Initial set-up, heating/cooling questions

[jodrell]

I'm soon to start my first ever brew . . . I've brought this kit (http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/index.php ... t-set.html) as an easy way to kick things off but don't live in a particularly big house and can't find anywhere to put it that won't upset theWife.

I've therefore decided that the attic will have to make do but the temperature up there is obviously going to be an issue . . . too cold at this time of year and probably too hot during the summer.

I've had a bit of a look around, both here and several other forums and I think one of my best, and affordable, options to ensure things go well would be to get hold of a small fridge (thank you Freecycle), a heater of some sort and a controller (a TC-10 has been recommended to me, http://www.forttex.com/index.php?main_p ... ucts_id=13). Hopefully the fridge will keep the beer away from whatever my attic may throw at it, both in terms of temperature and wildlife, and the controller will be able to keep the temperature nicely balanced.

Being a total newbie I do have a few questions though.

- Firstly, is that plan totally mad?

- Has anyone done something similar (I hope) and are there any real gotchas?

- What's the best type of heater to use?
I can't help thinking that putting a plastic bin on top of a heater pad, or with a band wrapped around it, means you're trying to heat through plastic which will actually be insulating the beer from the heat. I've seen people talk about using aquarium heaters instead but am worried about the beer near the heater getting too warm as the heat is distributed due to there being no pump to move the beer around (like I have in my fishtank obviously). Am I just over-thinking all this?

 

[jamesb]

- Firstly, is that plan totally mad?
- Has anyone done something similar (I hope) and are there any real gotchas?

No. Lots of people have done that and I have one planned.

- What's the best type of heater to use?
I can't help thinking that putting a plastic bin on top of a heater pad, or with a band wrapped around it, means you're trying to heat through plastic which will actually be insulating the beer from the heat.

You want a tube heater - something like this

I've seen people talk about using aquarium heaters instead but am worried about the beer near the heater getting too warm as the heat is distributed due to there being no pump to move the beer around (like I have in my fishtank obviously). Am I just over-thinking all this?

I use an aquarium heater with no problems at all. You'll find that thermal currents are set up to distribute the heat (plus the currents done by the yeast as it's fermenting). It will end up a bit warmer near the heater, but not to any degree significant enough to worry about.

 

[Vossy1]

Firstly, is that plan totally mad?

No. it sounds good to me.

Has anyone done something similar (I hope) and are there any real gotchas?

Lots of people use converted fridges, not sure about the attic though.

What's the best type of heater to use?

The choice is yours. I use a 100watt light bulb.

Good luck with the first brew :thumb:

EDIT, This is another popular heating option. (also found on ebay)

jb's a faster typer :P

 

[jodrell]

Excuse the stupidity but those tubular heaters aren't designed to go into the liquid are they, just the heat the air?

(and I'd never thought of using something as simple as a lightbulb :-)

 

[jamesb]

Excuse the stupidity but those tubular heaters aren't designed to go into the liquid are they, just the heat the air?
(and I'd never thought of using something as simple as a lightbulb :-)

Yep.

Only thing I don't like about the lightbulb idea is the possibility of getting a splash on the glass (crack!) and that half of the electric is wasted as light.

 

[jodrell]

The small fridge is going to be pretty full so I may just go with a small aquarium heater (I think I've got a spare kicking around actually). The temperature probe is going to be in the beer so I guess it's OK to have the heater in there too . . . it's just going to be one more thing to clean I guess.

Thanks for the help, I imagine I'll be back soon with more questions.

 

[Vossy1]

Only thing I don't like about the lightbulb idea is the possibility of getting a splash on the glass (crack!) and that half of the electric is wasted as light.

TBF, you could fit a guard to prevent that happening, and there's no accounting for human error My fv bulb has been splashed by furious yeast and hasn't cracked...yet :pray:
I chose to go the bulb route as spares are easily available, and it'll take some time for it to cost more than the initial outlay of the tubular heater.

 

[bolty]

I'm pretty sure that a standard bulb converts 95% of power to heat, and the rest to light... They are VERY inefficient. But they do make great heater :) :thumb:

 

[evanvine]

I've used light bulbs for years, you'll be supprised how much heat a 25w lamp puts out.

 

[jamesb]

I've used light bulbs for years, you'll be supprised how much heat a 25w lamp puts out.

I'd have to hazard a guess at about 25w?

 

[Vossy1]

:rofl:

 

[BigStoo]

"Inefficient" light bulbs are getting more and more difficult to find these days. I was using a 60w light bulb to keep my FV warm till it blew yesterday. Now all I can find is 11w energy saving bulbs...

 

[Vossy1]

Can't remember if the energy savers have any issues with light ranges at the mo, but they are cheaper than the old type at times. I've got a carrier bag full in the attic of the 100w equiv energy savers, as Tesco were selling them for 10p each :shock:

 

[evanvine]

Sorry I misled you there re 25w, I was just commenting on the amount of heat that comrs off one.
I normally use 60w.

 

[tigertim]

As a lot of the pro's here are using light bulbs, I'm sure it must be okay, but I remember seeing a post here a while back which suggested that light can "skunk" beer whilst it's fermenting or conditioning.

Am I mistaken, or is this simply not a phenomenon which occurs with an incandescent bulb (i.e. needs to be UV light such as in direct sunlight)?

Cheers,
T.

 

[Vossy1]

Am I mistaken, or is this simply not a phenomenon which occurs with an incandescent bulb (i.e. needs to be UV light such as in direct sunlight)?

That is correct :thumb:

EDIT thought it worth mentioning that I cover my fv's in black bin bags when in the fv cupboard.
There's a interesting article here regards light and skunking.

 

[jonewer]

"Inefficient" light bulbs are getting more and more difficult to find these days. I was using a 60w light bulb to keep my FV warm till it blew yesterday. Now all I can find is 11w energy saving bulbs...

Use six of 'em! :grin:

 

[Vossy1]

Expect green peace on your lawn tomorrow :lol:

 

[commsbiff]

Only thing I don't like about the lightbulb idea is .......... and that half of the electric is wasted as light.

I may be being dumb, but... I was under the impression that a light bulb gives off energy as heat and light (maybe there's your half and half). The proportion of the energy given off as heat will heat up your fermenting cupboard / fridge. The proportion of energy given off as light will bounce around inside the fv being absorbed by each surface it hits. Thereby all of the light energy will be transformed into heat energy to help heat up the fv. Or am I wrong :wha:

 

[jodrell]

thanks for all the advice here. Thought I'd drop in and just let you know things are going.

Work kept getting in the way an obviously relatives did over christmas so I was unable to kick things off until last Wednesday when theWife went out horse riding for the evening. I had a bit of fun and games with the wiring but, after getting all that sorted I washed all the kit set the temperature of the thermostat to 19 degrees and closed the door.

I've been reading temperatures regularly when I'm in the house and it seems to have stayed very stable during all that time. The Woodforde's kit I've brought said 4-6 days for this stage so I've just read the instructions on the Hydrometer that came with the kit, syphoned off a sample and took a reading. If I've done it right I'm showing an SG of 1.017. The kit says that I shouldn't move the beer into the pressure barrel until it's below 1.014 so hopefully it'll be at this level tomorrow evening :-)