This is probably a stupid question, but will a swamp cooler do anything if you don't put ice in it? My apartment is about 72 degrees and I'd like to ferment around 67. Will putting my fermenter in a tub of water with a Tshirt wick do anything if I don't switch out ice everyday?
Swamp Cooler - need ice?
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scottland
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Heat is lost as water evaporates. So if you put a fan blowing on the tshirt it will cool the Fermenter around 5-8*. Beer is endothermic though. If your fermenter is 67 on the outside it's probably 70 or more on the inside. I would drop a few frozen water bottles in the swamp cooler to keep the water in the low 60s
Petho
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I usually dump ice in mine since I don't want to blow a fan. I can keep the fermenter temp pretty stable by checking it twice a day. The first few days of fermenting are the hardest to control temp wise but the rest is smooth sailing.
Heavyfoot
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Do you measure the temp of the water in the swamp cooler or the temp of the fermenter? If the fermenter, what do you use? One of those stick on thermometers? If so, does the stick on thermometer need to be above the swamp cooler water?
The cooler (bucket) will have more liquid than the fermenter. As a result, it will act as an excellent heat sink and draw the heat from the fermenter. The fermenting wort will not get more than a degree above the water temperature. You can just measure the water temperature in the cooler to find the wort temp.
67 vs 72. What's the yeast? Will 72 F do OK?
Do you have a basement with a concrete floor? The floor temperature is usually cooler than air temperature. If you place the cooler on the concrete floor, the water in the cooler will take on the temperature of the floor rather than the air (better heat transfer through solids/liquids than air). That will keep everything a few degrees cooler.
67 vs 72. What's the yeast? Will 72 F do OK?
Do you have a basement with a concrete floor? The floor temperature is usually cooler than air temperature. If you place the cooler on the concrete floor, the water in the cooler will take on the temperature of the floor rather than the air (better heat transfer through solids/liquids than air). That will keep everything a few degrees cooler.
Petho
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I use a stick on thermometer and read direclty off of that. I fill my plastic bucket and keep the water below the thermo which is mounted about half way up the fermenter. I guess you can just find a process that works best for you but youcant beat the swamp cooler.
arturo7
Well-Known Member
Evaporative cooling is dependent upon the temperature of the water in the air, AKA wet bulb temperature. Ambient temp is less important. Depending on the efficiency of your system, a swamp cooler will approach the wet bulb temp. Google "average wet bulb temp." for your city. It varies day to day and season to season.
