brew belts

[johnmcfarlane]

Can you leave brewbelts on the fermentation bin for the whole duration of the primary fermentation ? Or will they increase. Temps by to much if used 24/7. I would normally only use them at night time untill I wake up in morning then switch it off but the air temp is low at the moment causing my beer to be around 18c maximum during the day but colder at night. What temp does the brew belts keep your beer at if left on for say 5-7 days?

 

[chris+spain]

don't know too much about belts but i use an ordinary 40w light bulb suspended about 1 foot from my FV at nights and it keeps the temp at about 21c,of course it all depends on the ambient temp but a blanket in conjunction with the bulb works.also a lot cheaper than a brew belt (buying and running).
cheers dude

 

[abeyptfc]

obviously each belt is different but i left mine on during that cold spell and i remember seeing the temp of my brew up at 26 degrees so took it off right away

 

[richc]

I use a brew belt controlled by an AT-800 which switches the belt on if the temperature drops and off if it gets to high. Prior to buying the controller I used a timeswitch to control the belt set to the opposite of the heating in the house.

 

[evanvine]

Seem to remember reading some where, not on the forum, that temperature adjustment was achieved by moving the belt up and down the FV.
The higher the belt the cooler the wort, due to circulation.

 

[robsan77]

I have heard that they can really cook the wort if not controlled by a thermostat. I use one but with a tc-10 in a fridge and not actually in contact with the fv.

 

[Aleman]

Seem to remember reading some where, not on the forum, that temperature adjustment was achieved by moving the belt up and down the FV.
The higher the belt the cooler the wort, due to circulation.

Unfortunately the wort below the belt is colder so sits there . . . leaving less wort to be heated by the fixed power of the belt . . . meaning that the temp of that wort goes even higher.

I love heat belts they provide nice gentle warming . . . but you need to use a thermostat with them or they will quite happily heat the wort to around 30-32C. . . .regardless of what the instructions say . . . guess the heat belts can't read then

 

[burkej]

I use a brew belt controlled by an AT-800 which switches the belt on if the temperature drops and off if it gets to high. Prior to buying the controller I used a timeswitch to control the belt set to the opposite of the heating in the house.

Where could i find a at-800? cant seem to narrow it down online!

 

[ncmcdonald]

I use a brew belt quite a bit but almost always on a timer, otherwise it just get too hot in one area.

I have heard of people using them by putting their Carboy with wort in, inside a fermenting bin with water so the water transfers heat to the wort. I don't know if that makes any sense reading that back.

 

[evanvine]

The "water bath" is an easy way of controlling FV temp, you don't even need to put in an enclosure. The aquarium heater is the most practical for this method.

Tony, I going to play about with an FV full of water and a heating belt, but logic says you're right!

 

[GazOC]

I had mine on a timed socket over the winter to give hour long "nudges" to the temp and it did OK,of course it involves a bit of monitoring to get the timings right and I'll probably go with an aquarium heater/ bath for next winter.

 

[richc]

I got the temperature controller from here http://www.forttex.com/

 

[burkej]

I got the temperature controller from here http://www.forttex.com/

Thanks i just got there heh!