Best (cheapest) way to keep fv at right temp

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Reptile heat mat and digital thermostat module arrived yesterday and today, so going to make a heated baseplate. Thermocouple will be between hot plate and FV. It's in a cupboard where the boiler is but is just a little cool at the moment because it's a combi boiler. I want to make it with a small containment tray just in case I get an overflow so it won't make a mess in there.
Cost £6.32 so far. :)
 
The cheapest way I found, and still use after 3 months of brewing, was to buy a £2.50 digital thermometer off eBay...stick it in various cupboards in the house. Then record the temperatures over a few days, at various intervals. One cupboard varied between 16-19 degrees...this has now become the fermenting cupboard. The next step up is one one of those big flexible buckets things ( technical term) from Wilkos (£4) and an aquarium heater. I haven't needed to use this method yet, but it works just fine from everything I've read about it.
 
DrPips said:
I like the idea of a brew fridge. I'm guessing that as it's in a sealed environment, that once the inital cost is paid for, it would cost less to run. The instructions here look pretty solid.

I think I'll start brewing this weekend, and when the other half gets fed up, she can buy me a fridge!
Click to expand...

It might be worth looking at how much all the individual parts cost for that control unit, along with the wiring faff....weigh it up and see if its a better option than an inkbird which is plug n play, out of the box
 
I got this small fridge and on YouTube there are a few vids of people tearing the guts out and making a cool box. I think I'm going to go that direction. I can make it fit in the space and stain the wood to match. Put a few PC fans inside to circulate the air and build into the wood the STC. I think it would work rather well. Japan summers are just horrible.
 
chuffer said:
It might be worth looking at how much all the individual parts cost for that control unit, along with the wiring faff....weigh it up and see if its a better option than an inkbird which is plug n play, out of the box
Click to expand...

Hi!
I've got two of the "home made" systems based upon the STC-1000, and both work well but look awful :smile:.
I'd go for the "out of the box" solution on appearance alone - it's the canine's cojones!
 
I like the idea for programs. I think the Inkbird has that. There is a model of the STC that has it but can't find it.
It would be cool to put in profiles such as 19 degrees for say a week then drop it down for a few days then lift it up again. And all of it happening on its own.
 
For those thinking of building a beer fridge, think about doing the same thing
but using a small cupboard, under the stairs etc.

You'll save the money on the fridge and possibly have loads more room for
conditioning bottles.

I've got a larder fridge and can only get 1* FV and half a brew worth of
bottles in it. Under the stairs I could get 2* FVs and stacks more bottles.


Nial.
 
fourbob said:
It may not be the cheapest solution if you don't already have it. But I call my set-up "a centrally heated house". The back room is in shade most of the day and is generally between 18 - 22 degrees all year round. Pretty much all of the home-brew yeasts seem to like this sort of temperature range and I've never experienced any off-flavours or other nasties. So maybe I'm fortunate but I've never had to muck about with water baths, aquarium heaters, brew-belts and the like.
Click to expand...


I've got one of these and my SWMBO is a 20-22 degree model :lol:. So everything works out ok. My lastest brew is on the landing to get 22-24 degrees for my weizen :grin:
 
I used a STC-1000 a few years ago and created the housing etc for it. Works very well.

One tip I would give if you are going to use the tube heater route is the fridge has a little hole inside where any waste water is channeled to a little tray underneath. You'll find the cable from the tube heater fits perfectly through there.

On another note, do you guys that use the aquarium heaters submerse the heater inside the FV?

IMG_0915.JPG
 
Last edited by a moderator:
JapanBrew said:
I like the idea for programs. I think the Inkbird has that. There is a model of the STC that has it but can't find it.
It would be cool to put in profiles such as 19 degrees for say a week then drop it down for a few days then lift it up again. And all of it happening on its own.
Click to expand...

Hi,thanks for your good suggestion. I know that you refer to our ITC-310T timer & thermostat. We will add something in the description.
 
JapanBrew said:
I like the idea for programs. I think the Inkbird has that. There is a model of the STC that has it but can't find it.
It would be cool to put in profiles such as 19 degrees for say a week then drop it down for a few days then lift it up again. And all of it happening on its own.
Click to expand...

@JapanBrew
Hi,Inkbird ITC-310T will help.

For JP customer, you can order it here in Amazon JP.
http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B01E3ONWB2
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Heres me about to be banned...Inkbird blah blah blah... another piece of kit that you dont need.
Take one insulated brewing cabinet..old fridge...build your own box...whatever it doesnt matter as long as you can get you FV in, with 12 inches clearance underneath.
1 x electric fan heater (BandQ)...£9.99
1 x digital plug in thermostat (on-line) i think I paid £12.00
And Im sure you can work the rest out for yourself.
Keep It Simple
 
crofty83 said:
I used a STC-1000 a few years ago and created the housing etc for it. Works very well.

One tip I would give if you are going to use the tube heater route is the fridge has a little hole inside where any waste water is channeled to a little tray underneath. You'll find the cable from the tube heater fits perfectly through there.

On another note, do you guys that use the aquarium heaters submerse the heater inside the FV?
Click to expand...

OMG..that looks like a plate of spaghetti ...keep it simple
 
Hahaha, you're right. Just to brew some simple beers, that works fine. But some of us want to dig into different steps in fermenting. It does matter for some complex beers. I would trash inkbird too if the price was the same as all the other systems. But Inkbird's price is very reasonable. I don't have one yet but soon so I can't give my breakdown of the system but others using them seem happy.
When I make a STC, which I have 3 of them, outlets, wires, box it comes out the same price.
 

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