Brew Belt or Heater Tray?

[Maffa]

I'm toying with buying one of the above as my brews at home obviously lose heat during the night. I've tried wrapping up the fv, and even putting it in the airing cupboard but it still drops below the magic 20C.

Can anyone offer advice on whats best, how they work etc? I've read somewhere that the belt hasn't got a thermo and that you control the temp by moving it up (to go cooler) or down (to go warmer), sounds a bit unreliable to me.

So, Brew Belt, Heater Tray or some other gizmo?

 

[Pearlfisher]

I started off using a brewbelt ,but it stuck to the FV and disintegrated when I tried to pull it off , I'd only used it 7 or 8 times.
I've now got a heat tray which seems more durable.
The advantage with a belt though is that you can put it higher or lower on the FV to obtain the temperature you want and if it's not too cold you can even use it around 2 FV's or a FV & a DJ.

 

[jonnymorris]

Neither are great. You've identified the problem with the belt and the same goes for a heat tray. If you're at or about 20degC I'd have thought you'll be alright anyway. 23L of beer isn't going to cool as quickly as the air and you'll be OK down to c.18degC regardless. Note also that air temp does not equal brew temp and that the beer will almost certainly be warmer during the initial fermentation.

I'd stick with what you've got or maybe look into an aquarium heater if you feel you need heat.

 

[DethApostle]

Definately the fish tank heater route i think. You can get a decent enough 100w heater off of ebay for cheapish (just make sure it's a three pin plug - i didn't!)
Whether you set it up in the fv, or put the fv in a water bath with the heater is up to you!

DA

 

[stuey]

I solved my low overnight / all out at work problem by using a waterbath and fish tank heater.

My FV is a Youngs 5gall bucket. I had a 30litre squareish "Really Useful Box" with camping gear in it. Bailed the camping gear out and popped the empty box in the corner near a socket. FV in. Kettle on. Topped box up to three quarters full with a mixture of boiling kettles (cold water in waterbath first) and cold water to get to 20 deg C. Popped a 100W fish tank heater from Pets at Home (20 quid) into the water bath having pre-set the heater to 20 degrees C. I have hung my thermometer probe in the water bath and after a few adjustments of the heater dial it is holding the waterbath at a very steady 20 degrees.

Its my first ever kit brew so I am reluctant to take the lid off the vessel and put the temp probe in the bucket so am assuming the brew temp will be as near as damn it to 20C.

I know some folks on here use those builders buckets (Gorilla buckets or tubs?) for the water bath bit. As long as your FV will go in with a bit of room to spare for the water to circulate and it holds water it doesn't matter what you use I don't think. I guess the more of your FV that is immersed the better but the temp of the brew should equalise to a certain degree (see what I did there?! :grin: )

I bought the 100w heater as it will heat a bigger volume should I decide to run 2 FV's together and use an 84 litre really useful box which will hold the two buckets.

 

[rpt]

The aquarium heater in a water bath is a good solution but check the temperature with an accurate thermometer as the thermostats are notoriously unreliable - a few degress too warm and the beer can develop off flavours. Also, in summer, you may have the opposite problem of trying to keep the FV cool enough. A brew fridge is ideal as it can keep perfect temperature all year, but does involve more effort to build.

 

[MadrikXIV]

I'm another 'for' the waterbath option.

I set one up, cost £20 in total, £13 for a heater off amazon, and £7 for a tub from Wilkinson, currently have 23litre bucket and demi sat in it, I poured about 5 litres of water into it, mainly the cleaning solution from the demi.

I have a sticky temp gauge at the top of my barrel, and one on the tray, and every time I have looked they are reading showing the 20-22 temp, so it appears to be doing it's job.

Big benefit is the versatility of it all, could be bucket or about 5 demi johns in there

 

[stu]

Does no-one else trust the cheap chinese aquarium heaters off eBay?

300w is ~£4.50 although I went for one at £6 from a UK seller. That way I have some comeback.

As I put in another thread, be careful with the flexible buckets. They can lose integrity. After I mentioned that mine let out water (albeit very slowly) someone pointed out that one split the second time they used it.