Temp controller question

[rossscottnz]

Hi there I have just bought a mangrove jack's single output temp controller so I can just control the heating belt on my fermenter, with the temp sensing probe can I just put that into the wort as I am not using a refrigerator to do heating and cooling I just want to maintain the correct temp of the wort itself or will it still work if I tape it to the side of the fermenter

 

[RM-MN]

Hi there I have just bought a mangrove jack's single output temp controller so I can just control the heating belt on my fermenter, with the temp sensing probe can I just put that into the wort as I am not using a refrigerator to do heating and cooling I just want to maintain the correct temp of the wort itself or will it still work if I tape it to the side of the fermenter

Most brewers will tape it to the outside of the fermenter with a bit of insulation over top of the sensor. Unless the temperature difference is extreme it won't take much.

 

[rossscottnz]

Most brewers will tape it to the outside of the fermenter with a bit of insulation over top of the sensor. Unless the temperature difference is extreme it won't take much.

Thanks for that I have some foam here that I can put over the sensor to insulate it will have to buy some more insulation tape as I ran out a while back. I tried making beer 8 years ago which failed miserably on both batches which made me give up so this time around I want to make sure things are being done right including having some patience and using the correct sterilizing solutions.

 

[kh54s10]

What is your room temperature? I lived in Rhode Island and fermented in a heated area of my house. Now I live in Florida. Fermentation temperature for most ale yeasts is best in the mid 60s so I have to cool all year round.

Haven't needed and don't own a heating belt.

 

[stieg000]

Buy a 12" thermowell add another hole to your bucket lid. Fits in just like the airlock. $12 from brewershardware.

https://www.brewershardware.com/12-Stainless-Steel-Thermowell-TWS12.html

 

[rossscottnz]

What is your room temperature? I lived in Rhode Island and fermented in a heated area of my house. Now I live in Florida. Fermentation temperature for most ale yeasts is best in the mid 60s so I have to cool all year round.

Haven't needed and don't own a heating belt.

It is around 17 to 18 degrees celcius in my house but will get colder now that winter is nearly here.BTW I am in new zealand

 

[Sadu]

It is around 17 to 18 degrees celcius in my house but will get colder now that winter is nearly here.BTW I am in new zealand

I'm in Auckland and the temps at the moment are perfect for brewing ales if you have a heat belt and a temp controller. Summer is more of a challenge unless you have a fridge.
Don't overthink the probe. You just use any kind of tape and any kind of foam or insulating material to sandwich the probe between the ferment or and the insulation. Can be as rough as you like.

 

[rossscottnz]

I'm in Auckland and the temps at the moment are perfect for brewing ales if you have a heat belt and a temp controller. Summer is more of a challenge unless you have a fridge.
Don't overthink the probe. You just use any kind of tape and any kind of foam or insulating material to sandwich the probe between the ferment or and the insulation. Can be as rough as you like.

I live just down the road from you in Te Awamutu I have actually got the heater belt turned off at the moment as the beer is fermenting rather nicely I can hear the airlock burping its ass off as I type this lol, I only used it for a short spell yesterday as I added too much cold water into the wort so just used the heat belt for a few hours just to get the wort temp back up and then turned it off once things took off. The brew I am doing is the coopers real ale extract kit also got some feijoa pulp steeping at the moment for some wine

 

[BGHSmt7]

I've fermented with the probe in a thermowell inside the beer as well as taped to the side. If you don't have the thermowell, don't sweat it. Just tape and insulate the probe from the ambient air and it will help a lot. Best is if you can get the probe inside, but if it's on the side, it will be just fine.

I just fermented a Hazy IPA with a brewbelt in a 75*f room (apx 23.8*c) with the belt attached to an inkbird with the probe inside the thermo well. I was able to keep my beer at 80*f (26.7*c) for 2 weeks easily. In my ferm chamber, depending on what I'm fermenting in, I've had good luck with the probe simply taped to the outside of the vessel.

RDWHAHB, experiment, and take good notes. At the end of the day, you've made beer

 

[kh54s10]

I just fermented a Hazy IPA with a brewbelt in a 75*f room (apx 23.8*c) with the belt attached to an inkbird with the probe inside the thermo well. I was able to keep my beer at 80*f (26.7*c) for 2 weeks easily.

What yeast are you using where you would want the temperature so high? Is this something specific to Hazy IPAs?

When I brew IPAs I work hard to keep my temperature in the mid sixties.

 

[Lefou]

Holy crow, can you get Nordic kveik strains in NZ, too?
I DEFINITELY have to get my paws on some of that sooner or later to try during the summer months.

 

[BGHSmt7]

What yeast are you using where you would want the temperature so high? Is this something specific to Hazy IPAs?

When I brew IPAs I work hard to keep my temperature in the mid sixties.

Omega Tropical IPA

Most times I try to ferment 55-68*f, but last time I used this yeast in that temperature range, I had almost no yeast character so I tried the middle of the recommended range

 

[rossscottnz]

What yeast are you using where you would want the temperature so high? Is this something specific to Hazy IPAs?

When I brew IPAs I work hard to keep my temperature in the mid sixties.

I just used the yeast sachet that was on top of the can but will use something like safale on the next brew

 

[kh54s10]

Omega Tropical IPA

Most times I try to ferment 55-68*f, but last time I used this yeast in that temperature range, I had almost no yeast character so I tried the middle of the recommended range

I've never used Omega Yeast. It is interesting that the temperature range is so different than other yeasts that you would use for an IPA. I would say you fermented at the right temperature for that yeast.

 

[BGHSmt7]

The reason for the temperature is this particular strain used to be classified as brettanomyces. However, it has been re-classified as saccharomyces diastaticus. It's a beast and can take things down to 1.000. Most omega yeasts are similar to Whie Labs or Wyeast.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. diastaticus Information Sheet: Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. diastaticus is a natural variant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that can hydrolyze wort dextrins into fermentable sugars (Andrews and Gilliland, 1952). This ability has been linked to the presence of STA genes, which encode for the exoenzyme glucoamylase, also referred to as amyloglucosidase (Tamaki, 1978). This amylolytic activity can lead to hyperattenuation, and/or secondary fermentation which can cause excess carbon dioxide formation in bottles, cans or kegs. It is for this reason that contamination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. diastaticus is generally unwanted.

https://www.whitelabs.com/sites/def...visiae var. diastaticus Information Sheet.pdf

 

[rossscottnz]

Buy a 12" thermowell add another hole to your bucket lid. Fits in just like the airlock. $12 from brewershardware.

https://www.brewershardware.com/12-Stainless-Steel-Thermowell-TWS12.html

I just found a thermowell on my local auction site so bought a couple of them they are the pacific stopper ones for carboys but pretty sure they will work ok in my fermenters they are 15 inches long so perfect for putting through the lid with enough length to get right into the wort.