Brew Jackets immersion cooling heating system

[Covrich]

Fermentation temp isn't generally a massive issue for me, but something I want more control of now..

A fridge is an option many take but Whilst I could fit a fridge in somewhere I dont want that footprint and especially something that wouldn't get used half the time, plus it would be in the conservatory where in the summer I would question their effectiveness..

I think these floated around here last year when they were in kickstarter.

But they are going to be coming to the UK soon apparently, the makers told me they are currently in talks with wholesale vendors in the UK and we can maybe see them soon.

Now the first thing I think people will notice is the price, they are not cheap, in fact they are bloody expensive so I will be interested to see how much they cost here..

A brew cool bag seems my most viable option to control and tweak the temperature however if I wanted to cold crash or lager I think I would struggle this immersion cooler (heater optional extra) does look a very small and good solution, I could tuck my FV in tthe corner in my office and forget about it and cold crash..

Reviews of them seem good but that price....:s.. needs to come down a bit for me to consider..

http://www.brewjacket.com/immersion-design/

 

[jceg316]

I've looked at these before and they are pretty expensive. Also it looks like if you put it in a glass demijohn you'll need to drill a hole in the neck. I don't feel too comfortable drilling through glass myself...

It did look great and at first I was like "shut up and take my money!" But I think there are cheaper and better ways to cool beer.

Have you thought about making a son of fermentation cooler? It will certainly be cheaper but of course the trade off is the time to make it.

 

[Covrich]

I never saw the bit about drilling a hole in a glass fermentor? from the looks of it though it will work with most out of the box..

I seen someone review it and they did a chamber this and a cool bag and they all did the job tbf, the cool bag a bit slower.

Not saying I would get one, but I think they are a neat little solution if they were 100 quid cheaper I would def opt for one.. I don't mind spending extra on a product for a certain need requirement.. However the cost at present is obscenely too high.

what you suggest the son I hadn't heard of before..Like you say it would take time to build.. I would also not be sure whether I could!!

I think ill end up going down the brew cool bag route and just rotate bottles daily, but of course cold crashing isn't something you can do (not that I think cold crashing is all that, when I done it before in a fridge I didn't think it was that essential just a nice addition)

 

[Leon103]

Wow they are expensive. Think my fridge build cost around £40. Love my fridge, it's brilliant, set a temp and way to go, hot or cold.

 

[MyQul]

I think ill end up going down the brew cool bag route and just rotate bottles daily, but of course cold crashing isn't something you can do (not that I think cold crashing is all that, when I done it before in a fridge I didn't think it was that essential just a nice addition)

Theorectically you can cold crash in the BB. It depends what your ambient temp is.

I think I could manage it in winter. During the coldest part of winter my kitchen is about 18C. As mentioned when the ambient temp is below about 22C I need 1L of ice to drop the temp in the BB 1C (as opposed to 2L of ice to drop it 1C when the ambient temp is over about 22C) so I'd need 18L of ice or 9 x 2L pop bottles. The BB can easily hold this much ice plus the FV. I also have enough room in my freezer for 9x2L pop bottles. So I think I could do it.

I think you just need to brew seasonally with the BB, lagers in winter and ales in summer (although of course you can brew ales in winter with it too)

 

[Covrich]

I think the bag is the way to go for myself

I will brew seasonaly anyway, was planning another pseudo lager in the winter.. potentially could do a real one with this but pseudo worked so well I might cheat again :)

 

[MyQul]

I think the bag is the way to go for myself

I will brew seasonaly anyway, was planning another pseudo lager in the winter.. potentially could do a real one with this but pseudo worked so well I might cheat again :)

I'm planning to bulk lager a pale ale for two weeks with mine so I can crash the chill haze (aways enivitable for me as I no-chill) out of it. It's rare for me to have a crystal clear beer but I'm able to do it in winter

 

[Covrich]

Does leaving them in the fridge long enough work? since I treated water if I lager a brew I can now pratically read through some of them.... I know not essential but with a lager or a straw coloured beer its a nice touch.

The whole chill wort as fast as you can I often get a bit not confused but a lot of the time we add flame out or hop stands so essentially waiting before chilling anyway..

 

[MyQul]

Leaving them them in the fridge for long enough does work but I think it's easier just to bulk lager all in one go

 

[jceg316]

I never saw the bit about drilling a hole in a glass fermentor? from the looks of it though it will work with most out of the box..

I seen someone review it and they did a chamber this and a cool bag and they all did the job tbf, the cool bag a bit slower.

Not saying I would get one, but I think they are a neat little solution if they were 100 quid cheaper I would def opt for one.. I don't mind spending extra on a product for a certain need requirement.. However the cost at present is obscenely too high.

what you suggest the son I hadn't heard of before..Like you say it would take time to build.. I would also not be sure whether I could!!

I think ill end up going down the brew cool bag route and just rotate bottles daily, but of course cold crashing isn't something you can do (not that I think cold crashing is all that, when I done it before in a fridge I didn't think it was that essential just a nice addition)

I think I've misunderstood soemthing. This one - the heating and cooling - doesn't need anything, it's plug and play. There's a cooling only model which I think needs drilling into the FVs, but on another look I'm not too sure now.

I built this: http://www.honestbeerguide.com/homebrew-log/my-attempt-to-make-a-fridgeless-fermentation-chamber/. I'm terrible at DIY builds and it's not pretty, but it works well. It took me about half an hour. If I were to make it more "permanent" without building a whole structure out of polystyrene, it would take longer and I'd use a coolbox with a hole cut out of it to put the ice blocks in.

Then again just thinking about it. If you just need to cold crash/cold ferment a lager, a brew jacket with some ice blocks inside will do the trick!

 

[BeerCat]

How much are they? Still no idea exactly where they go and very confused at the idea of drilling a hole. Does a fridge use more juice?

 

[mgkpancake]

How much are they? Still no idea exactly where they go and very confused at the idea of drilling a hole. Does a fridge use more juice?

So instead of your usual air lock/bung it just replaces that. No drilling required or needed (if so its through rubber :thumb:)

They cost about 370 shipped includes VAT.

If you wanted an all in one solution, no fridge, controlled fermentation- this is it!

 

[Dutto]

............ Whilst I could fit a fridge in somewhere I dont want that footprint and especially something that wouldn't get used half the time, .............

I have to disagree with that statement. Sorry.

Summer and winter, my fridge is in almost constant use to maintain the temperature of my brews during fermentation and carbonation.

My problem is that I only have one brew fridge and could do with at least one more! :thumb: :thumb:

PS

How the heck can you carbonate 42 x 500ml bottles of beer with that gadget?

 

[Fil]

wow £370+ OUCH!! <£30 on ebay will buy the gubbins for a diy job. its just a peltier and thermostat attached to an anodised ally bar. No fans employed on the hot side heatsink even so i doubt its a hugely expensive or highly powered peltier plate.

ive seen a few similar diy builds, but most employed much bigger hot side heatsinks and fans with high power peltiers before significant chillling could be applied.

A cheap ebay bargain shelf chiller with a recirc/python pump is probably the most effecive alternative chilling option to a brewfridge suspending a SS hex coil in the brew, the square product coils from huge bath type product chillers are a popular in beer hex coil for folk with conicals. the shelf chillers footprint isnt much smaller than an under the counter fridge tho and they can be quite loud.

 

[Covrich]

I have to disagree with that statement. Sorry.

Summer and winter, my fridge is in almost constant use to maintain the temperature of my brews during fermentation and carbonation.

My problem is that I only have one brew fridge and could do with at least one more! :thumb: :thumb:

PS

How the heck can you carbonate 42 x 500ml bottles of beer with that gadget?

I see what you're saying but I was talking about me with that statement ... I wouldn't use it half the time.. I don't like to drink too much so a full brew 4-5 weeks is sufficient. I could prime bottles in there but I can use the space more efficiently in the office.

Not saying I wouldn't like one but I don't have the space for one full time, and it wouldn't be in use half the time..


I think the cool bag is the way to go for me personally, work really well from what I have seen.

 

[mgkpancake]

I have to disagree with that statement. Sorry.

Summer and winter, my fridge is in almost constant use to maintain the temperature of my brews during fermentation and carbonation.

My problem is that I only have one brew fridge and could do with at least one more! :thumb: :thumb:

PS

How the heck can you carbonate 42 x 500ml bottles of beer with that gadget?

Mash->Lauter->Boil->Chill->Pitch Yeast->Ferment with immersion chiller-> Send to bottling bucket->Add sugar->Mix->Bottle

The neat thing was being able to step out temperature wise to reduce the amount of 'shock' to the yeast

*edit* not saying you couldn't do this whole thing for waaaaaay less. A fridge with temperature control can be had for 50-100 pounds easy 2nd hand. I'm opting for this because I live in a tiny flat and limited real estate.

 

[Covrich]

IMHO rigid controlling temp for carbonation pretty unnecessary. Nice if you can do it, but no ill effects at all by using room temp. I think ambient room temp is fine.. I read on HBT some people even have it carb at 25+.. not sure I would do that myself

 

[aamcle]

If you like that sort of thing you can make one for MUCH Less what you have is a combination of a PC's water cooler and a dip tube. You could get the bits on the bay and DIY but it's only worth it if you like building stuff, I do but I still when with a fridge because I have the space.


aamcle

 

[Dutto]

IMHO rigid controlling temp for carbonation pretty unnecessary. Nice if you can do it, but no ill effects at all by using room temp. I think ambient room temp is fine.. I read on HBT some people even have it carb at 25+.. not sure I would do that myself

I guess it's very much "Different strokes for different folks." :thumb:

"Room temperature" in my garage has been between 6 and 8 degrees for the last month and there is still at least two or three more months to go before I expect it to get above 10 degrees!

I know for a fact (I tried it once) that SWMBO doesn't want 80+ bottles of beer scattered around the house ... :nono: :nono:

...and I sure as heck don't want to hump them in from the garage and then back out again two weeks later to start conditioning.

PS

I also wouldn't carbonate a beer at 25 degrees. :nono:

 

[Covrich]

I guess it's very much "Different strokes for different folks." :thumb:

"Room temperature" in my garage has been between 6 and 8 degrees for the last month and there is still at least two or three more months to go before I expect it to get above 10 degrees!

I know for a fact (I tried it once) that SWMBO doesn't want 80+ bottles of beer scattered around the house ... :nono: :nono:

...and I sure as heck don't want to hump them in from the garage and then back out again two weeks later to start conditioning.

PS

I also wouldn't carbonate a beer at 25 degrees. :nono:

Absolutley depends on your house!! I can get the 40 bottles in 2 cardboard boxes on top of the other in the office.. always 20ish there. I could stick them in the garage in teh summer since its a block I have no power there so a fridge would be a permanent fixture in the conservatory..

I wouldn't personally want to go 25 either but plenty of Americans I read reccomend 20 a minimum (or 70 in their money) and some go as high as 80+F in the summer.. :-o