Water bath carboy warmer? Anybody made one?

[MMBB]

I got a good idea from the LHBS yesterday while eyeing a carboy heating belt. The belt gets too hot for what I need and one of the guys said to use a large rubbermade tub filled with water that has an aquarium heater in it. I may also elect to add a circulation pump to this setup to avoid a warm spot.

My basement stays between 63 and 65 degrees in the summer even with the vents closed. A little cold for what I am doing. There also isn't a closet to use so save from towels I don't have any way of shielding the carboys from light.

My plan is this

Get two rubbermade/whatever brand storage bins that are wide enough to hold two 6.5gal carboys and tall enough, when stacked, to house a 6.5g carboy with an airlock. Drill a hold in the top bin big enough for a blowoff tube to exit and install a PVC valve on the bottom to make changing water easier. There is a drain in the floor right next to the sink so I could just take out the carboy(s), drag it over, and get most of the water out. The totes will be held together with cheapo spring clamps. I may choose to use some sort of stick on insulation on the bottom tote bin but that will come later.

I don't exactly have room for a chest freezer down there until my roomies throw some stuff away. I also don't have a suitable outlet in the area that is semi-available. It would be easier to run power from the other side of the basement and use a strip. This setup will be compact and easy to store away.


How does that sound? Is it worth it to try this? I have 5g of apfelwein and 1g of wassail that are begging for higher temps.

 

[horseinmay]

This sounds like it would work, but I would much rather have a basement that stays a consistent 63-65. Your beer will thank you for fermenting lower than 70.

 

[Hoodweisen]

I looked into the same thing havent purchased yet but i was looking at Water tank warmers for livestock at the local feedstore. Some have adjustable temp. control for around twenty bucks

 

[MMBB]

This sounds like it would work, but I would much rather have a basement that stays a consistent 63-65. Your beer will thank you for fermenting lower than 70.

Normally yes but the recipe I am doing calls for around 74 degrees. Its happily burping away right now but it might be happier with a few extra degrees.

I think there is a tractor supply company near me. I'll have to see about the warmer. That might be a better option if I decide to do this.

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

What yeast are you using? What are you trying to brew? A saison? It's not uncommon to see fermentation temperatures reported as running 5-10* higher than the ambient temperature. For most of us, that's a problem. In your circumstances you could take advantage of that by simply wrapping your fermenter in something insulating. You could scrounge an old blanket or comforter, or even seal some fiberglass insulation in a garbage bag. If you want to make a more permanent arrangement, you could knock together something with pink insulation board like the fermentation chamber in another thread, (minus the fridge for your purposes). Some guys use reptile heaters or even incandescent bulbs as a heat source in such a chamber. With a fairly vigorous yeast I suspect you'd get close to the temp you desire just letting the yeast heat it up, if that works for your recipe.

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

Another thought--When I see those carboy heaters, my thoughts go to the old waterbed heaters I have in my attic. I've not tried to use them for that purpose, as I need to cool my fermenter, not heat it. Those might be just the thing to put under the tub of water your carboy sits in. All of mine have temperature controllers, but their calibration was terrible. You might have to monitor it to make sure it cuts out at your desired temperature. I have never sought one, as I have a few in my attic. I suspect they would go cheap on Craigslist.

 

[jlaureanti]

I would just like to say that I live in Arizona and it is crazy to me that someone would have to build a fermentation warmer! I pay an extra $40.00 a month just to keep my beer at 68dF. Lol!

If only I were so lucky! Good luck man :rockin:

 

[MMBB]

What yeast are you using? What are you trying to brew? A saison? It's not uncommon to see fermentation temperatures reported as running 5-10* higher than the ambient temperature. For most of us, that's a problem. In your circumstances you could take advantage of that by simply wrapping your fermenter in something insulating. You could scrounge an old blanket or comforter, or even seal some fiberglass insulation in a garbage bag. If you want to make a more permanent arrangement, you could knock together something with pink insulation board like the fermentation chamber in another thread, (minus the fridge for your purposes). Some guys use reptile heaters or even incandescent bulbs as a heat source in such a chamber. With a fairly vigorous yeast I suspect you'd get close to the temp you desire just letting the yeast heat it up, if that works for your recipe.

I am doing EdWorts Apfelwein with the Red Star Montrachet yeast. The only thing I changed with the recipe is the addition of a yeast nutrient from White Labs. I checked the temp last night before bed and it was at 68 degrees on the carboy, which is wrapped in a towel. I am getting some H2S production so I need to handle that. However, that’s probably not a temperature problem.

I may not have time to do this project till Monday as I work all weekend. I'll probably wrap another towel around it tonight after I work on the H2S issue.

The plan is to eventually have a small chest freezer. I have an eBay aquarium temp control device on the way but it won't be here for who knows how long.

 

[beergolf]

Why not use an aquarium heater? Fill a cooler that will hold your carboy and then fill it up with water. Drop in the Aquarium heater, set the temp you want and you are good to go.

 

[MMBB]

Why not use an aquarium heater? Fill a cooler that will hold your carboy and then fill it up with water. Drop in the Aquarium heater, set the temp you want and you are good to go.

An aquarium heater with a small circulation pump is the plan.

Unfortunately coolers are expensive and my smallest one is 120 quarts. It also doesn't solve my light exposure problem.

I just found a 5 cubic foot freezer on CL. I may decide to go that route instead being I wont have time to do anything till Monday anyway. I might be able to clear out some room for a freezer that small so long as I can fit carboys in it.

 

[ChandlerBang]

Why not use an aquarium heater? Fill a cooler that will hold your carboy and then fill it up with water. Drop in the Aquarium heater, set the temp you want and you are good to go.

In the winter I do this. Except I use a cheapy rubbermaid that will hold 2 buckets/carboys. IMO the recirc pump is not needed unless you are bringing the temp way above ambient. No need for a cooler I don't think.

Also, verify the temp with a second thermometer. Both of the aquarium heaters I have had were wrong. They would hold the temp dead nuts, it just wasn't the temp that the dial said.