Temperature Control for a Stainless Conical Fermenter

[krushcuts]

Hi all,

I recently upgraded my fermentation setup from multiple carboys to a 20 gallon SS conical tank. I'm now considering my options for temperature control.

My current setup will be in my garage, which in Seattle rolls through a pretty wide range of temperature extremes. I don't have immediate access (or time) to build out a fermentation chamber, but I could get creative with a heater/AC unit in the insulated garage. With that, however, I would assume heating and cooling a detached garage during the season extremes could get pretty pricey.

I spoke with the guy who I bought the tank from and he suggested using a brew band and a temperature controller.

My questions on that would be:
- What's everyone's success with them?
-How do I go and get an accurate reading on the liquid temp to let the controller know when to kick on/off?
-Would the most economical solution be to drill a hole in the top of the lid and run the probe down into the brew?
-If so, what is everyone's experience with sealing the stainless around the probe to keep air out?

Thanks in advance and extra points for creative hacks for this!

 

[porterpounder]

The best ways I've seen for cooling outside of a chamber are a stainless immersion coil or an external peltier cooling unit, but both can be very pricey. Either way you're looking at some sort of insulation jacket for the conical to maintain temps. I use a ferm-wrap type heat tape on mine wrapped in reflectix. The whole unit is is a cooled chamber (walk-in).

 

[krushcuts]

The best ways I've seen for cooling outside of a chamber are a stainless immersion coil or an external peltier cooling unit, but both can be very pricey. Either way you're looking at some sort of insulation jacket for the conical to maintain temps. I use a ferm-wrap type heat tape on mine wrapped in reflectix. The whole unit is is a cooled chamber (walk-in).

Thanks for the info. I think I may go with a Fermwrap + Johnson Controls temp controller. I could replace the thermometer with a 1/2" FPT Thermowell (https://www.morebeer.com/products/5-shielded-coupler-thermowell-1.html) and slide the controller down the well.

The big drawback I see is losing my thermometer.

 

[porterpounder]

Thanks for the info. I think I may go with a Fermwrap + Johnson Controls temp controller. I could replace the thermometer with a 1/2" FPT Thermowell (https://www.morebeer.com/products/5-shielded-coupler-thermowell-1.html) and slide the controller down the well.

The big drawback I see is losing my thermometer.

I use theses with a double-drilled stopper. Works like a charm and easier to clean than a threaded fitting. There are also tri-clover options with various set-ups attatched to the lid.

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

 

[johnwpowell]

Why not go with the ftss?

 

[rdavidw]

Sweet conical! Here is My glycol setup. Not verry blingy but gets the job done at a reasonable price. If you are only running one large fermenter you could just use one contoller and plug both pumps and the chiller into it and not worry about the glycol mix temp.

I would replace your dial thermometer with a 6' thermowell with a ink bird controller. The digital display is easy to read and they seem to be very accurate.