Aquarium heater inside fv

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iamthefly

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Hi,

Is it a bad idea to put a 50w aquarium heater inside my white plastic bucket fv?

I know putting it in a builders tub of water is the preferred method, but that's a bit messier.

I would suspend it in the middle of the brew so it's not sitting in the sediment.

Thanks
 
I wouldn't. It is an added infection risk, the end would be a hot-spot creating uneven temperatures in the fv, and aquarium heaters aren't made from food grade materials.
 
+1 on the above.I take it you don't have a dedicated brew spot for a trug and it will not be in a garage/utility room where it will be out of site.

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I guess I could fit it in the utility, SWMBO might frown a bit. The garage is like <5C, probably too cold for that set up.

Thanks guys, I have a trug, I'll do it that way.
 
I have done it and the beer turned out fine. I brew in a corner of the lounge so didn't want a trug of water there. I will continue to do it this way until I have the brew fridge sorted.


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I have an FV with the heater inside, however its only 25w and keeps the brew at a steady 18 degrees. had no problems, but to take extra care when cleaning to get into all the little nooks and crannies of it. a tooth brush works.
 
i do it all the time , been doing it years never had any problems , has long has you keep every thing clean and sterilised it works fine some people on here are totally posessed with infection. Dont let, the infection they have, about infection infect you , were are you robin the infection brigade are out again:lol:
 
I have a brew belt. Might be a better option as its external to the FV. Also, as it goes around near the bottom of the FV and heat rises it causes the wort to circulate a bit giving a more consistent temperature. If you have a hot aquarium heater at the top the wort it has heated will stay near it at the top. Will you be relying on the thermostat in the heater or do you have a temperature controller.
 
Better than a builders trug is a plastic dustbin (£10.00)
A aquarium heater. If your going to use this long term, buy quality.
A cheap aquarium pump (£7.00)
A RCD circuit breaker.

Away you go.
 
My mate gave me a vivarium heat mat which I put under the fv last night instead, but it was at 24C this morning so some insulation or partial contact is called for. Down side is I gotta adjust it for hot and cold days.

Brew fridge should be up and running this weekend.
 
I have a brewing immersion heater bought 30 years ago from Boots. However, I stopped immersing it in the FV last year when I had an infection, MOST likely from the heater (the infection grew outwards from upon it).

Now the FV sits in one of those big rectangular plastic boxes of water and the heater goes in there.
 
I have just started to use a aquarium heater
I put mine in the fv this is my third brew in using one
no probs so far
 
Personally I can never understand the idea of dunking an immersion heater in your beer, especially when folks seem to go to extraordinary lengths to not put anything in it from pitching to packaging. I also wonder whether heating beer local to the immersion heater is a good idea, when home brewers go to the trouble of trying to maintain a consistent temperature within the brew which for most beers is less than about 22*C.
That's why I use a water bath.
How to Set up a Water Bath for your FV - The HomeBrew Forum
 
Personally I can never understand the idea of dunking an immersion heater in your beer, especially when folks seem to go to extraordinary lengths to not put anything in it from pitching to packaging. I also wonder whether heating beer local to the immersion heater is a good idea, when home brewers go to the trouble of trying to maintain a consistent temperature within the brew which for most beers is less than about 22*C.
That's why I use a water bath.
How to Set up a Water Bath for your FV - The HomeBrew Forum

Completely agree. The tip of my immersion heater gets very hot, and the production of CO2 makes the beer circulate quite a lot. There must be loads of yeast heating up and cooling down again, and I can't imagine it doing the beer any good.
 
I used to do it and had no problems, I swapped my fermentors for the young's ones with a screw on cap so i use a bath now, To be fair its a lot less messing around cleaning the heater.
 
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