Fish Tank Heater & Coopers DIY Kit??? Ballymena, NI

[BrewBilly]

After my epic temperature crisis detailed in an earlier thread I am considering getting a fish tank heater.

However thinking through the actual application I'm finding it difficult to think how to put the heater in the FV, I dont have to worry about an airlock as its the coopers kit.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers
BrewBilly

 

[fbsf]

Put the FV in a bigger tub with water in it, and put the fish tank heater in that water - it will give a far more even heat to the FV than putting the heater in directly...

 

[StevieDS]

I believe there are 2 main alternatives. One is to dangle the heater in the fv with the cable through a grommet on the lid. This seems a bit fraught with danger to me, with problems such as hot spots and sanitation to worry about. The other option is to place the fv in a water bath and put the heater in the water. This is what I did before I got my fermentation fridge. I also put a small aquarium pump in the water to circulate it for even temperature tho this probably isn't necessary.

 

[PD]

get yourself one of those slide under the bed plastic tubs. Stand the fermenter in that with water and heater.
One of the reasons when I brew beer my first fermenter is a plain bucket with no legs no tap. Its then easy to stand in a water bath. The beer is later transferred to a fermenter with a tap to allow bottling.

 

[alf1887]

I use a fish tank heater in a recycling box with the drain holes sealed. I used plumbers mate leak sealer, you could use silicon.