My snow day project

[ak47clown]

Took a look out the window this morning and just couldn't bring myself to drive to work...

So instead I spent some time coming up with something to help me better regulate my fermentation temp. I don't have a mini fridge yet nor would that do me much good as my basement stays between 59-63 and the upstairs is 65-72.

After a little reading on the forums, I decided that a submersible aquarium heater and bucket would be the easiest thing and most effective thing. Went to kmart and picked up a 10 gallon tub:

and then next door to get the heater:

Hagen Elite 10 Aquarium Heater - 50W


Total the project cost me 26 bucks. I've got it sitting in my basement now with my fermenter full of water just to see how stable it is-I'll be brewing on sat. The nice thing about the heater i picked up is that it goes down to 66 degrees whereas most only do 68.

I'm not worried about circulating the water or anything because it's such a limited amount-probably about 2-3 gallons. Next up will be a mini fridge with temp control for the warmer weather...

 

[mbird]

Another cheap option is to build a box or use an old cabinet that you put the fermenter into and mount a lamp with 100w bulb. With a cover over the cab/box it stays warm and you can also use a thermostat to turn the light off if/when the temp gets too warm.
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Beer Diary...

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Another cheap option is to build a box or use an old cabinet that you put the fermenter into and mount a lamp with 100w bulb. With a cover over the cab/box it stays warm and you can also use a thermostat to turn the light off if/when the temp gets too warm.
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Beer Diary...

I like the aquarium heater better. Light and beer do not get along very well.....

 

[ak47clown]

yeah-for me it was the fact that i wanted to do something cheap but effective. A controllable thermostat isn't gonna run much less than 50 bucks. Plus-water temperature tends to be more stable than air temp and less prone to sudden changes.

 

[telemaster]

Instead of a 100W light bulb, why not a ceramic heat emitter used for reptile cages? I had one for a pet a while back, no light only heat. The one linked is expensive; I think I paid ~$10 for mine.

My problem is not keeping things warm, but keeping them cool for when I want to make a lager.... one step at a time though. I need to brew this red ale extract kit I have first.

 

[AnonyBrew]

I use the water & aquarium heater method in my garage right now. What I've noticed is I have to periodically adjust the heater depending on the ambient temp. of my garage which changes quite a bit.

I use a cheapo plastic tote to hold the water so what happens is the water loses heat rapidly & the aquarium heater has to be adjusted.

Basically my point it that either a stable ambient environment or a well insulated water container is required to make this setup low maintenance where you don't have to constantly adjust the heater setting.

 

[Hammy71]

yeah-for me it was the fact that i wanted to do something cheap but effective. A controllable thermostat isn't gonna run much less than 50 bucks. Plus-water temperature tends to be more stable than air temp and less prone to sudden changes.

the aquarium heater has a built in thermostat. Just buy a cheap floating aquarium thermometer and dial it in......or spend a couple bucks more and get a heater that dials in the temp.....Way less than 50 bucks either way......

 

[ak47clown]

Hammy...i think you're agreeing with me? That's what i did in this project-the heater has a built in temp dial...

Soper-i've got a cheap plastic bucket too and i was thinking about the loss. I think that even something as simple as covering the entire container with a blanket might have a big benefit

 

[farmbrewernw]

Been doing this for quite some time it really works well this time of year when it's so damned cold.

 

[TJ-Bill]

I went with the cabinet and an IR heat lamp .. hooked the lamp upto a thermostat.. works great..