Swampless Cooler?

[leray1]

Here in South Louisiana I've struggled with keeping my fermentation temps consistent.

For my first few batches I used a swamp cooler that consisted of a Rubbermaid tote kept it in a bathroom closet. For my latest batch I started to add water to the tote and discovered a crack in the bottom. So, I just put a couple of frozen bottles in the tote without the water as a quick fix until I could get anther tote the next day. To my surprise, for the past two days, and with active fermentation, the temperature in the closet has remained at ~70F (AC thermostat set at 75F) and the temperature of the brew has been steady at ~70F, also. I just rotate in fresh bottles, morning and evening. The bottles I put in there 12 hours ago still have ice.

Anyone else try a swamp cooler without water and have success?

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[flars]

I doubt if that would work for me. There is only one yeast I use that will not throw off flavors at 70° or over. One other yeast I use likes 66° to 68° to ferment well and produce nice clean flavors. The rest of my yeasts prefer fermentation in the low 60°s.

What yeast are you using that produces the best flavors at 70°?

 

[leray1]

I used Wyeast American Ale.

Flocculation: Medium-Low
Attenuation: 73-77%
Temperature Range: 60-72F, 15-22C
Alcohol Tolerance: 11% ABV

I don't know if 70F will produce the best flavors, but it's within its temp range and I'm happy to be there.

Reason being that the temp varied a lot for my other batches using the swamp cooler and this appears to be much more consistent. Although I did add insulation to my attic last weekend and my home's temp is also more consistent. That may have more to do with it than the lack of water in the tote.

 

[MikeBergan]

I have had pretty good luck with a setup similar to this. I use a good sized party type cooler (you know the ones, about 8-10 gallons in size, with wheels on one side and a handle on the other).
The fermenter I used in this setup is a small 2 1/2 gallon 'kit' one, which sits nicely in the bottom with plenty of room on the ends for iceblocks/bottles of frozen water.
I have been able to keep pretty consistent temps in the unit, holding at about 68-70 with the lid cracked open, I can get it down a couple more degrees with a fully closed lid. This was in a main floor room that was pretty steadily held at 75 degrees.
The key thing I found is to make sure and have a rolled towel between whatever iceblock you are using, and the fermenting vessel, so you don't get temp issues by direct contact.

 

[acarter5251]

I used a setup with a cooler and ice packs. I was able to keep the temperature down in the mid 60s fairly easily by rotating a few times each day. I even overloaded with ice packs a few times and got it down into the high 50s

 

[flars]

I'm pretty slow tonight. Like the technique used by MikeBergan and acarter5251 there is an insulated bag on the market that zips around a carboy or bucket. Ice in bottles is used for temp control of the fermentation.