Aquarium Heater

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Slate Miner

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
176
Reaction score
1
This probably sounds like a couple of really dumb questions, but here goes anyway.... :oops:

I like the idea of using an aquarium heater to keep the FV at the correct temperature as used by some posters on here, so I have just bought a cheap one off e-bay. I plan to put the FV in a plastic tub/crate filled with water & heat the water.

1. Do you submerge the whole of the heater including part of the cable, or leave the cable and say 1cm of the heater above the water line?

2. I have tried the heater out in a bucket and set it at 20c, I'm not sure what 20c should feel like, but the water doesn't feel much above ordinary cold tap water, is this ok?

thanks :cheers:
 
It depends on what heater you buy. If it is the bog standard tubular one there should be a maximum and minimum line near the top end of it. If it hasn't I wouldn't personally stick any electrical device in a bucket of water :eek: .

How long did you leave the heater in the water for. If you are sticking it in half a bucker or so of water, its gonna take a few hours to warm up. Stick a thermometer in to check :thumb:
 
I have a 100w heater in my container. Set it to 20c, and I only get about 16c when measured... Turned up, and I get a constant 20...

As for positioning, I have the heater element fully submerged, but the top of it is not. Mine had to be placed diagonally according to instructions, so is only way out will fit...

hth
 
yeah some are diagonally and some are vertical but all seem to be totally submerged at least 1 inch below top of heater for a standard fv vessel a 25 w would do but struggle so around 50w and above are better , best to get a thermometer stick on strip (also for fish tanks etc ) for your fv and after 24hrs you will see for sure true temp of brew :thumb:
 
Thanks for the quick replies. :cheers:


I obviously need to get a thermometer, I suppose I'm just a typical newbie who needs lots of reasurrance :grin:


Anyway my first brew is almost ready to sample, a Wherry kit bottled 3 weeks ago yesterday, the bottles are currently in my garage and somewhat hazy, however I took 2 of the bottles (1 clear) last night put them in the kitchen cupboard to get to room temperature and they have already cleared quite nicely overnight. I will report back on the taste results in the next few days(depending on how long my patience lasts :lol: :drink:
 
Slate Miner said:
the bottles are currently in my garage and somewhat hazy, however I took 2 of the bottles (1 clear) last night put them in the kitchen cupboard to get to room temperature and they have already cleared quite nicely overnight.

Where abouts are you mate, its been down to -16 in parts of the country. The cause of your hazy bottles will be down to chill haze.
 
aneray said:
Slate Miner said:
the bottles are currently in my garage and somewhat hazy, however I took 2 of the bottles (1 clear) last night put them in the kitchen cupboard to get to room temperature and they have already cleared quite nicely overnight.

Where abouts are you mate, its been down to -16 in parts of the country. The cause of your hazy bottles will be down to chill haze.



I'm in deepest Oxfordshire, yes it's been very cold here overnight. With a bit of luck the chill haze will clear each time I bring the bottles indoors & hopefully the ale will not have been affected by the cold. :pray:
 
Hi, I'm currently on my first brew, doing the Cooper's Wheat beer kit. The temp in my under stairs cupboard is pretty constant 20 degrees C, I'm a bit worried about incomplete fermentation as I used 1 kg of the coopers beer enhancer 1. Is incomplete fermentation a possibility at this temp? As a long term fish keeper I have used aquarium heaters lots of times. They seem like a perfect solution to keep a brew at a constant temp, I had a large heater keep my 230 L fish tank at 24 degrees pretty constantly despite my cold Edwardian house. Bigger is always better with heaters, most have a thermostat you set so it turns off when the desired temp is achieved. Too small a heater may not be enough to warm the volume, depending on the ambient temp (most manufacturers give guidelines). They are very safe as long as the glass case and wiring is not damaged. The whole heater should be emersed as turning it on while not in water can cause the glass to crack. Personally knowing how encrusted with algae and other muck these things get, I would buy a new one rather than second hand.
 
Asalpaws said:
Hi, I'm currently on my first brew, doing the Cooper's Wheat beer kit. The temp in my under stairs cupboard is pretty constant 20 degrees C, I'm a bit worried about incomplete fermentation as I used 1 kg of the coopers beer enhancer 1. Is incomplete fermentation a possibility at this temp?


i doubt it. all depends on the yeast tho each strain will have its optimum temp. roughly the range is 17-23oC your kit instructions should tell you.. at lower than optimum temps the yeast generally just slows down.. at higher temps it can act faster but may also introduce not so pleasant flavours. the best bit of kit is a hydrometer as when the gravity has fallen to 1010 or whatever your kit suggests you know all the primary fermentation is complete with 100% confidence.

enjoy the wheat beer.. just give it a few more weeks to mature than the kit suggests :) stash a bottle for 3 months and then see the difference.... nectar :)


as for using active heating for the wort i think its best done indirectly via a water bath as that way no wort gets scortched and there are no big temp differentials in the FV.
 
p.s if your coopers wheat beer don't taste so great don't give up as mine was too but i changed to extract soon after and that wheat beer was great , now i do ag and there really good now :thumb:
 
Cheers for the advice, was a bit worried as I was expecting loads of foam but only got about an inch, still it's day 3 and the hydrometer has dropped to 1013 so It's getting there. TBH it was a bit of a dry run before trying the St Peter's Ruby Red kit. My Austrian father in-law is coming over in about a month see what he thinks of my Wheat beer effort!
 
Back
Top