Lagering with heat

[DNW]

So I didn't plan things very well and I have no good place to lager. I am thinking of using the upstairs of my unheated garage (the garage itself rarely gets to 32° except after a very long very cold spell), putting a Brew Belt around it hooked up to my temp controller and wrapping the whole thing in some heavy blankets. Anyone tried anything like this before and/or have any words of wisdom or at least advice?

thanks,

 

[TipsyDragon]

as a general rule you don't want your lager to get above about 50F during the bulk of fermentation. only the last few days do you want to up the temp by about 10F. if you can ensure that the brew will stay close to 50F then it should be ok. now after fermentation is over letting it drop to near freezing should be ok.

 

[DNW]

Sorry - I wasn't clear - it's already done primary fermentation in the 50s (in my basement). Now I need to lager it at about 32-34° for at least a month.

 

[EvilTOJ]

Are you F'ing kidding me? You're in Vermont in winter! Just open the window and it'll get down to 34 in no time.

Or are you talking about the other way, heating things up so they don't freeze solid? I've done some similar setups, although not with a brew belt. I think your idea will work fine. A small cabinet or even a cardboard box wrapped in blankets would work better though.

 

[BigEd]

So I didn't plan things very well and I have no good place to lager. I am thinking of using the upstairs of my unheated garage (the garage itself rarely gets to 32° except after a very long very cold spell), putting a Brew Belt around it hooked up to my temp controller and wrapping the whole thing in some heavy blankets. Anyone tried anything like this before and/or have any words of wisdom or at least advice?

thanks,

My concern with using a heat belt is that it might raise the temperature of the liquid in its' immediate contact to temps beyond the range you want. What about creating a mini-environment with some simple dividers like a large cardboard box or plywood scraps then insulating with the blankets. This could then be heated to above freezing with a small lightbulb or other small source of heat.

 

[DNW]

Actually I have some 2" foamboard that I could make most of the box out of. Maybe I'll try that with a lightbulb. I could set it up and try it out without actually putting the carboy out there.

Thanks for your suggestions.