Brew belt or heatpad

[Roddy]

Who uses one ?

What's best do you reckon ?

What's a good price to pay ?

cheers ☺

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Both are renowned to cause problems. A fermenting cabinet is the best choice. It doesn't have to be complicated, but does take up a little space, but saying that, only slightly bigger than your FV. You don't have to be a DIY expert or a electrician, but if you have the space for a wardrobe sort of thing, your laughing......P.s. Do not under any circumstnces empty your wifes/girlfriends/boyfriends clothes out of your wardrobe as they tend to get a little upset.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have never used either but have read belts can be a pain in the arse as you have to move them up and down until you get the right temperature, if you are out at work and the temperature rises you will not know until you get home.

My kitchen gets down to around 15c when the heating is not on and i have never had a wine not finish fermenting, it does take a little longer but that's not a bad thing.

 

[Roddy]

cheers, I have a mate that uses a heat pad connected to a timer so it's on for an hour/off for an hour I guess so not to overwarm the brews

Had a look this morn and my lager is about 16deg (thermometer strip on the fv), will anything ferment out slowly at lower temps? ie not just wine
@ Chippy-tea

might hold fire for a bit

 

[coopsy]

I find that the immersion tubes keep the fermentation temp just perfect, never had a problem, i also brew outside in a shed, so even more impressed.........

"I would give up beer, but i'm no quitter" :drink:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Temperature when wine making is not really a big issue but I think it is when making beer, it might be worth asking the same question in the beer forum.

 

[user 4004]

With cider, this time of year, I like to make sure it has started so I drop an immersion heater in the barrel for 24/48h until I start to see activity and then take it out and leave it alone, I just like to make sure the yeast has taken hold in this cold weather. It seems to go dormant when it gets really cold and then start back up around mid day, until it gets cold again in the evening.

I might add my cider is kept in a unheated shed loft and some mornings when I have looked at them the air locks have been frozen, so it is no bad thing it slows down when it gets cold.

 

[nigelw6]

I inherited a number of brewing belts when I first started and agree they are a pain to regulate the temperature. A friend then lent me a thermostat from his reptile tanks and it works a treat. I have now bought 2 habistat thermostats which are accurate +-1 degree and i attach the probe to my FV which in turn switches the belt on and off within the selected temperature range. I also have a couple of silverline digital thermometers that I use as a secondary temperature check. Here is a link to the thermostat

 

[Yeastmaster]

I'm blessed with a cupboard under the stairs where it's a constant 19-20C year round (as long as the central heating comes on twice a day in winter) and another cupboard off my converted garage that's 13C in winter. The former I use for fermentation and carbonation and the latter for bottle conditioning.

If I did have to add heat I would go for a thermostatic fish tank heater in a water bath surrounding the fermentor (I kept tropical fish as a child and the good ones keep their temp very well). Or I would just brew lager which I can't do in summer because it's too warm.

 

[Brewski]

I'm blessed with a cupboard under the stairs where it's a constant 19-20C year round (as long as the central heating comes on twice a day in winter) and another cupboard off my converted garage that's 13C in winter. The former I use for fermentation and carbonation and the latter for bottle conditioning.

If I did have to add heat I would go for a thermostatic fish tank heater in a water bath surrounding the fermentor (I kept tropical fish as a child and the good ones keep their temp very well). Or I would just brew lager which I can't do in summer because it's too warm.

I've just started a brew using a water bath and fish tank heater. Like any heating method it takes a little while to get dialled-in but once it is, it works very well.

 

[Yeastmaster]

I've read that some people also put the fish tank heater directly in the wort (second hole in airlock bung for cable) but I'd be worried that the wort directly surrounding the water gets very warm which could potentially cause off flavours.

In the fish tank the heat gets evenly dispersed really quickly due to pumps, aerators etc but your wort doesn't circulate or only incredibly slowly (unless the little yeasties have special powers even greater than creating alcohol - as if that wasn't enough ;-)).

Anybody getting good results with heater put straight into wort?

 

[engineer]

Years ago i used both the belt an pad method. The belt was a pain in the backside, it often slipped and did not seem to distribute the heat evenly.
The pad was great but expensive (got it from boots back then).

Today i use a 20w vivarium heat mat. They are designed for reptile vivariums come in all shapes, sizes and wattage's. They are (splash) waterproof and relatively cheap compared to some heat mats marketed for brewing.

I also use them for growing plants from seed, very useful bits of kit.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

I've read that some people also put the fish tank heater directly in the wort (second hole in airlock bung for cable) but I'd be worried that the wort directly surrounding the water gets very warm which could potentially cause off flavours.

In the fish tank the heat gets evenly dispersed really quickly due to pumps, aerators etc but your wort doesn't circulate or only incredibly slowly (unless the little yeasties have special powers even greater than creating alcohol - as if that wasn't enough ;-)).

Anybody getting good results with heater put straight into wort?

I used to use this method but its a lot of faffing about and its hard to clean and sterilize each time. The best method is, if you want to go down this route is sit your FV in a B+Q plastic dustbin (£7.00) with the aquarium heater in the bin. If you can throw a old quilt over it, even better. Obviously there has to be water in the bin.

 

[bigbeefy]

my old man used the fish tank heater as did i years ago directly in the brew

and thats what im going to carry on doing at £6.50 each delivered from ebay they are cheap as chips

once set up they are pretty accurate and if your brew ia about the right temp in the first place then they are only keeping the temp up so not really putting in lots of heat

 

[Roddy]

found a workable alternative to the heating problem, I had a oil filled radiator kicking around that happened to have one of those dial controls so I have it on for an hour, then off for an hour. At the moment it's regulating my wine kit at a pretty steady 21-22deg

sweet !

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