fermenter, fridgemate and heater

Comment by Simon David kelly on January 14, 2010 at 10:16am

Nice ... I think I've found the solution to my temperature control issues...

Comment by Brett Mason on January 14, 2010 at 1:06pm

Yeah it works really well. The fridge was dumped outside the local metal dealer over the weekend (despite the no dumping sign) so a mate grabbed it. Currently keeping an eye out for a fridge which fit two fermenters from the same heat source. Maybe a 50/50 fridge freezer.

Over winter when the basement was ~12c it was averaging only 7 watts to keep the fermenter at 20c. Now that it is warmer I've had to unblock a few holes to let the heat out during the initial fermentation.

Comment by Simon David kelly on January 14, 2010 at 2:19pm

I was wondering how you were keeping it cool when the temp goes up ...

Comment by Brett Mason on January 14, 2010 at 7:08pm

I just keep it in the coldest part of my house because heating is easier than cooling. Luckily my basement never goes over 18c (although it does limit its use as a man cave).

If you don't have somewhere similar you might find the insulation of the fridge plus the mass of the wort smooths things out enough. Otherwise some ice packs in there would probably work since it only has to drop the temp a few degrees.

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