aquarium heater

clarkeuk · Dec 18, 2015

hi all
whats your thoughts on an aquarium heater in the brew rather than in a tank of water with the brew sitting in it as long as properly sanitized I cannot see a problem but I am a complete newbi so sorry for any questions that sound stupid

JapanBrew · Dec 18, 2015

I've thought about it but I worry that the contact area is really hot and will kill the yeast.
You have to maintain heat with a low watt heater.
Currently I use a small heating square that's used to keep your feet warm. 20 watt thing. But my STC-1000 is coming today so I'll wire up my space heater to it and set the room to 19 degrees. Towards the summer I'll get a used fridge or freezer and connect the STC to that to maintain even temp.
Another way is to put your fermenter in a larger bucket of water then put the aquarium heater in the water. It will balance the temp better.

clarkeuk · Dec 18, 2015

Cheers japanbrew I ask because I did it with my first wine kit n not sure about the taste and have got a better (more expensive kit) to do now and don't want to waste it .thinking of different approach like an thermostatilly controlled space under the stairs

Twostage · Dec 19, 2015

I've done it a few times brewing beer. The main disadvantage with the immersion method with beer brewing is you need to open the lid if you need to change the temperature. If you are happy with a static temperature or ok with potential exposure to nasties then it's fine.

Hoppyland · Dec 19, 2015

I've used one in the past with no problems - even though it had only a crude thermostat (bi-metallic strip) which wasn't that good at maintaining a constant temperature. The only thing I didn't like was the cleaning and sterilising of the heater. I was never totally convinced that it was sterile, but then I never did have an infected brew when I used it.
Now I'm back into brewing, and the temperature has fallen, I've bought a Fluval E100, which was about ÃÂ£25. This is solid-state, and is claimed to hold the temperature to within 1 degree. It has a 100W heating element. I've only made one brew with it so far, and its turning out just as I would have expected (in cask awaiting bottling, but was fine when I sampled it). The 2nd brew is in the FV right now. I'm brewing at a constant 20C, so don't need to fiddle with the thing!
I've removed all of the superfluous plastic guards, but cleaning the top of it where the controls and electronics are still concerns me. I normally clean with bleach, but I'm worried that this might be a bit ferocious & damage seals etc. I'm thinking of trying an oxygen cleaner such as sodium percarbonate instead.
I must admit that the possibility of putting the FV in a water bath had never even occurred to me! My initial reaction is it seems a right faff and difficult to insulate to keep a stable temp overnight.

elderberry · Dec 19, 2015

for the wine i use it inside the demijohns all the time at this time of year i just have a hole drilled in the bung for the cable and its great.
for larger containers like 25l and similar size to your beer i would do the same as well, if the hot heater does not kill off all the yeast in 5litres it would not do any harm to the amount of yeast in 25l, i dont use them outside in a water bath as i dont own any thing to do so , but people normally use plastic trug buckets or muck buckets or cut down dustbins and so on, i would have thought with some thing like a outer jacket you would have to consider the fact that it would not flow the warm water all the way around the buckets to spread the heat and if its is one side you might have a thermally cooler side opposite, but whats a few degree amongst friends

wineguy · Dec 19, 2015

Personally i have found using the hater trays a really convenient way of keeping my brews at a constant temperature. Id rather not have something actually inside the beer or wine which is brewing. theres always the chance that its not sterilised as thoroughly as you think it is. ive had this happen to me unfortunately and the brew hasnt worked! (not trying to scare you!)

engineer · Dec 19, 2015

I thought about that but decided that sterilising it could be problematical. That and if its in the brew you have to take the wire out meaning it needs to be sealed. These days i use heat mats for big brews - i have a couple of reptile heat mats (cheap of ebay) and a temperature controlled one for plant growing that doubles up as a brew heater.

For demijohns i use a little heated plant propagator, i can fit two in there and it gives a constant low heat and is tray shaped to capture any spillage from an over excited brew.

Chippy_Tea · Dec 19, 2015

whats your thoughts on an aquarium heater in the brew rather than in a tank of water

There are different types of these and i imagine they all do a great job, the only thing that would put me off is as wineguy says its something that could cause a problem as it is inside you DJ, its also going to be a bit of a hassle if need to adjust the temperature and if you want to make more than one DJ/FV you need more heaters which is expensive, a water bath only needs one heater and you can heat as many DJ's/FV's as will fit in the container.

ManseMasher · Dec 19, 2015

for the wine i use it inside the demijohns all the time at this time of year i just have a hole drilled in the bung for the cable and its great.
for larger containers like 25l and similar size to your beer i would do the same as well, if the hot heater does not kill off all the yeast in 5litres it would not do any harm to the amount of yeast in 25l, i dont use them outside in a water bath as i dont own any thing to do so , but people normally use plastic trug buckets or muck buckets or cut down dustbins and so on, i would have thought with some thing like a outer jacket you would have to consider the fact that it would not flow the warm water all the way around the buckets to spread the heat and if its is one side you might have a thermally cooler side opposite, but whats a few degree amongst friends

A few degrees amongst friends? Quite a lot in beer brewing, when you might have a yeast that only does its best between, say, 18 - 20ÃÂ°c.....

Twostage · Dec 19, 2015

When I had multiple DJs on the go I used a plastic storage box to hold the DJs and filled the storage box with water, then used the heater and a fish tank filter pump to circulate the water. I eventually used an STC 1000 to control the heater to make it more temperature stable.

Hoppyland · Dec 26, 2015

Hoppyland said:
I've used one in the past with no problems

Well, well! Perhaps I spoke too soon! My first brew with the Fluval 100w heater was fine, but I've just got a stuck fermentation with the second one. Mind, you circumstances weren't ideal so I'm not at all sure that the heater is implicated.
The day after fermentation started, we went to Edinburgh to pick up a new dog (rescue GSD :)). On the way back, we hit a stag full on, which wrecked the car :-(
Fortunately, we're OK, but it rather took my eye off the beer! So, I never roused the beer, which I usually do (Brewlab E Mid 1 yeast). I never checked the temperature (heater was set at 20C). It was the first brew with a fresh yeast slope, and I'd been having trouble keeping the starter at temperature (I'm in an old wooden house with no central heating!). So things weren't ideal at all!
I eventually looked at it yesterday, with a view to rack it into 2nd FV (it had been in primary for 6 days) and found it was pretty still, and at 1027 (OG had been 1044). There was still a respectable krausen covering all the beer, and the trub/yeast deposit at the bottom was emitting gas bubbles, but only very sporadically. Today it seems pretty dead.
Stuck fermentations are a real rarity for me, so I thought I'd post this now. I'll try another brew with the same yeast and heater soon & update on how it went.

JapanBrew · Dec 26, 2015

I don't know if this helps but I've noticed the ones I do that stick seem to be the ones I don't oxygenate enough. My room is very stable at 21 degrees and if your using an ale yeast, 16 to 22 to 23 degrees is fine. I personally see more activity at 21 near the top. So in my setup, most of the variables are near the same. The ones I didn't stir up well before pitching get stuck fast.

Hoppyland · Dec 26, 2015

Thanks JapanBrew
Yep, I hope the problem is most likely to be my lack of rousing, either getting more oxygen into the early ferment, or then getting the yeast actually back into the beer!
But I thought I'd flag this up on here, as I can't rule out the heater as the problem.
Hitherto, this yeast strain has seemed very reliable - pretty well bullet-proof!
This is indeed a traditional, top-fermenting English ale yeast. Personally, I wouldn't take it over 20C - it's a very clean flavoured yeast (or not much producing much flavour at all, if you prefer!) and I'd worry that it would change the character of the beer I'm aiming for if taken to a higher temperature.

JapanBrew · Dec 26, 2015

You really should get a STC1000. They work very well and dirt cheap. Cheaper than a brew of beer. I have 2 and I'm sure I'm going to get another one.

Chippy_Tea · Dec 27, 2015

I found this on Amazon, be careful out there!

Elitech STC-1000 controllers

By TocH on 19 Sept. 2015

Verified Purchase

First, the PCBs in these units are dated 2009 and are ROM based with a fixed embedded control program.
Second, the user manual is written in pidgeon-english and difficult to understand.
Third, the wiring diagram printed on the unit and user manusl is incorrect.
Fourth, alarm function does not work as expected. Only indicates if temperature sensor suffers a fault.
Fifth, there is NO alarm set function for a rising temperature detected when using the unit for refridgeration use.
Sixth, These units are NOT CE approved, NOT ROHS compliant, despite a short dated Italian sourced certificate of CE approval.
However, these units do function as a basic heat / cool overpriced electronic controller. A very disappointing purchase.
More functional and programmable Electronic controllers are available elswhere for the same or lower price.

JapanBrew · Dec 27, 2015

That's interesting. I've never had issues with mine. Of course they're not for the simple to wire and prepare. But not too hard. Tons of YouTube vids on how to do it.
There are others and that might be a review by a competitor or something. There are tons of brewers who use them and swear by them.

clarkeuk · Dec 27, 2015

Iv just ordered one of eBay hope it's ok

Chippy_Tea · Dec 27, 2015

Are yours the same brand? Elitech STC-1000

clarkeuk · Dec 27, 2015

Yes elitech stc 1000

aquarium heater

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