Keeping FV Cool

[hawker831]

Hi all,

 

A question regarding keeping the FV at a certain temperature. During the heat wave a few weeks ago I was at my wits end trying to find a way to keep my FV at a decent temperature.

The best I could come up with was to put it in the laundry sink, fill it up with water and throw in an ice block from the freezer every now and then.

 

It got me wondering would this be a good thing to do all the time? Since the water will remain at a fairly constant temp around (18-20 degrees depending on how much ice is put in) it could counter any daily temperature variations during the brewing period.

 

What are everyone's thoughts on this? I've heard it may be ok in an emergency but not something that should be done regularly (something about the tap being submerged for so long).

 

Thanks,

Hawker831

[Graculus]

As far as I'm aware loads of people do this in the UK to keep their FV's warm in winter.

And it's been mentioned here you can do this to keep the FV cool.

 

Of course you really need a brewing fridge.

[Quokka]

I've used the laundry tub many times, though I use a towel wrapped around the FV with a fan on it during the day. At night the mass of the water tends to keep it pretty stable. I have never had a problem with infection through the tap - I always spray it with phosphoric sanitiser before racking anyway. In milder weather I would use my heater box without the heater to stabilise the temperature.

 

I tried a fridge with a modified thermostat years ago, but found it got mouldy and smelly all the time. I have recently modified a broken wine fridge, so it dehumidifies as it cools, and this avoids that problem.

[dragit]

I also use the laundry tub, I freeze 1.25 Litres bottles of water and throw a couple of these into the trough in the afternoon on warm days.

 

I think this is a pretty good solution short of having a brewing fridge.

 

Just give the tap a good clean and spray before transferring the beer out.

[JeffMT-09]

I'm in Melbourne and the weather can range very quickly from cold to hot. I started to get concerned coming up to summer about how to keep my FVs at a constant temperature. Lucky for me I got a refrigerator for free and hooked up an Inkbird temperature controller to the refrigerator and heat pad. It works fantatastic. I was hoping to fit both large FVs in there, but can only get one standard size and one craft FV, but hey it's great. The refrigerator is actually under my pergola / porch in a cupboard I built to house it. It's lockable of course - don't want my sneaky neighbour stealing my brews (he home brews also). I'd include some photographs, but don't know how to do so as I'm new here - been reading for a while though. Cheers.

[Lix]

I too have used the laundry tub (well a crate) with ice etc. It works but is not brilliant. I now have a cool brew bag and that is brilliant. Where I am it is pretty much a continuous heat wave but with the bag I have no problem keeping the fermenting brew cool. I have not tried a lager in it yet but I have no doubt it would work out fine.

 

Alex

 

[headmaster]

Using a brewfridge is a lot more efficient than freezing bottles of water, and you would be surprised how much electricity is used freezing these bottles. When you put the bottles in the freezer, it will make the compressor in the freezer work hard and chew through a lot of power, and then you lose that energy very quickly due to the lack of proper insulation in the water bath in the tub.

 

I did this the first time I tried temp control, I added bleach to the water as it was beginning to stink after a couple of days. I guess it you sanitised the tap before bottling it should be ok.

 

 

[dragit]

Using a brewfridge is a lot more efficient than freezing bottles of water' date=' and you would be surprised how much electricity is used freezing these bottles. When you put the bottles in the freezer, it will make the compressor in the freezer work hard and chew through a lot of power, and then you lose that energy very quickly due to the lack of proper insulation in the water bath in the tub.

 

I did this the first time I tried temp control, I added bleach to the water as it was beginning to stink after a couple of days. I guess it you sanitised the tap before bottling it should be ok.

 

[/quote']

Did you modify a regular fridge to get it to stay at a warmer temperature?

[Otto Von Blotto]

Fridges aren't modified if you use an external controller that the fridge plugs into, because these controllers simply turn the power to the fridge on and off to maintain the warmer than usual temps. I've been using mine for about 4 years now, it really is the easiest and best option but of course space needs to be available to accommodate it.

 

The only disadvantage I can see with the water bath and ice blocks/bottles method apart from it being less efficient on power, is that doing it constantly winds up being a PITA. I only lasted 2 or 3 batches before I decided the fridge would be a better option. Luckily for me though, the fridge was already here.

[BlackSands]

... you would be surprised how much electricity is used freezing these bottles. When you put the bottles in the freezer' date=' it will make the compressor in the freezer work hard and chew through a lot of power.[/quote']I wonder how much energy? If it's a fairly well-stocked freezer I can't imagine the energy burden would be so great... but I don't actually know what the numbers are. AND, a very curious thing worth knowing too is that hot water can freeze faster than cold water. It's called Mpemba effect.

[BlackSands]

The only disadvantage I can see with the water bath and ice blocks/bottles method apart from it being less efficient on power' date=' is that doing it constantly winds up being a PITA. I only lasted 2 or 3 batches before I decided the fridge would be a better option. Luckily for me though, the fridge was already here.[/quote']

 

I think the PITA factor may depend a lot on local climate, in particular temperature gradients; night/day and day-to-day. Over this Summer it's not been a big deal for me at all as the temperature differentials are not huge and in fact once I'd got my tub water initially cooled I didn't need to do anything more for the following few days, it remained pretty stable. But I can imagine in locations where temperatures can make pretty large swings it could be a real battle - like Melbourne for example where it can be low 40's one day and then sub-20 the next!

[dragit]

Fridges aren't modified if you use an external controller that the fridge plugs into' date=' because these controllers simply turn the power to the fridge on and off to maintain the warmer than usual temps. I've been using mine for about 4 years now, it really is the easiest and best option but of course space needs to be available to accommodate it.

 

The only disadvantage I can see with the water bath and ice blocks/bottles method apart from it being less efficient on power, is that doing it constantly winds up being a PITA. I only lasted 2 or 3 batches before I decided the fridge would be a better option. Luckily for me though, the fridge was already here.[/quote']

I think I'm about ready to jump into all grain, but I would need to sort this out first…

 

I'm guessing the external controller just flicks the fridge on when a connected thermostat says it's too warm?

 

Does it also have a heating capacity for winter brewing?

 

I have access to an old fridge, how much roughly for the external controller? (& what brand should I look for?)

[dragit]

How do you add an avatar pic on here? can't find it

[Otto Von Blotto]

That's true Blacksands, it's also a PITA here because the temps in summer are almost always in the mid 30s so the water warms up/ice bottles melt quicker than what happens in say, Autumn, so you end up having to change them more often.

 

Dragit, that's pretty much exactly how they work; the controllers have a temp probe (which is best taped to the FV under foam, not left dangling loose in the fridge), you set your desired temp and how far you're willing to let it rise above or fall below this temp, and that's it. It then turns the fridge on and off to maintain it, or a heating device if one is needed. STC-1000 or the Inkbird controllers can be used for both heating and cooling, probably about $40-$50. STC's need to be wired up in a jiffy box, Inkbird ones are already done for you.

 

The usual set up with a fridge is to have a heating device inside the fridge with the fermenter to still make use of the insulation, but of course this is only if one is needed. I'm in Brisbane and have never needed heating on a scale to require something like that; an Erlenmeyer flask of boiling water put inside the fridge has been enough on the few occasions I've needed heating inside it. Either that, or I just open the fridge during the warmest part of the day.

[Hoppy81]

How do you add an avatar pic on here? can't find it

 

On top of the page click on visit Coopers club, then click my brewery dashboard, the edit my profile, then change my profile picture.

 

Cheers,

Hoppy

[beer champ]

I agree with Lix. I bought a cool brew bag and I have done three brews now... in the middle of summer and I am able to keep them at a constant 18-20 just with a few frozen 2 litre drink bottles.

[DrGroove]

Relative Newb question: I've done four successful brews at home using the older style Coopers screw-top tub with a lightbulb beside the tank in a cupboard; temperature was stable between 23-27°, even overnight in winter. Made 2 x Coopers ESBs, a 'real ale' and a Bootmaker Pale 6.3% monster: all great. (Actually, the 'Real Ale' was ordinary, but it was cheap)

 

Wifey complained about the smell, so I've moved the kit to the warehouse where I work. It's currently warm in Melbourne, and the temperature is reporting at 28° - 2pm in the afternoon; I would expect it to peak at 29-30°, and drop to about 20° overnight. I have very little control over the heat beside putting the vat in a box/cupboard with another light bulb, but that won't help with excess heat.

 

I've read 21-27° (but up to 33°) is acceptable for the yeast; but I've got little bubbling action going on, no froth and little, if any, change in the SG reading: dud yeast, too hot, too much variation?

 

The yeast, regular Coopers style supplied with the can, says "05016B" on the back.

[DrGroove]

I've read 21-27° (but up to 33°) is acceptable for the yeast; but I've got little bubbling action going on' date=' no froth and little, if any, change in the SG reading: dud yeast, too hot, too much variation?

 

The yeast, regular Coopers style supplied with the can, says "05016B" on the back.[/quote']

 

Took the lid off, gave it a stir, and spoke encouraging words over it. The air lock has gurgled twice in the last 10 minutes. Looks like we're away at least.

[Otto Von Blotto]

It's generally recommended to keep the temp around 18-20 for best results... you wouldn't want it going up much above 25C I wouldn't think and certainly nowhere near 33. Not sure of the effects of constantly having a light shining on it either, but I'd be avoiding doing that if it was me.

 

Anyway, you say the SG isn't moving but what is the actual reading?