Brewing newbie with some questions

[porschemad911]

I love my Cool Brewing Bag! Works a treat to stabilise temp swings and keep fermentation in the right range. Canberra is a different climate though I guess. 

Cheers, 

John

[BobbyBoy]

Yea, so not going down the rabbit hole lasted about 2 days. I have been able to get my hands and on bar fridge for free. Temp controller might be a few weeks away, but, will be on it’s way.

[BobbyBoy]

47 minutes ago, porschemad911 said:

I love my Cool Brewing Bag! Works a treat to stabilise temp swings and keep fermentation in the right range. Canberra is a different climate though I guess. 

Cheers, 

John

Thanks John. I did quickly look at the cool bag. My parents have a bar fridge they aren’t using... so yea free fridge

[Fergy1987]

6 minutes ago, BobbyBoy said:

Thanks John. I did quickly look at the cool bag. My parents have a bar fridge they aren’t using... so yea free fridge

Nice work on the free bar fridge! Probably the best thing about the little craft fermenter is there are a huge amount of options for fridges as to what it will fit in - I highly suggest grabbing the Inkbird 308 temp controller, super easy to set up and no need to wire anything yourself. Makes life a hell of a lot easier!

 

[BobbyBoy]

1 minute ago, Fergy1987 said:

Nice work on the free bar fridge! Probably the best thing about the little craft fermenter is there are a huge amount of options for fridges as to what it will fit in - I highly suggest grabbing the Inkbird 308 temp controller, super easy to set up and no need to wire anything yourself. Makes life a hell of a lot easier!

 

Funnily enough, I was literally just looking at the 308 on eBay. Looks like it’s perfect for what I want.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Hahaha. I got my fermenter fridge for free off the olds as well, it was dad's auntie's originally dating back to the 1950s, and had been sitting under their house near the laundry doing nothing but pretending to be a wine rack for about 15 years before I began using it. I suggested using it, and dad agreed, probably got sick of a laundry tub being taken up with a 30 litre fermenter and a bunch of frozen bottles all the time It came with me when I moved out last year and will be coming to the house we buy next year too. 

I'll be getting a second fridge to double my production next year after the move, but before that I'll pick up another fermenter and temp controller for it. Thinking the inkbird as well; even though I could wire another STC, it's just easier not having to run around buying a case and plugs etc.

[BobbyBoy]

Free fridge crew! I’m still probably going to do the first brew without temp control as I’m not sure when my parents will be down (their out Toowoomba way). Excited to be able to do some largers and pilsners.

[Otto Von Blotto]

At least at this time of year you don't really have to worry about the brew getting too hot. That will likely cause more off flavors than it being a bit too cool. As long as it's warm enough for the yeast to work but not ridiculously warm you'll get a decent result. Around 18-20 is best for most ales.

[BobbyBoy]

1 hour ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

At least at this time of year you don't really have to worry about the brew getting too hot. That will likely cause more off flavors than it being a bit too cool. As long as it's warm enough for the yeast to work but not ridiculously warm you'll get a decent result. Around 18-20 is best for most ales.

Excellent! I’m going to try the winter ale as my second mr beer kit. I’m a fan of dark ales and stouts so should be good. My first with the temp control will most likely be a Pils as I was thinking of making some for Christmas presents for friends and should make sure I can make it ok.

[The Captain!!]

1 hour ago, BobbyBoy said:

Excellent! I’m going to try the winter ale as my second mr beer kit. I’m a fan of dark ales and stouts so should be good. My first with the temp control will most likely be a Pils as I was thinking of making some for Christmas presents for friends and should make sure I can make it ok.

And who doesn’t like beer as presents!

[Beer Baron]

My keg fridge cost me $2000!!!

I took the house fridge outside to see if it would fit in a certain spot in my garage and to see how many kegs would fit in it. It never went back inside ha ha ha

[BobbyBoy]

1 hour ago, Beer Baron said:

My keg fridge cost me $2000!!!

I took the house fridge outside to see if it would fit in a certain spot in my garage and to see how many kegs would fit in it. It never went back inside ha ha ha

When I mentioned I need a fridge or freezer to control the temp I think my wife was worried I was going to commandeer the house fridge or chest freezer ?

[Beerlust]

3 hours ago, Beer Baron said:

My keg fridge cost me $2000!!!

I took the house fridge outside to see if it would fit in a certain spot in my garage and to see how many kegs would fit in it. It never went back inside ha ha ha

I bet your other half has taken you for more than $2000 since. 

Cheers,

Lusty.

[Guvna]

new to brewing and bought the Inkbird 308, found it real easy and seems good so far. the only thing I'm unsure of  is the compressor delay setting. not sure if i've set that wrong and/or my old fridge has issues, still tinkering . (bare in mind i've only made 2 brews and yet to drink any, another week or 2 to go)

Guv

[BobbyBoy]

3 minutes ago, Guvna said:

new to brewing and bought the Inkbird 308, found it real easy and seems good so far. the only thing I'm unsure of  is the compressor delay setting. not sure if i've set that wrong and/or my old fridge has issues, still tinkering . (bare in mind i've only made 2 brews and yet to drink any, another week or 2 to go)

Guv

Thanks Guv, good to hear the experiences of a fellow newbie,

[Beerlust]

17 minutes ago, Guvna said:

new to brewing and bought the Inkbird 308, found it real easy and seems good so far. the only thing I'm unsure of  is the compressor delay setting. not sure if i've set that wrong and/or my old fridge has issues, still tinkering . (bare in mind i've only made 2 brews and yet to drink any, another week or 2 to go)

Guv

I'm not completely sure of the intricacies of the Inkbird vs the STC-1000 (that I use) but the STC-1000 has a preset value of 2-3mins (I think) to allow time for the compressor to shutdown & not over-work/over-heat by being asked to run for excessively lengthy periods.

I would set it to a value around this, & monitor the activity patterns of your fridge & that of the compressor etc. & adjust if necessary.

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I've got the compressor delay thingy set at 10 minutes on my controller. It's probably overkill but at least it doesn't let the thing turn on and off excessively. It comes in handy when I'm chilling yeast starters and just have the probe dangling in the fridge, if the fridge is opened the temp shoots up quite a bit, and that 10 minute delay allows it to cool down further before it kicks the fridge back in, however when you're controlling a fermentation you won't even need it, as it takes longer than that to rise the 0.3 or whatever degrees the controller is set to to kick the fridge back in. 

I timed it on a batch last year and it ran for about 6-7 minutes to drop the brew the 0.3 degrees, I think the compressor itself turned off and back on once during that time, then once the fridge turned completely off when the brew reached the set temp, it took about 14 minutes to rise that 0.3 degrees again. 

[Beerlust]

4 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

...however when you're controlling a fermentation you won't even need it, as it takes longer than that to rise the 0.3 or whatever degrees the controller is set to to kick the fridge back in. 

I timed it on a batch last year and it ran for about 6-7 minutes to drop the brew the 0.3 degrees, I think the compressor itself turned off and back on once during that time, then once the fridge turned completely off when the brew reached the set temp, it took about 14 minutes to rise that 0.3 degrees again. 

That depends on the fridge itself, it's placement in respect to ambient temperatures, & how effective the insulation of the fridge is against the ambient temperatures it is exposed to.

I understand what you are saying, but unfortunately it's not a "one size fits all" type scenario in this case. As an example, my 3/4 sized fridge that I have insulated inside my house would not fair anywhere near as well if outside in a corrugated iron shed with the sun beating down on it for 12 odd hours a day (especially in the Summer). 

Cheers,

Lusty.

[Malter White]

I brew and ferment in the Coopers FV in our kitchen. Our r/c air con is my temperature control. Some of you might say that's an expensive way to keep temps constant but if you consider there's usually someone home at our place due to shift work, it's not an added cost. Also, I guess I'd be classed as a heavy drinker. I used to buy a hell of a lot of commercial brand beer but since I've been home brewing I rarely buy beer now. I figure the money saved on beer far outweighs the extra power costs I might incur.

[Beer Baron]

Do you have a way to generate your own electricity Muzzy?

I am too scared the run the giant AC unit at my new house because I only have 1 kidney left to sell if I got a big bill

[Otto Von Blotto]

True to a point Lusty but you've gotta remember most people doing temp control in fridges are measuring the temp of the brew, not the fridge air surrounding it. It will likely rise quicker if it was in a tin shed sitting at 45 degrees, but not that much quicker that the thing would be coming on every minute. I imagine it would have a bit more trouble bringing it back down again as well. I'll have to do another timing of mine in the middle of summer and see how different it is. One thing I do notice that is different in the hotter weather is that it struggles to get right down to zero when I cold crash, but fermentation temps no worries at all.

5 hours ago, Beer Baron said:

Do you have a way to generate your own electricity Muzzy?

I am too scared the run the giant AC unit at my new house because I only have 1 kidney left to sell if I got a big bill

I'd offer you the small AC unit at my house, but we're renting and they might frown upon that. Seriously, we never use the bloody thing, I don't even know why they put it in, just not needed in a house like this that stays cool enough simply by its design.

[Beer Baron]

3 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

I'd offer you the small AC unit at my house, but we're renting and they might frown upon that. Seriously, we never use the bloody thing, I don't even know why they put it in, just not needed in a house like this that stays cool enough simply by its design.

Ha ha ha, I was just kidding.

My old house was risen off the ground with hardwood floors and was hardiplank and tile. It was ridiculously cold in winter and boiling hot in summer. 

My new house is concrete floor and brick and the difference is HUGE!!

We don’t really need to run the heater in winter because the house isn’t like an igloo which is great. I haven’t spent a summer in here yet but I suspect that it won’t get really hot and the fans that were installed should keep it cool enough. 

BB

[Malter White]

8 hours ago, Beer Baron said:

Do you have a way to generate your own electricity Muzzy?

I am too scared the run the giant AC unit at my new house because I only have 1 kidney left to sell if I got a big bill

We do have solar panels but they probably only provide about 1/5 to 1/4 of our usage. The air con is run by a thermostat so it only turns on as needed. I leave it off if the weather is mild but if I know it's going to be really hot or cold I leave it on. The thermostat can be set to differing temperatures eg. let's say it's going to be a 38C day and nobody is home. It'd be foolish to set the temp at 22C but if I set it at say 27C, it'll keep the brew at a safe temp (not ideal I know but better than letting it get to 35C or so). Then when someone comes home it doesn't have to work so hard to get to a comfy 22 or 23C.

[Beer Baron]

1 minute ago, MUZZY said:

We do have solar panels but they probably only provide about 1/5 to 1/4 of our usage. The air con is run by a thermostat so it only turns on as needed. I leave it off if the weather is mild but if I know it's going to be really hot or cold I leave it on. The thermostat can be set to differing temperatures eg. let's say it's going to be a 38C day and nobody is home. It'd be foolish to set the temp at 22C but if I set it at say 27C, it'll keep the brew at a safe temp (not ideal I know but better than letting it get to 35C or so). Then when someone comes home it doesn't have to work so hard to get to a comfy 22 or 23C.

I wouldn’t mind getting the panels and batteries so I can store power. I need to do more research and the technology is relatively new so I would wait until it’s gets a bit better and cheaper 

[Malter White]

Just now, Beer Baron said:

I wouldn’t mind getting the panels and batteries so I can store power. I need to do more research and the technology is relatively new so I would wait until it’s gets a bit better and cheaper 

Definitely do as much research as you can. I've had solar panels for about 8 years. The cost back then was very high compared to now. I paid overs because I went with Origin. They had a 2 year interest free plan and I figured they'd be around to honour any warranties. As it turned out I had a warranty issue within the first 2 years. Origin weren't very obliging at first but when I told them I was reporting my credit card stolen and they wouldn't be getting any more payments my issue was resolved immediately.
I then had a second warranty issue in about year 4. Once again they weren't very obliging. They told me my inverter wasn't covered by warranty. I then told them I have my receipts and warranty documents that says it is. The response: "Oh yes. My mistake. I see it is covered."
Shonky pr**s.