Upgrading from basic kit brewing

[Edindie]

Hi Guys,

I have done two kits over the past six months (which have both turned out very well) and now wish to progress things. Instead of going direct to all grain brewing I was thinking of getting some better equipment which I could use when brewing from a kit, but would sill be useful when I feel confident / dedicated enough to go to grain. At the moment I have two plastic buckets and a thermometer / hydrometer etc. I have so far only bottled the beer as I'm probably the only one who will drink it (and I assume a tapped keg will go off eventually).

I'm thinking the next step should be to get some kind of temperature regulator to allow me to ferment at constant temperatures. Is there some piece of kit which I can buy which I can then put the plastic brewing bucket into? I'm not that keen on making anything myself, so would prefer to purchase the equipment where possible.

If there is something else I should consider then I'd be happy to try that. It's a new hobby for me and I don't know anyone else who does this, so I have never seen anyone else's set up or asked anyone any basic questions.

Any advice much appreciated!

 

[PD]

the best improvement you can do is to make yourelf a brew fridge to ferment your beer in. It will be useful in all your brewing.
Get a working fridge and a STC1000 ( instructions on the forum for wiring it up ) and then set the temp at a good fermenting point say 18C and you can make beer whatever the season.

 

[Northern Brewer]

the best improvement you can do is to make yourelf a brew fridge to ferment your beer in. It will be useful in all your brewing.
Get a working fridge and a STC1000 ( instructions on the forum for wiring it up ) and then set the temp at a good fermenting point say 18C and you can make beer whatever the season.

+1 :thumb:

I made my shiny HERMS brewery then tried my first brew in the winter, ended rigging up all sorts Heath Robinson efforts to make do and the temp was all over the place. So did it the wrong way round. I eventually made a fermenting cupboard as I get a 120L FV but a fridge is best if your making smaller quantities.

Cheers
Andy

 

[Edindie]

Brew fridge? At the risk of sounding stupid, is this to keep the beer cool or warm?

Assuming the latter can I pick up a broken one because I'll only be interested in the fridge's insulation?

 

[Cononthebarber]

What you need is a working fridge and you will use it to keep your beer at a constant fermenting temp (18-20c) the temperature controller (most people use the STC-1000 which is available fairly cheap off ebay) will control the fridge compressor and a heating element to maintain a constant temp. There are various tutorials on here or on youtube which will show you how to do it. It sounds difficult but its really not when you know what you're doing. If you are thinking of going for it just ask on here, there will always be someone to give a helping hand (well not literally) :thumb:

 

[PD]

perhaps brew fridge was the wrong name to give it for a newcommer....sorry.
Its a fermenting cabinet where your mixed kit of wort and yeast is placed so that the yeast can turn the sugars into alcohol. The more stable the temperature the better the beer.

I forgot to add in the above that a small tubular heater will be required in the fridge wired into the stc1000 so that the temp can be raised or lowered automatically.

 

[Fil]

Brew fridge? At the risk of sounding stupid, is this to keep the beer cool or warm?

Assuming the latter can I pick up a broken one because I'll only be interested in the fridge's insulation?

Both :) probably not what u wanted to hear,, but it depends on the beer n yeast used, lager yeasts are comfy at cold temps a bitter yeast would stall at.
thats the flexibility a brewfridge gives u. u can brew at whatever temp is best for the yeast n beer your brewing. generally the fridge takes care of chilling and both 12" pipe heaters and ceramic reptile tank heaters are popular low watt heat sources the aforementioned stc1000 is a controller over both heat and cooling and can be simply wired upto a couple of sockets one to plug the fridge into and the other for a heater...
you can buy a made up box, a chap who visits in here from time to time runs the company and i always get the name wrong but its something like ?cedertronics?
also check out Mark aka Mrlard at thehomebrewbuilder

I think it is widely recognised as the easiest way to make a BIG positive difference in your brewing.
and if you can beg a doner fridge for nothing its even better

 

[Edindie]

Both heating and cooling eh? That's good. I'll probably give making this a go as the reviews on this site do suggest you don't have to be too skilled to do it.

Now I just have to find a cheap fridge...

 

[Edindie]

I assume I could also use a freezer if I wanted for this?

As the thermostat is a separate unit then I don't see why not.

 

[pittsy]

yes you can , both the fridge and heater is wired / plugged into the controller so only the appropriate one is working to heat/cool to maintain temp. p.s welcome .

 

[Fil]

beware some larder and under couner style freezers chill via the shelves so they cant be removed.

 

[Edindie]

So I have acquired a suitable fridge and am now about to get the thermostat and heating element. Can anyone recommend a decent how to guide (preferably one you have followed yourself, or you know works) that I can follow? If so, I'll get the exact parts they use so this process can be even more ***** proof.

Not played with electricity before so I want to take as many precautions as possible! :electric:

 

[PD]

theres lots of tips on the forum for example
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=17872

a good you tube how to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30TvX1Zz1-Y

 

[Fil]

get a hi amp 10-15A leggo brick style connector strip with at least 9 connections on it.
and some sacrificial electrical flex suitable for 13a draw (1.5mmsq)

Use the leggo brick as your wiring backbone and its easy if you work step by step.



1) connect a power in lead to the 1st 3 segments of the leggo brick,

2) consider the 2nd 3 segments power to cooling and the 3rd 3 power to heating, so wire them up.
- u can fit 2 wires into each segment end easily..
so from the earth in make a connection to earth inthe segment set for both cooling and heating, and do the same for neutral and live, best to use wire of the correct colour

so u should have a leggo brick with 3 sets of live, neutral, and earth connections hooked up.

from the original power in set of segments take a further live and neutral feed and connect these to the controller power terminals. power to controller done :)


then wire up cooling to the compressor or plug socket for the fridge, take the earth and neutral connections from the cooling set of segments in your leggo brick. and connect to the fridge/socket. then take the live feed and connect that to one side of the controller cooling relay. connect the other side of the controller cooling relay to the compressor or fridge socket.
cooling done :)

now just wire up the heating side the same way taking earth and neutral direct from the heating set of segments in your leggo brick and feeding the live via the heating rely contacts on the controller All done :)