Fermenting in a cold kitchen this winter...

[jondread]

I'm very new to all of this, firstly. Sorry if this has been asked before too. But basically -

I live in a flat which has terrible heating,(storage heaters) in the last week it has been a constant 16 - 17 degrees C in all our rooms. Our kitchen has no heating at all but it is quite a sunny room and is a sun-trap on a sunny day. That is where I would be doing my fermenting and conditioning.

Problem is, I have a feeling its going to get pretty cold in there this winter. I think it may possibly drop down to about 14 C on some cold days. What should I do about fermenting my next brew? I have seen those "brew-belt" things and heaters you can get, but I also have a feeling they are going to kill my electricity bill?

Is there any solution to this? If not I was considering being cheeky and fermenting at my parents house as its always like an oven over there, and then kegging it and bringing the keg back here to then bottle.

Thanks in advance,
Jon.

 

[Cononthebarber]

When I had the same problem in my old flat I bought myself one of those big storage boxes from Wilko's and an aquarium heater. Put your FV in the box and fill with water, then stick the aquarium heater to the side immersed in the water on the lowest setting. It kept my beer at a constant 20c even in the depths of winter in my old chilly flat :thumb:

 

[jondread]

When I had the same problem in my old flat I bought myself one of those big storage boxes from Wilko's and an aquarium heater. Put your FV in the box and fill with water, then stick the aquarium heater to the side immersed in the water on the lowest setting. It kept my beer at a constant 20c even in the depths of winter in my old chilly flat :thumb:

This is an excellent idea :) hopefully the aquarium heaters won't cost a bomb to run either. Annoying thing is, I actually had one that I sold at a bootfaire this summer! OH well!

 

[Cononthebarber]

Damn well you can get them pretty cheap online, think mine cost a tenner...

 

[AlliDelta]

Alternatively brew some lager. I'm told that this prefers lower temps for fermenting. Fermentation will still take place at lower temps, it will just take longer. I'm not sure what temperature will cause fermentation to stop but I'm sure someone will help you out with that.

 

[Tankboi]

My latest batch was brewed at 17c took a bit longer than the rest but first taste is promising. I suggest doing a small batch and see what happens

 

[PD]

you will be surpried how effective the water bath is,combine that with some heavy blankets or hot water cylinder jacket and you will be fine

 

[anthonyUK]

A 100w heater will cost around 1p per hour to run

 

[fizz head1982]

Do a larger, if the seasons are with you you can lager it too! :party:

 

[Baldbrewer]

+1 to water bath with aquarium heater,
Buy a plastic trug from a hardware store and use an aquarium heater 100w and buy a thermometer with a probe About £5ish.

Make a very weak bleach water solution and use this in your trug to prevent bug growth.

Put your FV in the trug surrounded by the water and bleach solution, put your aquarium heater in the water if you want to put the thermometer probe in the FV but sterilise it first with star San etc.

Then set the aquarium heater to your fermentation temp you want and adjust the temp according to the thermometer reading.

Personally Ive used the thermometer in the water with no ill effects.

Cover the whole shebang with a cover of some description I use a homemade cover made from multifoil insulation.

Hope this helps,
: :thumb:

 

[boozy_shoes]

I live in a very cold flat too. Over the winter I use a 25w submersible aquarium heater but I sterilise it and put it in the FV itself. To reduce the gap caused by the flex going in I use a length of kitchen foil around where the flex goes in moulded around both the lid and the first bit of the flex. Never had a problem or infection.

 

[AllAleCrumpy]

Some great ideas, I'm thinking of setting up a brewing shed and as well as polystyrene insulation cladding on the walls I think I'll try the heater in the fv. Probably use a rubber bung fitted to the lid, remove the plug and tread it through hole on bung. Should be air and gas tight..

Cheers, Crumpy

 

[oldjiver]

I used to use an old fashioned 25w light bulb to heat a small cupboard for my plants. The 25w was mostly heat. Now I use an aquarium heater (25w) and it works great. I use a square plastic box for my round FV so the tap has a corner to go into.

 

[PD]

if your brewing beer...it doesn't have to be air tight

 

[Baldbrewer]

+1 to PD's comment , you really don't want an airtight FV :

 

[winelight]

Just dangle the aquarium heater in the FV... no need to go to all the trouble they talk about. You'll need to sanitise it first of course. I did this for months before making my brew fridge. Worked an absolute treat and was very cheap, about £6/£7.