Heat Belts and FV Thermowells

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I've plumped for a MickDundee style Young's one. Since then, despite the whole of last week around 17 degrees, the temperature in my brewing cupboard hasn't dropped below 20C so it's not even turned on yet.
 
New heat mat has arrived and now in place. As an experiment i unplugged the heater overnight and the brew dropped down to around 20c. Not the end of the world as its been fermenting over a week but goes to show this setup works. Thats a total of 10w (hardly ever on) per Fermentor. The real test will be when i put it in the garage. New STC ordered.
 
I have a Stout that seems stuck at 1020 so yesterday at 11am i put the heat mat on it. I registered 14.5c and took approx 6 hours to get up to 20c. Its been stable since and fermenting again. I have ordered another mat double the wattage 14v. This one may be more suitable for the garage.
 
LarryF said:
I use one with a timer, on for 30 mins then off for an hour and a half. You can also move the heat belt up and down the FV as another way of tweaking it. I only use in the coldest months of the year as my FV is in my kitchen and between cooking and the rad it holds the temperature well in there.
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I found the kitchen a great place too before I moved.
I too have it on a timer but for fifteen mins every hour and fifteen but use an hot water tank jacket round the FV to combat fluctuating temps.
I was close to giving up with it but the timer and jacket combined made this a HB necessity
 
BeerisGOD said:
Bloody hell that's cheap. Hope the plugs a three pin.
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I know mate, couldnt resist it. Its not a 3pin unfortunately but i will add my own. Not sure if i will use the thermostat as i have my STC but i will report back once i test it out.
Pretty sure if you put some cardboard over it you would be able to heat a demijohn with it..
 
BeerCat said:
I know mate, couldnt resist it. Its not a 3pin unfortunately but i will add my own. Not sure if i will use the thermostat as i have my STC but i will report back once i test it out.
Pretty sure if you put some cardboard over it you would be able to heat a demijohn with it..
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hope it works out ok. i bet theres not many stuck brews using these correctly. i can see them keeping the yeast suspended well as theres a more direct upward heat source.
 
BeerisGOD said:
hope it works out ok. i bet theres not many stuck brews using these correctly. i can see them keeping the yeast suspended well as theres a more direct upward heat source.
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Heating from underneath makes sense. I just got home and found my wheatbeer had got up to 25.5c. Its set to 22c so i just removed the duvet and its going back down. I also swapped the 14w mat for a 7w. Need to play about over the next few brews to find the best settings relevant to temps. Next brew is going to be a Lager fermented in the garage at 12c. Fingers crossed it does not warm up.
 
I really don't like having the inkbird probe direct into the bucket and the OP mentions thermowells for FV lids, has anyone come up with something suitable? I've seen a couple with integrated bung but they're knocking on thirty quid which is a bit overkill.

Thinking about it a foot of copper pipe with the right diameter would probably do a good enough job if the end was properly sealed?
 
I use a heat mat and a heat belt all controlled by an inkbird (probe taped to side of FV), I wrap the FV in an old duvet and this creates a very stable environment, once at temp. the inkbird barely switches on. Heat belt is usually just under midway up FV. Total outlay for this was probably around £80 but it provides an accurate and stable environment for fermentation.
 
sj419628 said:
I use a heat mat and a heat belt all controlled by an inkbird (probe taped to side of FV), I wrap the FV in an old duvet and this creates a very stable environment, once at temp. the inkbird barely switches on. Heat belt is usually just under midway up FV. Total outlay for this was probably around �£80 but it provides an accurate and stable environment for fermentation.
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Good idea to use a mat and a heatbelt. What models are you using? I decided my heatbelt is not safe. Need to get a better quality one.
 
Hi mate,
I use a Youngs brew belt (£20) and a Heat Tray TE1 (£26) all controlled by an inkbird (£30). My FV is kept in a cool place (cellar) but when brewing after I pitch the yeast and turn on inkbird with probe taped halfway up FV I wrap it all in an old duvet put a pillow on the top and the temp. remains stable. The heating probably comes on 2 or 3 times a day and maintains a steady 20-21 degrees c. This is my preffered fermenting temp. I would never go higher and because I ferment in a cool environment then overheating is never an issue.
 
sj419628 said:
Hi mate,
I use a Youngs brew belt (�£20) and a Heat Tray TE1 (�£26) all controlled by an inkbird (�£30). My FV is kept in a cool place (cellar) but when brewing after I pitch the yeast and turn on inkbird with probe taped halfway up FV I wrap it all in an old duvet put a pillow on the top and the temp. remains stable. The heating probably comes on 2 or 3 times a day and maintains a steady 20-21 degrees c. This is my preffered fermenting temp. I would never go higher and because I ferment in a cool environment then overheating is never an issue.
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Those heat belts look so much better than the £3 **** i got from China. You get what you pay for. 25w seems a lot more realistic than 80w. Couldnt pick the thing up got so hot. Heat mat looks good as well.
I have some Lager on the go in the garage at 12c working perfectly with a 14w heatmat. Only thing i dont like about these controllers is the tolerance cant go below .3c so been experimenting with my Inkbird PID to see what that does. Still compared to the massice temp fluctuations i had before its nothing
 
Been running the heat pads for around 5 or 6 weeks now and i must say they are excellent. Temps stay within .3c. I now have 3 STC's and an Inkbird PID. The PID is superb, only goes up and down .1c. Hopefully going to see a big improvement along with adjusting my water. I have a fridge now but just used it to cold crash and store my hops in.
 
Couple of points having read thorough this. I have a heat belt and it gets very hot when its not attached ot teh FV, but when it is attached a lot of thte heat goes into the wort so it doesnt feel anywhere near as hot. I have mine fairly low down on the FV. I have a STC1000 for heat control, cheaper than an inkbird but you have to wire it yourself, if I was buying one now I'd definitely get the inkbird.

Using this link that someone posted above
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heating-D...w&clk_rvr_id=1143082661415&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true

The heatbelt is £21.95 and heat tray £38.95. Personally if I was buying in that price range I would buy an inkbird and the heat belt, it would only be about £10 more than the heat tray by itself and gives proper temperature control. You could go for the heat tray and inkbird but thats about another £20. If you can afford it, its probably the best option, but Im happy with my set up. The only change Im planning on making is getting a fridge to use as a fermenting fridge with the STC and heat belt.

Someone said about not putting the sensor in the wort, most people stick it to the side of the FV and insulate it, I use polystyrene.
 
BeerCat said:
Just ordered one of these. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401091017630?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Loving the heat mats. Not tested it in the garage yet, thats the next step but maintains 20c perfectly in this coldish room. Also works well with the Inkbird PID.
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Be careful with that. I once considered something like this but did some research on whether it would be suitable for homebrew and found out that they are limited on the weight they can take. Putting a full 23 litres of wort on it might be too much for it and break it. As youre talking about an electrical heating devide that could be dangerous.

Your one may be able to take the weight, but I thought it best to say something rather than risk you causing an accident.
 
Ale said:
Be careful with that. I once considered something like this but did some research on whether it would be suitable for homebrew and found out that they are limited on the weight they can take. Putting a full 23 litres of wort on it might be too much for it and break it. As youre talking about an electrical heating devide that could be dangerous.

Your one may be able to take the weight, but I thought it best to say something rather than risk you causing an accident.
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Hi, thats a very good point and i did think about it. I thought of making a very thin frame to stand it on but probably would make it worse and reduce its heating capabilities. Few other people on here are using them and not heard of any problems yet and they are so thin would probably take a lot more weight to damage them (hopefully).
They dont have an earth though but are plugged into the stc which does so hopefully that protects it but i am not a sparky.
I have 4 FV's on the go so couldnt really afford one of the proper heat mats for them all but if i was starting out reckon i would get one and an inkbird pre wired to save the hassle.
Also have to say the 7w mat is not keeping the FV hot enough once initial fermentation has finished. Thats inside not the garage. The 14w is probably the lowest you would want.
 
BeerCat said:
Hi, thats a very good point and i did think about it. I thought of making a very thin frame to stand it on but probably would make it worse and reduce its heating capabilities. Few other people on here are using them and not heard of any problems yet and they are so thin would probably take a lot more weight to damage them (hopefully).
They dont have an earth though but are plugged into the stc which does so hopefully that protects it but i am not a sparky.
I have 4 FV's on the go so couldnt really afford one of the proper heat mats for them all but if i was starting out reckon i would get one and an inkbird pre wired to save the hassle.
Also have to say the 7w mat is not keeping the FV hot enough once initial fermentation has finished. Thats inside not the garage. The 14w is probably the lowest you would want.
Click to expand...

I have an STC and if I remember correctly the earth wiring from the heating and cooling cables connect to earth, not the STC itself. If the heat mat doesnt have an earth it will not be earthed. . I'd suggest plugging them into a RCD if you want some protection, or that may already be included in your wiring if your home has been rewired fairly recently. Its now a legal requirement.

I worked in electricy and gas supply and networks for years including in health and safety doing reports to the HSE on electrical fires, deaths, carbon monoxide poisoning, etc. But then again, I wired my STC into an ice cream tub. It was meant to be just to try to wire it and then get a proper box for it but I never got around to moving it.
 

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