Brewbelts- recommend them?

[kitoog]

Do these work ok or could they cause problems with the direct heat on the fv? Just remember people mentioning hotspots when you use them. At the moment I have a lightbulb in the firidge/freezer connected to an ATC-800+. I have the fridgefreezer on constantly as my hops are in the freezer part, not ideal really. The brewbelt would be better as fridge should stay cooler and less condensation. The lager seems to be fermenting fine at a balmy 10C

 

[Aleman]

I used a brewbelt on my 100L stainless FV . . . and will be using it on my conical . . . with no issues . . . but I do have it connected to a TC-10 thermostat

I wouldn't go near one without using some form of thermostat.

 

[StubbsPKS]

What about on a plastic FV? I would assume that the temperature would be fine since the liquid inside is often hotter post-boil.

 

[Aleman]

My conical is plastic :whistle: Brew belts certainly get warm, but hand warm . . . by which time the thermostat should be turning the thing off . . . and don't forget they are 'designed' :hmm: safe :hmm: to work with a 5 gallon Winemaker / bee rmakers fermenter

 

[StubbsPKS]

That's a pretty decent looking thermostat.

I was planning to stay away from immersion heaters because I didn't fancy the idea of something hanging inside my FV, but using that thermostat, I'd have a probe in there anyway.... Would a thermostatically controlled immersion heater be better, or should I avoid anything that will heat the fermenting beer directly?

 

[kitoog]

Good stuff folks, glad to know they work fine. The bulb is working fine atm but I think a brewbelt is the way to go with my setup.

 

[Wendy1971]

unless your fermentin outside in a shed or garage i wouldnt use one because it keeps the beer to warm resultin in off tastin beer

 

[doyley]

A brewbelt used in conjunction with a thermostat is ideal, but an alternative is to have a stick on thermometer strip on the side of the FV and plug the brewbelt into one of those manual timer devices. If I left the brewbelt on all night the beer would certainly get too warm, but by arranging for the brewbelt to come on 15 mins here and 30 mins there it works fine and keeps the beer at an acceptable temperature. It will take a little bit of trial and error to begin with, but it is easy to get the hang of.

 

[Aleman]

unless your fermentin outside in a shed or garage i wouldnt use one because it keeps the beer to warm resultin in off tastin beer

Is your g key not working ?? :hmm:

I use one all the time for fermentation from lagers to ales and have no problems with off tasting beer . . .as I said in my original post though they must be used with a thermostat as the guff the manufacturers spout about sliding it up and down the FV to control the temp is total cobblers.

Stubbs I do have a immersion heater but I use that in a water batch and stand the fermenters in the water bath so that they do not come into contact with the wort or must. . . again I use my TC-10 to control the temperature rather than rely on the inbuilt thermostat in the Immersion Heater.

I'm not too worried about the probe in the beer, although I use a slightly different thermostat which uses stainless steel PT100 probes . . mounted in a gland and easily sterilised before use.

 

[BigYin]

I use an aquarium style immersion heater in my FV and have never had any problems with it. It's thermostatically controlled - just set the heat to about 21c, sanitize thoroughly, brew away :drink: :drink:

 

[StubbsPKS]

I am liking the idea of the immersion heater the most so far (££) I think as I will need to put the thermostat into the FV anyway if I am using a brewbelt.

So my next question is, did you make a small hole in the top of your FV for the immersion heater cord to pass through? If so, how do you seal the hole to make sure that nasties don't get in?

 

[BigYin]

I got a rubber bung with the hole through it (cost around 90p in Edina), made a suitable sized hole in the side of the FV as high as I dared, bung in place, plug off the heater, feed wire through, put plug back on, pump hole full of food grade silicon sealant, job done :thumb:

I've often fille dthe FV up past the bung, and it's never leaked. I do pay special attention to cleaning that area, and the heater, after a brew, and fill the FV up to the brim with a sanitiser before the next lot goes in. So far, so good :drink: