Possible Temperature Control Method?

[Airborneguy]

Has anyone ever used a sanitized aquarium heater in their fermentation bucket to control temperature? Coupled with my temp controller (also from my former saltwater hobby...), I could easily keep the temp with a degree or so of my target.

I am having serious problems controlling my temps this winter as my ground floor is way too cold. Short of building a fermentation chamber, I think this is my best option for temperature control.

 

[Yooper]

No, I wouldn't do that. The heater gets hot to the touch, which means the beer touching it would be hotter than the beer around it.

I simply put the fermenter in a big cooler (Igloo Ice Cube) and in a water bath. I put the aquarium heater in the water bath, and float a thermometer in that. It works great! The big volume of water and beer seem to even out. Ideally, I think some circulation would be better but it's working fine as is.

 

[Revvy]

Not in the fermenter. People have used an aquarium heater to heat the water in a swamp "cooler" where the fermenter is sitting in.

Like this in the summer, except instead of frozen water bottles, you use your heater in the bath.

 

[Airborneguy]

Thanks guys, that solves my problem. Until I can build a dedicated ferm chamber, this is gonna be the way to go for me.