Converting coolbrewing bag into fermentation chamber.

[BrannBrew]

Hi all, I've got a CoolBrewing bag and used it with iceboxes and hot water bottles in the past to try to maintain a generally stable temperature (but you never quite can tell)

An ideal I've had was to buy an ink bird, a animal heated bed pad and possibly a USB fan which both would plug into the inkbird. Just to try to get a constant temp/more control of it.
Would this work well and be safe.
If not I may just have to borrow the wife's hot water bottle to help keep temps up this week.

 

[aamcle]

It would be easier and I think more reliable to get a cupboard insulate it and them add a heat source, fan and controller. Or to use the the bag to line and insulate a cupboard,


aamcle

 

[-Bezza-]

Or to use the the bag to line and insulate a cupboard,

If going down that route, I would suggest it would be better to use some foil loft insulation.

My concern with adding a heat pad or even a brew belt to a bag of this sort is that the heat generated could melt the plastic interior and damage things. I would think that could be overcome by putting some sort of board in the bottom, putting the mat on top and then the FV on top. As long as the heat mat didn't touch the sides, it should be ok. I can't see a thermostatically controlled, relatively low-temp heat pad in an oxygen-starved / Co2 rich environment causing a fire risk.

 

[BrannBrew]

Cool, thanks. was always thinking of placing it around the fermenter or even sticking it on to it, so not going to touch the bag itself. I have a mini USB desk fan Im going to use to cool it if needed. I know the fan part is OK as ive used that in the past.

 

[BeerCat]

I haver tried animal pads ( reptile mats) and they dont last. A heat belt is much better if used with an stc. As long as the ambient temp is lower you dont need to put in in anything. Mine just stand on the floor.

 

[AdeDunn]

I haver tried animal pads ( reptile mats) and they dont last. A heat belt is much better if used with an stc. As long as the ambient temp is lower you dont need to put in in anything. Mine just stand on the floor.

They're not designed to be run at high temps, and some makes are better than others. I've found Pro-Rep and Lucky Reptile ones last for years, where Exo-Terra ones don't last long (or get very warm) at all. They're designed to be run with a thermostat probe right on the mat too, they're not much use for anything other than direct contact heating. I keep corn snakes and a leopard gecko, in addition to the tarantulas and shrimp. :wink:

As to plastic, again you have to make sure you have a thermostat, with the probe on or very near the mat, else yes they will melt plastic. One of our tarantulas was bought from a local who hadn't a clue how to keep them, and they had put an uncontrolled heat mat on the bottom of a tiny plastic tank, when I moved the spider and emptied the tank I found a huge hole melted right through the bottom....:headbang:

Other reptile hobby heaters are way too expensive to use, things like tube heaters are way cheaper.

Oh and yeah, I use an Inkbird ITC 308 to control the heat mat on one of our corn snake vivaria... They're way better value than the ones sold specifically for keeping exotics. It's set to 30 degrees, with the probe sat on top of the mat.

 

[BeerCat]

They're not designed to be run at high temps, and some makes are better than others. I've found Pro-Rep and Lucky Reptile ones last for years, where Exo-Terra ones don't last long (or get very warm) at all. They're designed to be run with a thermostat probe right on the mat too, they're not much use for anything other than direct contact heating. I keep corn snakes and a leopard gecko, in addition to the tarantulas and shrimp. :wink:

As to plastic, again you have to make sure you have a thermostat, with the probe on or very near the mat, else yes they will melt plastic. One of our tarantulas was bought from a local who hadn't a clue how to keep them, and they had put an uncontrolled heat mat on the bottom of a tiny plastic tank, when I moved the spider and emptied the tank I found a huge hole melted right through the bottom....:headbang:

Other reptile hobby heaters are way too expensive to use, things like tube heaters are way cheaper.

Oh and yeah, I use an Inkbird ITC 308 to control the heat mat on one of our corn snake vivaria... They're way better value than the ones sold specifically for keeping exotics. It's set to 30 degrees, with the probe sat on top of the mat.

To be honest Ade i bought the cheapest i could. About £5 for a 14w so not surprised they dont last. They dont put out loads of heat but usually enough. If not i just use2. You can get a decent belt for £18 so will stick with them in the future. May also turn it down with a voltage controller connected after the stc to lower the power and heat output. The one i have now 80w is way too much and gets really hot which is unneccessary.

 

[AdeDunn]

Yeah, exotics keeping gear is far from good value for the decent quality stuff. Even then, some of the more expensive stuff is rubbish too, you learn pretty quickly which brands to avoid.

There are much better quality AND better value products available to brewers. Hence my using an Inkbird on a vivarium. A similarly featured stat with an exotics brand on it would cost around £80 and upwards...

 

[Wouter]

Personally i use:

- STC-1000
-An old frige (cupboard and cooling source in one).
-And an old fashioned light bulb for heating.

Works perfectly, and it costs next to nothing.

Really, a light bulb creates heat in 95% effiency. If anything happens, it just breaks and it stops heating. Its the most safe, simply and cheap solution around. The bulb I use has not been changed in two years.

 

[geigercntr]

I do similar. I use the coolbrewing bag. Pop FV inside with a heat belt wrapped around it and attached to an inkbird.

I don't have a suitable fan and my inkbird model is only able to heat (rather than heat &cool), so I pop in a couple of bottles of frozen water. That way there's a constant struggle: the ice water is trying to chill the wort, the heatbelt keeps warming it. Not ideal but keeps at a fairly constant 19C.

 

[BrannBrew]

Thanks all, the heating pad I've got is one for cats/dogs to sit on or for their beds. May not hold up but can try it and improve on it if it goes. Trying to keep on the cheap rather than adding too much to my equipment/spreading out too much. Ideally wanted a fridge, however the wife doesn't think its nesserray as Ive got the coolbrewing bag. To keep the piece I came up with the idea of using what I've already got

 

[-Bezza-]

the wife doesn't think its nesserray as Ive got the coolbrewing bag.

In that case, I would suggest cranking the heat pad up the maximum and leaving it in contact with any plastic surfaces for as long as possible. Then show her the damage she has caused by not allowing you to have a fridge. Rub her nose in it to emphasise the point.

 

[AdeDunn]

Thanks all, the heating pad I've got is one for cats/dogs to sit on or for their beds. May not hold up but can try it and improve on it if it goes. Trying to keep on the cheap rather than adding too much to my equipment/spreading out too much. Ideally wanted a fridge, however the wife doesn't think its nesserray as Ive got the coolbrewing bag. To keep the piece I came up with the idea of using what I've already got

This is why I try really hard to avoid implementing temporary "make do for now" measures! They end up permanent when my wife informs me that there's no need to fix something that isn't broken.... lol

In my experience, ultimately, it ends up costing more in the long run, as you have to add more and more to keep the "make do" method effective over time.

Regarding your point Bezza, a better method would probably be to show her the additional energy usage due to the less effective insulation. Also, if you have a stand alone fridge for food use, offer to upgrade the food use one to a much better model, and you'll just re-purpose the old and probably not as nice one to save it going to waste...... :wink: