Space heater in nonfunctional chest freezer

[MajorPowell]

My basement is around 56ºF and I need a little warmer place for fermentation. I got a free (broken condenser) chest freezer off craigslist today and want to turn it into a fermentation chamber, the added krausen containment factor of the enclosed chamber is a plus for reducing any potential messes. It's sitting in my garage for now, which is in the 35º-40º range but I tossed in an unused space heater to test it out and see if it will maintain temps. The space heater has a set temp thermostat and kicks on and off to hold the set temp. Anyway, other than a cord running out of the freezer and possible condensation issues with electronics, is this ok to do? Is it safe? Will it be effective? Have any of you done something similar? Any better ideas on the cheap?

I considered doing the water bath with aquarium heater setup, but this was free, and it would allow me to ferment multiple batches at once if it works.

 

[day_trippr]

That heater looks like it could heat my entire office even with the door opened to the outside

fwiw, I have an insulated ferm cabinet that's roughly four times the apparent volume of that freezer that I warm with a 100 watt heater. That cabinet is nowhere near as tight or well insulated as any chest freezer and sits in an unheated level of our home that easily hits mid-50°F in the dead of winter but I can get that cabinet up to ~78°F and keep it there in a gentle fashion.

Also fwiw, my 17 cf top-freezer fridges have 60 watt bulb heaters which work just fine year 'round.

ie: that heater is the global thermonuclear war option. It'll work, and considering it's inside a metal box any potential conflagration should be contained, but don't point it at anything important

Cheers!

 

[Rhumbline]

Do a test run with a five gallon bucket full of water in there. Several of my coworkers use those heaters and they will easily raise the temp of a 120 sf office by 15-20 degrees.

My concern would be the swing between the temp where it kicks on and the temp where it kicks off. If you have it set for 65 degrees it may kick on at 65 but only shut down at 72.

For that size space, I'd just go with a light bulb or fermentor heating blanket.

 

[RocketBrewer]

This is what I (and many others) use. Only 200 watts

 

[louis]

Space heater in a enclosed space is kinda of scary IMO - especially one that big. I would go with a light bulb in a metal coffee can or a ceramic heating lamp. With an external temperature controller as well to turn the lamp on or off.

I personally keep my brews on a table in the basement. Kinda cool down there in the winter. I always use a heat belt on the primary and never had an issue with that. Go with the simplest solution and work your way up from there.

If your are brewing in the house and need to keep it warm, then you will have an easier time doing so. What is the average temperature of the environment you are brewing in and what temperatures do you need to brew? Ask your self if passive heating/cooling will work? Since I brew in my house, in the basement the heat belt work fine for ales and wines. If I want to brew a lager I would need a fermentation chamber which cools to a target temperature, but then passive warming would be sufficient. Now, if I brewed in my unheated garage in the winter, I would need a heat source but passive cooling would be sufficient.

 

[MajorPowell]

Space heater in a enclosed space is kinda of scary IMO - especially one that big. I would go with a light bulb in a metal coffee can or a ceramic heating lamp. With an external temperature controller as well to turn the lamp on or off.

Yeah, I think this is the route I'll go. I ordered an Inkbird controller last night but it's going to be a couple weeks until it arrives. I was hoping to use this in the meantime. Maybe I should hold off using the freezer until the controller arrives, and until then just keep that space heater warming that part of the basement.

The thing I liked about this heater is that it has an internal controller and only kicks on when needed. Thought it might be ok in the freezer until I get my controller, but I better play it safe.

 

[Cyclman]

I would definitely use a temp controller, who knows how accurate a space heater controller is, and that heater has some horsepower.

I use the Lasko heater, with a temp controller (Ranco), works great.

One plus, I bottle condition in the high 70s, and find my beers well carbonated in 3 weeks. Even high gravity beers.

 

[txtaquito]

So, I use a wine refrigerator to chill (55 is as cold as it gets on a hot day) and unplugged, I add a lamp with an incandescent bulb to warm it up. I use a temp controller either way. I was impressed by how quickly the lamp warms that wine fridge

 

[MajorPowell]

Thanks for all the feedback. I ordered a temp controller. Just wondered if this is ok until it arrives (2 weeks or so, coming from china I think).