maintaining fermenting temperatures

[Thies]

what do most home brewers use to maintain the recommended fermentation temperatures for ales ?

so far i have kept the fermenting barrel in a dark space under the stairs. i like to try and keep the temperature closer to recommended fermenting temp. i see many of these heat belts or pads but these need monitoring to keep the temperature controlled ? so you would have to turn it on , keep checking then turn of again? Or do you plug these in to a temperature control device? I've seen these immersible heaters, like a tropical fish tank style, would these be any better/easier then the heat pads? ( i could imagine a infection issue here maybe ?) do you have a dedicated insulated plywood box where you keep the fermenting bucket in to maintain the temperature? one of the next brews i wish to make is a hefeweizen, and read it's important to keep this around the 17c to get that right flavour. 

thanks

[Peter Smith]

get an STC-1000 like this

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/SearchResults.aspx?searchString=stc...

and a heat pad,  the stc-1000 can control both heat and cold so with and old fridge and a heat pad you can completely control temp.  the stc-1000 has a temp probe that you can duct tape to the side of fermenter/carboy

[Crusader-Rob]

Consistent Temperatures product cleaner and more stable beer. minimises the risk of unwanted flavours.

STC-1000's are great, generally wired to a fridge for cooling and heat pad for heating, maintains a 1degree variance.

There are places like craftbrewing.co.nz, which have them already assembled, which is handy for the newer brewers, with out electrical experience.

[Grant R Baker]

STC-1000 and an electric blanket for heat, STC-1000 and a fridge for lagers or winter.  Winter is almost over so Briscoes will start selling the excess off cheap.

STC-1000 probe gets taped to the side of the fermenter and I set it to 18C, with a tolerance of 1C.. .works a treat. It would probably use less power if I put in it a polyfoam box or the fridge.

[Chris Banks]

I would agree STC1000 + Fridge + Heatpad.

If you are looking for an STC ready to plug in and go in an enclosure I would recommend one of Paul Wicksteed's setups.

http://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/photo/fermv2?context=user

[Druid]

I've got 4 STC1000's plus I've made a few up for mates and I usually buy them in bulk from a Hong Kong or Chinese supplier on eBay then wire them up myself with extension cord ends. Only a good option if you are confident that you can wire it up properly though:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=Stc+...

US$ 10.51 each, free shipping and they usually arrive in a weeks time.

There are other models that just do cooling or heating, not both like the STC 1000 - great for a crashing or lagering fridge which will always be cooler than our climate.

+1 to taping them to the side of the fermenter, usually under a layer of soft foam - there's enough thermal mass in the fermenter to stop your fridge cycling too much and bouncing off the hysteresis limits.

[Hayden Baxter]

The stc-1000 works great. Is there any way to really keep the fermenter colder without a fridge? I thought about keeping a wet towel over it and maybe have a fan blowing at it 

[Tilt]

Yeah - that method can work - I used it for a while before I got my fridge set up. 

I reckon the best way to do it is to have the fermentor sitting in a tub of water with the towel ends hanging in the water.  That way you get the advantage of having a larger thermal mass that works like a heat sink as well as a water reservoir that wicks up into the towel.  Drop 20ml of bleach into your water to make sure it doesn't grow anything too.  The yanks call this a swamp cooler if you wanted to search elsewhere.  You can rig the STC 1000 up to a heat pad under the tub or  a fish tank heater in the tub, as well as the fan on the cooling side.  I found Its a bit hit and miss with a 1-2 degree temp swing in summer but better than nothing (until you can get a fridge)

[Julian Melville]

I've recently done a pilsner using a big tub of water, and just changing out frozen 1.5L bottles a few times a day was able to keep it down at around 12-13C without too much trouble. The fermenter is in my office which is quite a bit warmer than that, but fairly constant in temp. The towel idea is good, I didn't try that.

[Hayden Baxter]

Great idea. I will look at doing that until I get a fridge, thanks

[paul m]

I use the stc 1000. does an awesome job. just desk light with 40w bulb and old fridge off trademe. The ones from craftbrewing only allows one of heating or cooling, so not as convenient or accurate

[Richard Jack]

Thought I'd just link this here - some Good Samaritan has been developing new firmware for the STC1000:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/stc-1000-a-464348/

[Max]

I saw those the other day. They look pretty basic and I'm sure they'd do the job. Found a few that look more professional (or at least have easy to read numbers). They're from china though, but let's be real - so is that one on Trade Me. I'd say it's worth a punt. Plug an electric blanket (or a fridge/freezer?) into it, put it on one or two and you'd be away laughing?

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