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New batch of beer with heat belt


Beer82

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After 6 years off from making my own beer Ive decided to get back into it. Put down my first batch yesterday bought the Coopers Diy Kit. Ive decided to put the vessel in the garage which in summer is way to hot. I noticed that the last few nights being cold the temp was around 15 to 17 degrees in the morning. Yesterday I bought a heat belt which I was told keeps the beer at around 26 degrees. This morning I checked the beer and it was between 28 and 30 Degrees so I turned off the heat belt.  My question as it's already began fermenting will the temp go up due to fermentation naturally? It looks like it could be difficult to regulate the temp with the heat strap.

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17 minutes ago, Beer82 said:

After 6 years off from making my own beer Ive decided to get back into it. Put down my first batch yesterday bought the Coopers Diy Kit. Ive decided to put the vessel in the garage which in summer is way to hot. I noticed that the last few nights being cold the temp was around 15 to 17 degrees in the morning. Yesterday I bought a heat belt which I was told keeps the beer at around 26 degrees. This morning I checked the beer and it was between 28 and 30 Degrees so I turned off the heat belt.  My question as it's already began fermenting will the temp go up due to fermentation naturally? It looks like it could be difficult to regulate the temp with the heat strap.

Hi mate welcome to the forum it will not keep going up at that temp even with fermentation cranking I had mine in my fridge with similar conditions it sat around 19 degrees. I just purchased a heat pad so I can push it up to 22degrees to clean up at the end of fermentation. I personally don’t like heat belts they get extremely hot in my experience. Maybe look at temp control can get a cheap fridge and stc plug in thermostat which takes the worry away otherwise you will just to monitor it manually. 

 

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Heat belts get really hot. When I used one I was brewing at ambient temps in my laundry. I left the belt off the fermenter around the bottom and let the residual heat warm the FV. I still had to check the temp strip daily. I occasionally drifted to around 26-28C. No beers were harmed in the process, but you do get a different result  than you would with the stability of temp control.

A old fridge and an inkbird is the way to go.

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22 minutes ago, Lab Rat said:

A old fridge and an inkbird is the way to go.

Actually, even without a fridge a temp controller connected to the heat belt would certainly be an improvement over the current situation.

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16 minutes ago, BlackSands said:

Actually, even without a fridge a temp controller connected to the heat belt would certainly be an improvement over the current situation.

Exactly. Dont need a fridge if the ambient is too low. If i do a saison in winter here in Sydney its done out in the ambient with a temp controller and heat belt.

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@Beer82, great to see you back into brewing. 

If you were to add an Inkbird to your heat belt for winter, it would keep your Ale to 18-20c. Also it would be good to have a working fridge for winter and summer brewing to run the temps you require for your brewing of various beers, plus to cold crash for clarity

But in winter, even a non working fridge has benefits for it's insulating capabilities. 

Cheers

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1 hour ago, BlackSands said:

Actually, even without a fridge a temp controller connected to the heat belt would certainly be an improvement over the current situation.

Sure. But that only solves his winter problem.

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What you can do with a non working chest freezer in winter. These freezers have exceptional insulation qualities.

My Willhi single relay ETC is running a heat belt on one FV, plus a heat mat sitting sideways. I have 2 x 23L FV's brewing.

 

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Edited by Worthog
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