Another experiment for next time: prechilling the chamber before I pitch the yeast and move the carboy inside, giving the ice a head start. Perhaps I can record temperature timeseries with a Raspberry Pi or Arduino next time so I can remotely monitor my fermentation temperature.
ThreeGnomes said:I bought one when they first came out.. put it away and forgot about it until today. I'm planning on using it during the summer when its hot.. with the ice bottles
But, has anyone tried using it during the winter when they want to raise the temp just a bit? I'm not thinking hot water bottles..
Suggestions??
I bought one when they first came out.. put it away and forgot about it until today. I'm planning on using it during the summer when its hot.. with the ice bottles
But, has anyone tried using it during the winter when they want to raise the temp just a bit? I'm not thinking hot water bottles..
Suggestions??
Thanks for the quick response! Is the Fermwrap you used the same one that Morebeer sells?
No Problem!
I bought mine from Adventures in Homebrewing however Morebeer's looks to be the same.
http://www.homebrewing.org/product....m=ProductAds&gclid=CLb_iZq1-LQCFelFMgodRB4ACQ
Thank you, I too am interested in a way to slightly warm my Carboys (Better Bottle) and fermenters (plastic) in my CBCooler during the winter. Think Fermwrap would be safe for them and/or the cooler bag? If not, maybe insulate between or lay the fermwrap down under them? Oh and I do have a DIY STC-1000 temp controller I could possible use with it.
Hi,
Using a Fermwrap is safe with our fermentation coolers as long as you dont heat above 115 degrees F. This was as hot as we could get using a standard 40 watt Fermwrap in our fermentation cooler. This should be well above any desired fermentation temperature for beer anyway!
As for Better Bottle it looks like you should be good as well!
I found this listed on their website:
Use a heating belt or heating wrap with BetterBottle Carboys? Many winemakers and brewers do so regularly and without any problems. However, bear in mind that the upper temperature limit for BetterBottle carboys is 60°C (140°F). Do not attach a wrap-style or belt-style heater to an empty carboy or to a section of a carboy that is not filled with liquid and apply power. The liquid may be necessary to draw away heat and prevent the surface temperature from rising too much. If you have doubts about how hot your wrap or belt is heating the surface of your carboy, slip a liquid crystal temperature strip capable of reading up to 70°C (158°F) underneath, as a check. Place the label side of the strip toward the carboy so you can read it through the carboy.
Hope this helps!
I've got 2 and even use them in the winter with no heat. Once I get it to 63 to pitch, it keeps this temp for weeks with no work at all. I love these bags.
So to clarify, a Fermwrap can be safely attached directly to the inside of the cooler? My thought is if you can cram multiple fermenters in there and put your temp controller's probe in a thermowell in one of them, and have the Fermwrap attached to the wall of the cooler, as close to the middle of the fermenters as possible, it should regulate the temps of both beers pretty well. Yeah I know the temp of the beer without the probe will not be dialed in 100%, but it would be better than leaving it a swinging room-temp out of the cooler. I am about to place my order of either one or two of these. I'm very excited to stop putting carboys in the bath rub. I'm also not interested in building a fermentation chamber, and this one is portable! Awesome.
CoolBrewing said:Thanks! That is a great idea!
In our testing we did not have any issues with the 40 Watt Fermwrap directly touching the cooler.
I am excited to hear how it works for you with multiple fermenters!
I should add however we have not tested with a brewbelt or heating pad yet so I would not recommend using a brew belt or heating pad yet. I will be sure share once we complete testing with other heating elements.
Cheers,
Bradinator said:The lagering is done and went well, though I think if I had used more ice bottles it would have kept the temperature closer to where I wanted it. The ambient outside temperatures is 65F and I was able to keep the ambient in the bag to 52-54F by switching 4x 500ml bottles out every 12 hours. I think if I made it 6 bottles I could have had it at 50F like I wanted. All-in-all it wasn't hard to do, though during summertime I would probably need 8+ bottles of frozen water to keep it that low.
My major gripe about this bag is, like many others have stated, that the lid caves down on top of the airbung knocking it over. Not a huge deal and easily remedied with a bit of effort. I am going to build a mesh frame next time to put into the bag to keep it more stable.
For those of us more interested in smaller batch brewing, maybe you can consider adding a smaller version. I don't need/want anything that's big enough to fit two 5-gallon carboys.
I read through the entire thread, trying to decide if this would be handy for lagering. My basement stays around 60F. This bag is the perfect solution for ales, but would I be able to achieve 35-40F temps for lagers? I'm assuming a fermentor in water (considering it's fully insulated) will more easily maintain lagering temps than an insulated bag and ice. Can anyone share their experiences?
I have a kegerator that I can lager a beer in, I just don't want to ferment in it, so the bag lets me ferment a lager then in the fridge it goes.
Greels said:Do you mean cold crash? Lagering is fermenting, right? Maybe that's what he was asking about though since he said 35-40 degrees which is cold crashing temperatures.
Do you mean cold crash? Lagering is fermenting, right? Maybe that's what he was asking about though since he said 35-40 degrees which is cold crashing temperatures.
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