Swamp cooler temps.

[whitesheperd]

Okay my fermometer got wet the 3rd day of fermentation.. I have been keeping my swamp cooler water at 55-60 degrees. Can someone tell me what my temp is most likely to be inside my Carboy right now? I am 6 days into fermentation, air lock is back on since yesterday and a bubble goes off every 20-30 seconds.. Very slowly so the temps should be steady inside the Carboy now, but what are my temps inside on a guestment?


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[h22lude]

There is absolutely no way for us to tell. Even if you had two of the same exact beers side by side in two swamp coolers, the temps for each will be different.

As long as you haven't added ice or heat to the water, the temp of the swamp cooler water will be close to the temp of the beer. Use a thermometer and check it out. You can always test it by taking the beer temp too.

 

[freisste]

Water is an exceptionally good heat-sink, so it is likely pretty close to the beer temp assuming you have a decent amount of swamp cooler water compared to beer (don't put a 5gal carboy into 1/2" of water ).

The beer will be a little warmer, but probably not much.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Water is an exceptionally good heat-sink, so it is likely pretty close to the beer temp assuming you have a decent amount of swamp cooler water compared to beer (don't put a 5gal carboy into 1/2" of water ).

The beer will be a little warmer, but probably not much.

I agree think about it if you are in 50 degree air you are just cool but if your in 50 degree water your way more than cold,

 

[whitesheperd]

I add 2 litter ice bottles to keep it that low.. Idk, i know it is under 70s tho so I'm fine but I would like to know what temps are haha. And I don't want to open the Carboy and test the temp bc that's a chance of infections so..


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[freisste]

I add 2 litter ice bottles to keep it that low.. Idk, i know it is under 70s tho so I'm fine but I would like to know what temps are haha. And I don't want to open the Carboy and test the temp bc that's a chance of infections so..


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Put a stick on thermometer on the outside of your bucket (or carboy) a little above the water line, but below the beer line. Insulate it with bubble wrap or something similar. Pull the insulation off to get a reading. It should be pretty representative of the internal temperature.

 

[BrewinBromanite]

I've used the sticker/thermometer strips for quite a while. Even have 3 on some carboys because they've gotten wet several times. Interestingly, after exposure to water on several occasions, the old ones all still read within a degree of the newer ones. (Not saying this will happen to everyone if they get wet, maybe I've just gotten lucky). Even more interestingly, when I finally got better temp control and moved away from a swamp cooler (Johnson controller temp probe insulated to the side of the carboy in a fridge), the digital reading was right on par with the old stickers that I still haven't removed. And the stickers are not insulated. They are cheap and I'd keep some on hand. From my experience quite accurate, surprisingly.


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[rodwha]

Before I used the fermometers I thought that the water temp and beer temp would be about equal and I just monitored the water temp with a floating thermometer. I was told that it likely wasn't the same and bought a few. The beer temp in mine were about 5* warmer than the water.

But the volume of water and air temp may very well play into differences between mine and yours. But I'd think it shouldn't be too much more than +/- 2* from the 5.

 

[whitesheperd]

Yeah I use a floating thermometer as swell, the temp right now in the water is 51-53 degrees..


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[rodwha]

I'd think 4-7* warmer wouldn't be unreasonable.

That may be just a bit too cool. I'd allow it to warm up to 58-60* if you can, which ought to keep your yeast in the low to mid 60's.

I'm not sure what the threshold is, but after it gets too cool the yeast will go dormant. If this happens you can allow it to warm and give it a very gentle stir to help the yeast to stir.

 

[whitesheperd]

Ah so what temps should lagers be at? Is it possible to do them in swamp coolers?


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[rodwha]

Lagers are generally in the high 40's to mid 50's I believe.

I think it would be rather difficult to do them in a swamp cooler, but I suppose I cannot say it's not possible.

 

[freisste]

Ah so what temps should lagers be at? Is it possible to do them in swamp coolers?


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I've heard a lot of people say a swamp cooler can keep beer 10* below ambient. So it kinda depends on ambient.

Could you lager with a swamp cooler in an 80* garage in the summer? Unlikely. Do I use one to regulate temps in my 55* root cellar? Definitely. I use it less to cool the beer and more to regulate temp and keep it from rising during fermentation.

 

[whitesheperd]

Well it's in my spare bedroom not in a garage so it doesn't get near as cold or hot as it would in a garage (;


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[freisste]

Well it's in my spare bedroom not in a garage so it doesn't get near as cold or hot as it would in a garage (;


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Those may have been ridiculous conditions, but the point remains - yes, you can use a swamp cooler to ferment a lager. Maybe not to lager a lager, though.