Fermenting vessel heating

[MarconiBrew]

This has probably been asked before, no doubt. I did a search but couldn't find what I was looking for.

So, to keep my next fermenting brew at a stable and necessary temperature, what's the best reasonable heater, pad, belt that I could look for?

Also, where's the place to get such kit from? My local Wilko doesn't sell them, so what are the online shops to use?

Thanks.

 

[LeeH]

 

[hoppyscotty]

I just use a 40w or 60w tube heater off eBay. About £17 brand new. Also known as greenhouse or garage heaters. They come in various lengths but a 12 inch (the smallest size) long one fits nicely in a standard size fridge.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

I use a 20w reptile heat mat in my brew fridge. Cost a little over £8 off fleabay and takes up no space at all. FV just sits on top of it.

 

[MarconiBrew]

Ok, I'm not using a fridge. Somewhere we've crossed wires.

I'm using a fermenting vessel, one of these

 

[LeeH]

No crossed wires here, the suggestion is to buy an old fridge so you can control your temps Heat belts and pads do not do this in isolation.

 

[DCBC]

I outgrew my old fermentation fridge when I went to 40L+ batches.

One solution I have found which works for heating only but should be good for maybe five months of the year is to put the bucket in a relatively cool place on a stand or chair, put one of the heating devices recommended above underneath, and wrap a few turns of ThermaWrap around it. Make sure you cut a circle for the lid as well, or you can just fold it over. I can hold fermentations to very close to the intended temperature, and the wrap 'chamber' flattens down nicely between uses.

 

[Spratt]

Ok, I'm not using a fridge. Somewhere we've crossed wires.

I'm using a fermenting vessel, one of these

If you don't want to go down the fridge route, get a plastic dustbin, fill it with water, immerse the bucket in it and heat it with an aquarium heater. You can get a dustbin for about fifteen quid, ditto for the aquarium heater. If you want to fine tune it, you can get an STC 1000 or Inkbird temperature controller: put the aquarium heater up to max. (I think they go up to about 30c) and do the controlling on the STC 1000. If you can afford it, the Inkbird is the better bet as STCs are a pig to wire up.

 

[SteveH]

I use a heat pad and inkbird itc-308 (both available from Amazon or many homebrew shops) - you can connect just the heat side without a fridge (particularly this time of year) if you have a cool spot somewhere you can put the fermenter.

I wrap it in insulation like @DCBC and it works fine except in the summer, when I either stop brewing or use kviek/saison yeast that tolerates a high temperature.

 

[MarconiBrew]

I outgrew my old fermentation fridge when I went to 40L+ batches.

One solution I have found which works for heating only but should be good for maybe five months of the year is to put the bucket in a relatively cool place on a stand or chair, put one of the heating devices recommended above underneath, and wrap a few turns of ThermaWrap around it. Make sure you cut a circle for the lid as well, or you can just fold it over. I can hold fermentations to very close to the intended temperature, and the wrap 'chamber' flattens down nicely between uses.

View attachment 37595

That's given me an idea.

I also see we're both Kallax fans

 

[DCBC]

Haha yep got so many Kallaxes (Kallaces? XD) that we put our old ones in the brewery and still have loads in the house. Can't beat 'em. Good luck with your heating solution whatever you choose to do!

 

[dv12]

I've been using a heat belt since I've started kegging and the fridge is occupied. This is the 1st time I needed to wrap the bucket in a cosy blanket. It wouldn't go above 13C.

 

[MarconiBrew]

Tubular heaters are out of stock everywhere. Either we now have a nation of brewers, or people are expecting the big freeze. I've got a handy cupboard I could use for two weeks here and there to do a brew, with a tubular heater in there I can keep the temperature steady. When I get hold of a heater, I'll put the FV in there with only water and experiment with the temperature control.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

Tubular heaters are out of stock everywhere. Either we now have a nation of brewers, or people are expecting the big freeze. I've got a handy cupboard I could use for two weeks here and there to do a brew, with a tubular heater in there I can keep the temperature steady. When I get hold of a heater, I'll put the FV in there with only water and experiment with the temperature control.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adjustab...-/383709956788?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

 

[Richard_H]

I use a heat pad and inkbird itc-308 (both available from Amazon or many homebrew shops) - you can connect just the heat side without a fridge (particularly this time of year) if you have a cool spot somewhere you can put the fermenter.

I wrap it in insulation like @DCBC and it works fine except in the summer, when I either stop brewing or use kviek/saison yeast that tolerates a high temperature.

Same here, a rather basic setup for temperature control but its effective and takes up less room than a fridge. A fridge/freezer setup would be the best approach but if that is a route you would rather not go down then this works well, and if you are also happy to use Kviek & Saison (also some Belgian strains) then your covered from brewing all year

 

[ChrisD123]

I use a Mangrove Jacks heat pad and controller (until I build a brew fridge) Not had any issues, currently have a Kveik on the ago, fermenter wrapped with one layer of bubble wrap holding steady at 32 degrees...

 

[DavieC]

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/how-to-set-up-a-water-bath-for-your-fv.66407/Hi, this is effective.

 

[BridgeBrew]

I've been brewing since the airing cupboard days of the early 80s. Trust me make a brew fridge. Dont go down the heat pad road (tried it *****) You could go down the water bath route, never tried that, but sounds messy, and why ? Just make a brew fridge. If you want to know how, just ask. :hat:

 

[MarconiBrew]

I bought a large bucket today and an aquarium heater. All together it's quite neat actually and will all tuck away in the cupboard when not in use. I've got the FV and bucket trialing the temperature at the moment with only water, so will see how that goes before starting another brew.

 

[Sandimas]

A simple solution that many of us use How to Set up a Water Bath for your FV