Space Heater in a Fermentation Chamber

[Hello]

I have a fermenation chamber today that is a mini fridge built out with plywood and insulation. Eventually, I'll move to a chest freezer for fermentation as the size of the other chamber is just too large for my needs these days.

I've read about ways to heat the ferm chamber and decided upon the space heater (this one). Then I started reading more and a thread that was started within the last day came up that concerned me. Is the space heater in a ferm chamber a bad idea now? The threads I read previously are old, 2010, 2011, 2012. Some did recommend the lightbulb in a can, but there was nothing swaying me one way or the other.

I just want it to be safe. I have a STC-1000 bought from Brews by Smith. I haven't hooked it up yet because I was waiting on the heater.

I realize this thread is slightly repetitive, but opinions seem to have changed over time and I'm wondering if that is due to safety issue or just finding a better way to heat a chamber.

 

[progmac]

i heat my frementation chamber with various wattages of CFL light bulbs...i just stick a lamp in there...9W gets me from 62 to 72, 13W gets me up to 80, the 20W get much hotter, i've tested one and it took it up over 90 but i've not used that high of a bulb in practice.

it's not the most precise method, but it actually works pretty well

 

[dmcman73]

I have a fermenation chamber today that is a mini fridge built out with plywood and insulation. Eventually, I'll move to a chest freezer for fermentation as the size of the other chamber is just too large for my needs these days.

I've read about ways to heat the ferm chamber and decided upon the space heater (this one). Then I started reading more and a thread that was started within the last day came up that concerned me. Is the space heater in a ferm chamber a bad idea now? The threads I read previously are old, 2010, 2011, 2012. Some did recommend the lightbulb in a can, but there was nothing swaying me one way or the other.

I just want it to be safe. I have a STC-1000 bought from Brews by Smith. I haven't hooked it up yet because I was waiting on the heater.

I realize this thread is slightly repetitive, but opinions seem to have changed over time and I'm wondering if that is due to safety issue or just finding a better way to heat a chamber.

Space heaters where not meant to be placed into an enclosed area, doing so could cause it to over heat and start a fire.

A lot of brewers have had a lot of luck using a light bulb in can in their ferm chambers. Do a search on this forum fro it, you can get all the material at a local hardware store, even a new empty metal can.

 

[Hello]

Thanks. I figure a reptile bulb would be good as it doesn't give off light and I think it is supposedly "safe".

I didn't think about the enclosed area and space heater. It seemed to be a semi popular option at some point though.

 

[yourmama]

I use the top of a food dehydrator, elevate to get air flow, connect to temp controller. Sits inside ferm box, no problems using 2+ years

 

[dmcman73]

Thanks. I figure a reptile bulb would be good as it doesn't give off light and I think it is supposedly "safe".

I didn't think about the enclosed area and space heater. It seemed to be a semi popular option at some point though.

Some do use that in their ferm chambers, but, I know I wouldn't be comfortable using that. It does heat but it also needs some air to cool itself down as well so the over heat circuit doesn't keep tripping.

 

[govner1]

Space heaters where not meant to be placed into an enclosed area, doing so could cause it to over heat and start a fire.

A lot of brewers have had a lot of luck using a light bulb in can in their ferm chambers. Do a search on this forum fro it, you can get all the material at a local hardware store, even a new empty metal can.

+1 on the potential dangers of a space heater! I had a fire in my chamber a couple of years ago when the small Sunbeam heater in my unit shorted internally. Fortunately, my temp controller shut off the power when the temp went too high. Also I'd used fire resistant foam insulation and wood throughout so on;y had to clean out the chamber and replace some foam that melted.
I now use a ceramic bulb which works very well and emits NO light.

 

[titansvol]

I use a plant seeding heating pad.

 

[Muctar]

I had a small space heater installed in one of my fermentation chambers, it would generate heat at a faster rate than the sensor for the stc-1000 could read causing the temperature to grossly overshoot. I switched to an infrared lamp in one and a seedling heat mat in the other chamber and both work well.

 

[LLBeanJ]

When I first acquired my chest freezer ferm chamber, I researched this exact issue. Settled on a $20 seed germinating mat from Amazon. It worked well for about a year, then suddenly stopped working. It must have burned itself out. Since I was mid-fermentation of a Belgian brew that needed to be ramped, I needed a new heater quickly, so I make a quick trip to Home Depot and threw together a paint can heater using either a 25w or 40w appliance bulb. That was about 9 or 10 months ago, I believe, and I've been pretty happy with it as it seems to work well. I'm not worried about any safety issues since it lives in an O2 starved environment, no fire will burn (in theory anyway) and if it should get too hot and shorts out, it should throw the breaker. Also, my ferm chamber is in the basement, so there are no wild external temp swings that you would have if it were in the garage or some place similar.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

I just want it to be safe. I have a STC-1000 bought from Brews by Smith. I haven't hooked it up yet because I was waiting on the heater.

I realize this thread is slightly repetitive, but opinions seem to have changed over time and I'm wondering if that is due to safety issue or just finding a better way to heat a chamber.

First off congratulations on buying a BrewsBySmith controller, it's actually referred to as an STC-1000+ controller if it's firmware has been updated to use alphaomega's awesome software. I've have been using mine with a 'light bulb-paint can' heater for my past two brews and it's working very well.

 

[Conan]

I have a space heater in my chamber but haven't been happy with it. It tends to randomly stop working until I unplug it and plug it into another outlet after a few minutes. I assume it's overheating and shutting off. I like having a fan on my heater because my chamber is ~ 45 cubic feet. I'm thinking about a lightbulb in a paint can with a computer fan on it. I never gave a thought to their being a problem with a space heater in an enclosed space. Kyle

 

[zippyclown]

I have a fermenation chamber today that is a mini fridge built out with plywood and insulation. Eventually, I'll move to a chest freezer for fermentation as the size of the other chamber is just too large for my needs these days.

I've read about ways to heat the ferm chamber and decided upon the space heater (this one). Then I started reading more and a thread that was started within the last day came up that concerned me. Is the space heater in a ferm chamber a bad idea now? The threads I read previously are old, 2010, 2011, 2012. Some did recommend the lightbulb in a can, but there was nothing swaying me one way or the other.

I just want it to be safe. I have a STC-1000 bought from Brews by Smith. I haven't hooked it up yet because I was waiting on the heater.

I realize this thread is slightly repetitive, but opinions seem to have changed over time and I'm wondering if that is due to safety issue or just finding a better way to heat a chamber.

For what it's worth, I have that same space heater inside my chamber. It will shut off if it tips, or if temp gets too high, according to the manufacturer. I don't trust that.

But I have that same temp controller. I can tell you from experience that it will kill power if temp gets too high. I accidentally positioned the space heater so it was pointed right at the temp sensor and the system kept shutting down. Finally realized what was going on. and positioned the sensor in a different part of the chamber. Now it just kicks on every so often for a minute and does a good job of regulating within a degree or two.

It would probably be irresponsible for me to say you're fine with this setup, so I won't. But it's my current setup and I'm comfortable with it for now.

However I will say: Temps are cool enough in my basement that I use the chamber only for heating. I would NOT be comfortable alternating cooling and heating with the space heater for fear of condensation. Water and electricity and heat and enclosed spaces... Sounds like russian roullette to me.

If you want to be 100% safe, go with some of the other methods described in here. There are a lot of options that are tried and true.

That's my opinion, since you were asking!

zc

 

[Gavin C]

I have a fermenation chamber today that is a mini fridge built out with plywood and insulation. Eventually, I'll move to a chest freezer for fermentation as the size of the other chamber is just too large for my needs these days.

I've read about ways to heat the ferm chamber and decided upon the space heater (this one). .

That's the one I use also. It doesn't turn on too often as I do ales with my target temps usually 66-68. Room Temp is 70. It really only kicks in when the chest freezer overshoots the 0.3C buffer on the STC 1000

 

[atoughram]

I have that exact space heater in my insulated plywood chamber and the only issue I have had is it keeping up when the ambient temperature in the garage is near freezing. It would struggle to keep the chamber in the 70's. My chamber is pretty big though, 4' X 4' X 5' tall.

If you're worried about it burning up, stick a ten dollar smoke detector in there.

 

[QuercusMax]

How about a hairdryer? I use one in my fermentation fridge and it works great. It's a heater with a fan, so it will circulate the air when it's heating.

I have a cheapo $10 hair dryer from walmart that I use. I have my fermentation fridge in the garage, and it keeps it warm even when it's freezing outside. (I will note that I mostly use that fridge for lagers, so most of the time I'm keeping it in the 50s and 60s.)

 

[atoughram]

How about a hairdryer? I use one in my fermentation fridge and it works great. It's a heater with a fan, so it will circulate the air when it's heating.

Now that would make me nervous...

The little Lasko personal heaters are rated at a much higher duty cycle (I'd assume continuous) than a hair drier and when the ambient temperature in my garage was down, Brewpi would run the heater 15 hours without stopping.

Besides, they're noisy..

 

[Weezy]

www.omega.com/pptst/HTC.html

I use a 940W version of these to maintain mash temps.

 

[Hello]

I highly respect the opinions of others here, so this has turned out to be pretty eye opening. As much as I thought the heater would be okay, the lightbulb can sounds safer. The chest freezer will likely be in a shed that will be insulated but not heated. My uninsulated garage does get down to freezing temps, which is why I am not using the ferm chamber today and using swamp coolers in my kitchen again (no hwmbo to complain).

I am hoping that in addition to my 50a 240v plug that will be installed in the shed, that my electrical panel has room for a 120v outlet. Then I'll keep the ferm chamber (chest freezer) in the shed and sell the ferm chamber I have with the Johnson controller.

Thank you all so much.

www.omega.com/pptst/HTC.html

I use a 940W version of these to maintain mash temps.

Would I wrap the cords around carboys? I use better bottles and big mouth bubblers (plastic).

 

[Weezy]

What about a light bulb sounds safer than a space heater with circuit protection?

Yeah, wrap it around the carboy/bucket/whatever. Secure with duct tape or something (I used aluminum tape for the high power one but the linked ones are really low watts/inch

 

[Hello]

The bulb can withstand enclosed places, no? The space heater can get too hot, right?

 

[Weezy]

The Lasko is ETL certified, thermal overload protection included, ceramic encapsulated heater, and its only like 1.5 amps to begin with. People need to take a chill pill.

The Lasko will work much better anyways..higher power than a bulb and fan will get the heat circulated. Just don't point it right at the fermenter.

 

[greyghost]

The Lasko is ETL certified, thermal overload protection included, ceramic encapsulated heater, and its only like 1.5 amps to begin with. People need to take a chill pill.

The Lasko will work much better anyways..higher power than a bulb and fan will get the heat circulated. Just don't point it right at the fermenter.

I second this statement. I have been using this heater for a year. Works great

 

[Hello]

The Lasko is ETL certified, thermal overload protection included, ceramic encapsulated heater, and its only like 1.5 amps to begin with. People need to take a chill pill.

The Lasko will work much better anyways..higher power than a bulb and fan will get the heat circulated. Just don't point it right at the fermenter.

That makes sense too. Thank you for that information.

 

[The_Bishop]

I taped a 40 watt fermwrap to the back wall of my fermentation chamber. Been working perfectly so far, and nothing gets so hot that it would cause worry. Air circulation is handled by the freezer's built-in fan that I have wired to run constantly.

 

[dmcman73]

The Lasko is ETL certified, thermal overload protection included, ceramic encapsulated heater, and its only like 1.5 amps to begin with. People need to take a chill pill.

The Lasko will work much better anyways..higher power than a bulb and fan will get the heat circulated. Just don't point it right at the fermenter.

Yes, ETL certified but you are using it outside of what it was certified for. That's like saying that since it's ETL certified, you can use it outside in the rain, I mean, why not, it has overload protection.

You have no idea how many people I come across that do stuff in their homes and feel it's safe because "it works" even though it was never meant to be setup that way, electrical is the biggest one. Here is one example: They install a 15 amp rated outlet on a circuit that has a 20 amp or more breaker. Sure, it will supply electric to whatever is plugged in but when that device that's plugged into that 15 amp outlet starts pulling in more than the 15 amp plug is rated at, but less than what that circuit breaker is rated to trip at, guess what's happening to that little ole 15 amp outlet. Try explaining that to the insurance company.

Just because it works outside of what it was meant to be used as does NOT make it safe, so please stop telling people to "take a chill pill" when it comes to something that can be a serious fire hazard. There are a number of brewers who have had their garages/sheds or even worse, their homes, destroyed by fires from setting stuff like this up.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

This is one topic I still struggle with when sharing advice with others, because, not being an "electrical" kind of guy, I am nervous about heat sources. I've tried several things, and finally settled on two I feel more comfortable with, but, if anyone can forsee a problem, please share it!

So first I used a Brew Belt, and loved it. But when I started making 10 gallon batches in two carboys, I needed something to heat the chamber instead of the carboy. First I tried a reptile bulb. Unfortunately I chose a wattage that was too high (150), and didn't buy a proper enclosure for it, and ended up melting part of the inside of my fridge. No bueno! Then I switched to a reptile cable. Unfortunately I chose a wattage that was too low, although I didn't know it was too low until we had 20F temps for a week in my garage. Fortunately krausen had dropped already and the cooler temp (just a few degrees) didn't harm my beer. Then I found a warming tray at the local St. Vinnies, and it has been perfect. It has a rheostat so I can control the output wattage, and I feel more comfortable with it because it is made to operate for long periods. I use it in one chamber, and I moved my second reptile cord to my other chamber, so now I have enough wattage (50) there.

If I were to start from scratch, I think I would go with a 50 watt reptile cable.

 

[Homer]

I have been using the same Lasko in my keezer for the last few months. I only wanted to use this one because of it's very low wattage, you can hold your hand on the output while on, so I am optimistic that it will not start anything on fire in my keezer.

 

[Weezy]

I don't see how using a small heater to heat a small space is beyond its intended use of heating a small space. Blindly telling people to DIY wire a light socket to a metal can is somehow safer. Is a light bulb in a tiny sealed can its intended use? I'll take my chances with a less expensive, tested, proven device thank you.

If you want o be that conservative, we shouldn't even have an electrical section on these forums. Everyone, get a second
job so you can afford Blichman gear. DIY electrical projects are going to burn your house down.

Plugging a <2A commercial product into an existing circuit is a far cry from ignorantly wiring wall outlets.

 

[30Bones]

I use the Lasko in my 15CF keezer (with a small computer fan) or my 4CF mini fridge for a couple 2 gallon batches or one 5 gallon and an STC1000 and so far no issues. Reading threads like this makes me very nervous because I am not an electrical ace.