Temperature Questions - Fermometers

[S2005]

So, Mr.B specifies 68°-76° for fermentation. I have gotten mixed answers as to what this temperature reading is.

Is this the temperature the ambient air NEAR the LBK needs to be, or is this the temp that the CONTENTS of the LBK need to be?

I have a small portable thermometer that says the ambient air around the LBK is about 69°.

I JUST bought a fermometer today from my LHBS. Two actually.

Do I just stick it to the side of the LBK and it tells me the temperature of the contents?

I know it supposed to get a little warm where I live this coming week, so I'm not going to pitch another brew until I get my chest freezer with the thermostat controller, but I'm a bit worried about this first batch.

I have read that temp can be a big deal...

I also have a 6 gallon carboy, and a 6 gallon fermentation bucket that I'll be brewing in very soon (when I get my chest freezer). Do I just stick the Fermometers on the side of those about half way down?

Seems like a simple question, but I wanna make sure before I adhere these to the sides of my fermenters.

 

[tabing75]

for most ale beers 68-75 would be actual wort temp. ambient would need to be about 6 degrees less. i usually get anywhere from 4-6 degrees of rise from yeast activity. i feel that 75 is pretty warm for fermenting temps. i try not to get above 70 for regular ales. thus, ambient is usually not more than 64 but can be as low as 50's. all depends on the yeast strain you are using.

as for the fermometer, that that may be of some debate. i stick mine about 1 to 2 inches from the top level of where the beer will be. usually about the 4.5 gallon mark (i also "graduate" all my carboys). this allows me to read the temp if i have to put my fermenter in a tote full of water. when the fermenter gets put in water it allows the heat to dissipate to the surrounding water. if u have any juice or gatorade bottles, fill them with water and freeze them. toss them into the water and that will make the ambient temp much lower.

hope this helps!!

 

[S2005]

Indeed it does help.

Thank you for clearing up those questions!

I have been scouring craigslist for a chest freezer. I already ordered a thermostat controller (The STC-1000).

 

[tabing75]

sounds great, the chest freezer with temp control is a good investment.

one thing i will say is that you can not fit too many plastic fermenters in a 7 cu ft freezer. if you never plan on having more than two batches going at once then they are great. i can only fit one down in the lower part and one on the hump part above where the compressor is at. the one above the compressor will not fit with an airlock...so i have to use blow off tube on it. this is what i have and it works but wish i could fit 3 fermenters in there. just something to consider when purchasing.

on the other hand i can fit three corny kegs in the lower and one fermenter on the hump.

 

[S2005]

Yeah, the one I'm looking at now is $100.

It's a GE 29x22x32

I think that will fit 2 carboys, and nothing else... IF I did my math correctly...

 

[HopSong]

Good stuff. I prefer to put my fermenter in a large rope handled bucket that is partly filled with water. I can float one, two, three bottles of frozen water in it as necessary to keep the temp down for a few days. Water removes heat from the beer much faster than ambient air.

Also, I prefer to keep that surrounding water at 62-65 for that first three days because the internal temps will be/can be much higher. Some say as much as 10* higher due the exothermic reaction that takes place when the yeasties are doing their work.

Good luck.. you are on the right track.

 

[S2005]

I may just do that, the "swamp bucket" seems a lot cheaper... maybe later on, when I find a great deal on a chest freezer, I may move on it, but for now I'll stick with the bucket.

I gotta find something to fit the Mr.B in though, its pretty small.

I'd really like to find a 20 cubic foot chest freezer... my parents have an old one they may let me have...



***Ninja Edit***

Just tossed 6 Two Liter coke bottles in the freezer to get em cold

 

[RM-MN]

Unless you make a lot of batches of beer or big batches your smaller freezer will be fine. You only need the temperature control for the first few days as the yeast go through the easy sugars. Once the ferment slows you can take the fermenter out and let it complete at room temp with no off flavors developing. I usually control the temp for a week which means that I can brew once a week and still have my fermenters full.

 

[unionrdr]

I stick the temp strips on the side about in the middle of the amount of wort in the FV. I always thought this would give a good temp reading from inside the fermenter. I checked it with my laser thermometer & the numbers were within a couple tenths of each other.

 

[surffisher2a]

If you have plans to make lagers (like a nice tasty oktoberfest) in the future, you will need a temp controlled freezer unless you want to constantly add ice all day.