Heat pad fermentation chamber

[Brewster21]

Has anyone successfully used a heatpad for the heat source in a home made fridge fermentation chamber?

 

[Baldbrewer]

Has anyone successfully used a heatpad for the heat source in a home made fridge fermentation chamber?

In my case I used a tubular heater and made a wooden plate for the brackets to sit on.
The rationale being it allows the heat to transfer without any direct contact with the fridge interior.

As most fridges are plastic I'd be a little worried about using a heat mat on this surface.
I have no hard data to support this theory just my thoughts! sorry I'm not more helpful.

 

[Brewster21]

makes sense, I have a tube heater on order but it just occured to me that I may be able to use the heatpad maybe with a small piece of plywood underneath it, I'm just interested to see if anyone else has done the same, thanks anyway.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

I did before I got a tube heater. No issues that I can recall. Homebrew heat pads are not especially powerful, so I wouldn't expect any issues.

 

[marshbrewer]

I have on in one of mine, but I don't put the FV on top of it, it's stuck on the side of the fridge radiating heat. Seems to work well and have no problems keeping the chamber at English / Scottish ale fermenting temps. Not entirely sure it could ramp things up to Belgian / Saison temps in the depths of winter, mind.

 

[Brewster21]

Interesting, what is the reason for not placing it underneath the fermenter?

 

[marshbrewer]

I just think that heating the air in the fridge that then heats the FV gives a more even spread of heat than being in direct contact with the vessel.

 

[Dutto]

I have a tube heater on order but it just occured to me that I may be able to use the heatpad maybe with a small piece of plywood underneath it, I'm just interested to see if anyone else has done the same, thanks anyway.

I’ve not used a heatpad, but with a thin (9mm) bit of ply-wood beneath it (presumably on a glass shelf) there shouldn’t be any problem.

Nowadays, I use a Dimplex 40w tube heater which sits in a wooden stand just beneath the bottom glass shelf.

I trust the glass shelf to not break with a 23 litre load on it and “so far so good” after many brews!
:hat:

 

[Brewster21]

Thanks for the feedback, this is the setup I have decided on, I have a second hand integrated fridge which has a well at the bottom, this will house the tube heater sat on polypropylene brackets beneath the fermenter. The Inkbird probe will be passed through a small hole drilled through the top straight into a thermowell fitted in the lid. The control unit will be fixed to the side of the fridge and all cabling pinned back out of the way. This will be a major improvement to my existing brews, I have also bought a bottling gadget to reduce oxygen build up so the next step is to get a brew on and test it out, the brew will be an American IPA with some brew enhancer, I will post an update, many thanks again

 

[Session]

Hey @Brewster21, it looks as though you’ve had some good feedback already. Just wanted to come in to say I use a seedling heat mat in my fridge, laid directly on the floor of the fridge without any issues. I ferment in a keg, with a rubberised base, so am not worried about sitting it in top of the heat mat. It works very well and cost about £8 from AliExpress.

Show us your build one it’s finished!

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Thanks for the feedback, this is the setup I have decided on, I have a second hand integrated fridge which has a well at the bottom, this will house the tube heater sat on polypropylene brackets beneath the fermenter. The Inkbird probe will be passed through a small hole drilled through the top straight into a thermowell fitted in the lid. The control unit will be fixed to the side of the fridge and all cabling pinned back out of the way. This will be a major improvement to my existing brews, I have also bought a bottling gadget to reduce oxygen build up so the next step is to get a brew on and test it out, the brew will be an American IPA with some brew enhancer, I will post an update, many thanks again

I'm sure you're already aware, but do be careful drilling through the top of the fridge. Some fridges have coolant lines running through the top.
On my fermenting fridge I started just by putting the probe in under the door seal just so I could get a brew in there quickly, and I have stuck to this method as it works well with no drilling involved. Just something to consider.

 

[AlBrew]

I have a similar setup, but it's using a FV heat belt I had lying around, and just lying on the bottom of the fridge.

I'm using a Sonoff WiFi temp controller to switch it. Seems to work very well, and I can monitor/change the temperature remotely on the app.

I've just shoved the temp probe and power cables through the magnetic door seal between the hinges, it won't win a beauty contest but it all works fine.

 

[thunderfingers]

Hi, I do exactly what you are thinking of doing, heat mat sat under the fermenter with no issues, I have done it this way for years

 

[Brewster21]

I'm sure you're already aware, but do be careful drilling through the top of the fridge. Some fridges have coolant lines running through the top.
On my fermenting fridge I started just by putting the probe in under the door seal just so I could get a brew in there quickly, and I have stuck to this method as it works well with no drilling involved. Just something to consider.

I was aware but I took the chance and got away with it and it's working fine so far, hopefully will get a brew going today.