The Usual Concerns about Fermenter Temperature???

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Hey guys, I have some questions about my fermenter, it's warm. I went off the Heat Pad instructions not to use the heat pad in first 24 hours so I didn't well, just about a few hours earlier it was very cold so put it on. I also used pillow 3 with a bung cord around them around the fermenter. This morning it felt very warm so I turned heat pad off, at 4 when I got home checked it and it still warm, I have been told that the fermentation process will generate some heat, but not 100% on how accurate that will be so I am going to turn on heat pad tonight with no pillows it's a wet cold night so should be ok? the temp on the side is useless I think. I want to get a STC-1000 and hook that to the fermenter and heat pad, good idea? anyone have one for sale all ready to use? Thanks guys.

Daza.

[Craig Howard]

You must have the power supply to the heat source coming from the heat socket which is controlled by the STC.  It wont work on the cooling side.

All the STC does is turn the two sockets ON and OFF within the parameters either side ofg what you set.

Its just a relay ( ON/OFF switch) for both sockets

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

It's at 17C now I will rewrite it tonight like the diagram, will the heat indicator be illuminated if lower than the specified temp? I have 0.5C as my F2

[Cain Harland]

Yes the little red dot next to heat or cool should come on when that circut is on, so at <= 16.5c in this case. IMO 0.5c is a good tolerance its small enough not to make much difference to the fermentation but large enough that your heat source won't be flickering on and off potentially damaging it.

Where is your probe? In a theremowell in the middle of the beer would be optimal but not practical for most of us. Mine is on the side of my fermenter about 1/3 of the way up with a bit of yoga mat over it as insulation (so its at least reading the fermenter wall not the air around it) held on nice and tight with an old inner tube that goes right round the fermenter.I wouldn't worry too much about an ale getting down to 12c, it maybe not ideal but a long way better than  the -1c low and miles better than getting up to say 25c and producing off flavors. Temprature control is great but remember for most of the time people have been making beer it hasn't been an option, people found or created places where the temperature stayed a bit more stable than the air outside and brewed to the seasons.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Just got home and checked it, and woo-hoo it's sitting at 18.8C and the heat light dot is on!!! maybe it was just too cold outside for the heat pad to work well?  I bought 3 wire connectors after work this afternoon, and will replace the tape I used to bound the wire. i will make periodic visits to the garage before bed to see what it's doing. Cheers.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

So theoretically speaking the STC set at 19.C with a 0.5 difference should not be able to reach a temp of warmer than 19.5C....tonight, not over summer. Cheers.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

19.1C now just wrapped a sleeping bag around the pillows that already around it. it is 13C in garage too. So not bad considering that, just don't want the temp to keep rising, and it should go over 19.5C right?

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

overnight temp low of 2C better than last night of -1C

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Well now it's bouncing from 20.0C to 19.9C beck and forth with garage room temp dropped to 11.5C, that sleeping bag must have helped, with the outside temp dropping I cant see the beer getting any warmer.

[Craig Howard]

Its doing what it should be doing.

It will fluctuate within the range (F2) either side of what you set.(F1)

Liquid warms and cools slowly. ie It holds its temp far better and longer than air ( ambience)

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

The latest on my STC is that I just love it!!! today I came home at 4pm to find that my ambient room temp of garage was a whopping 20C but my beer temp was 19.5C so really pleased with it keeping such a constant temp all day!!!

[Craig Howard]

You are still inside your range. (point 5 either side.)

If the ambient had risen to 24..your beer would have followed it if you have no cooling for to hold it back

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Dam, lucky then cause no I don't have a fridge as yet, but that will be on the agenda very soon. I also am lookin at getting a refractometer as well to add to my arsenal, yep!