Placing the heater directly into the FV sounds like it could be dangerous to the yeast. How hot does the surface of the heater get? You wouldn't want every yeast cell that happens to drift into it to be killed.
Brew fridge questions
- Thread starter chor808
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OK set it up quickly with an old hair dryer.
Set temp to 18c....hairdryer starts up temp goes up very quickly....hairdryer shuts off and temp stops going up at about 19c...fridge comes on....temp goes down slowly to 18c......hairdryer comes on.....and so on.
The hairdryer seems a bit too quick and it always overshoots the target temp.
Maybe something less powerful.
Set temp to 18c....hairdryer starts up temp goes up very quickly....hairdryer shuts off and temp stops going up at about 19c...fridge comes on....temp goes down slowly to 18c......hairdryer comes on.....and so on.
The hairdryer seems a bit too quick and it always overshoots the target temp.
Maybe something less powerful.
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Sorry we are both confusing each other, I thought you were saying you were putting the temperature probe in the wort.
JFB
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To be honest if it were me i would use one of these in a standard fridge (as i think it would fit) and hope the FV didn't leak, i don't have a tap on my FV and i use a blow off tube so there is almost no risk of a leak.
I've just picked up a cheap under counter fridge and ordered a heater similar to this off ebay for a tenner. It seems a simple solution, heater and fan all in one:thumb:
JapanBrew
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I've used my brew chamber for a year with the sensor in a 700 ml bottle of starsan. Never had an issue. I do put temp gauges on the FV as well as upper and lower temps and it always seems fine. To cool or heat 700 ml of liquid isn't too hard but it acts as a buffer for when I open the door or make adjustments. When I used to put the sensor on the FV, the temp swings were massive. Because increasing the heat of 20 liters of liquid requires a lot of energy. So the heat stays on. Over shooting by 5 degrees sometimes. The the cooling has to come on, and same thing.
Try fitting a lamp holder with a 100w bulb (filament) and see how that works in a confined space....Cheap to run.
Sent from my ALE-L21
Sent from my ALE-L21
JapanBrew
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That's what I do but use 60 watt. And make sure, if you put it in a tin, to drill several venting holes in the can. They get real hot and can melt the socket casing.
sdt7618
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Seen this done, but fit an old tin can ( beans , soup etc) over the bulb to keep the heat from the build melting the fridge plastic.
The only thing about using a tin to cover is the can itself retains residual heat from the bulb and the idea of using 100w bulb is that it will heat the surrounding area quicker.Being a fridge it will require a shelf for support due too the refrigeration unit at the rear and with a few holes bored or enough of a gap between the door and the front of the shelf would work either way.
Picked one up this morning and wired it in. Back up and running and a Kolche in there at 18c!
So back with the tube let's hope it lasts longer than the ebay one.
A tin can will not retain residual heat for more than a couple of minutes.
My grandad used to keep a glue pot warm by sitting an inverted terra cotta flower pot over a 60 or 100 watt light bulb, and sitting the glue pot on top of it. I'm wondering if a similar setup might be the way to go
Although I buy stuff off ebay, in general I would trust anything I bought from Toolstation over what I bought from ebay. Plus you get a one year guarantee which they should honour subject to the usual conditions, rather than haggling with a faceless contact from who knows where if things go wrong.
It certainly seems it might be another option.:thumb:
