the towel? That's where the water evaporates.

You don't change the towels. I think tshirt is best. You put it on and leave it. Works best with a fan blowing on it.

It is like sweating. Your body sweats. The sweat evaporates and cools you off.
 
kehaar said:
You don't change the towels. I think tshirt is best. You put it on and leave it. Works best with a fan blowing on it.

It is like sweating. Your body sweats. The sweat evaporates and cools you off.

That's exactly what I did before I got a spare freezer. Worked like a charm.
 
Not that this wouldn't work, but wouldn't surrounding your carboy completely with water allow you to control the temp more effectively than relying on the evaporation rate and having to change towels so often? With the complete water bath you can just add ice to reach your desired temp. Takes most of the guess work out of the equation.

I don't use this method, for essentially the same reason. I find it easier to control and keep the temperature steady by submerging. Just explaining the physics behind it. :ban:
 
I have room in my kitchen freezer/fridg for 4 1/2 gal bottles of water. I use 4 to keep the water in the bucket cool. I only change twice a day. Of course you need to have 8 of the 1/2 gallon bottles to do this.
 
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