Heater

[guzzlerg]

G'day. I'm not new to homebrewing, but have come back to it after an absence of three years. Decided downsize, so have invested in the 8.5 litre Craft Brew kit and associated extract products.

My only issue is round keeping the brew at a stable temperature. I'm thinking an Inkbird ITC-308,  controlling a heat belt. However, I can't find the power consumption of the Inkbird unit. This is important as I live off-grid in the highlands of Tasmania, and at this time of the year I'm on battery power up to 16 hours a day. Iv'e searched the forums but can't find any info. Neither Inkbird or eBay sellers have been able to provide me with consumption (usually in watts). Anyone out there with the knowledge?

[UncleStavvy]

Nothing on the case or in the manual re power consumption. As a digital device it's power consumption is probably minimal but your heat belt runs to about 40W which will add up over a day

[Titan]

In actual fact you can buy a device that measure power consumption. But in all honesty that it will consume more energy than the inkbird.

[guzzlerg]

Yep. I have one of those. An essential tool for off-grid living. I was hoping to learn a bit more before purchasing the controller.

[guzzlerg]

42 minutes ago, UncleStavvy said:

Nothing on the case or in the manual re power consumption. As a digital device it's power consumption is probably minimal but your heat belt runs to about 40W which will add up over a day

Thanks for checking. I'm also concerned that it won't take a lot of heat to keep 8.5 litres warm. Hence the need to be able to switch a 40W belt on and off.

[Shamus O'Sean]

45 minutes ago, guzzlerg said:

Thanks for checking. I'm also concerned that it won't take a lot of heat to keep 8.5 litres warm. Hence the need to be able to switch a 40W belt on and off.

Can you email Inkbird directly?

The led numerals are pretty bright.  Not sure what else the unit is doing while it waits for the probe to tell it to turn on.  I have some cheap digital thermometers powered by LR44 batteries.  Seem to last about a year running 24-7 before they go flat.

[Otto Von Blotto]

The unit doesn't do anything except measure temperature, then turns on a cooling or heating source to get it back to a set temperature when it drifts far enough from that. Be lucky if the thing used 1 watt. It's the heating or cooling source that you need to know the consumption of. 

Edited June 2, 2020 by Otto Von Blotto

[Thirsty Jim]

@guzzlerg I can appreciate your caution.  I have lived off grid myself and was loathe to plug anything in.  

I have a 22L brew in the brew fridge at present.  I am brewing at 21º.  The ambient temp in my kitchen is 13º.  The outside temp is 10º.   I am east of Melbourne.
I pitched the yeast when the wort was 23º and put it in the fridge 4 days ago and the temperature stabilized quickly.  I have Inkbird set to kick in with +/- 1º from 21º

As an example of a typical heat belt cycle  (like now)...

At 20.0º Inkbird turned the heat belt on  at 11.45pm.   By 11.52pm it had raised the temperature back to 21º and turned the belt off.

By 12.30am Inkbird turned the belt back on again at 20.0º and stayed on for 7 minutes to raise the temperature to 21.0º at 12.37am.  

It came on again at 1.15am and off at 1.22am.   7 minutes on 38 minutes off.

On a rough average the heat belt is running 9 minutes an hour in these conditions and I think it is rated at 30W. 

 

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

Is the probe dangling in the fridge? Seems awfully quick to raise 20 odd litres a full degree. 

[guzzlerg]

4 hours ago, Thirsty Jim said:

@guzzlerg I can appreciate your caution.  I have lived off grid myself and was loathe to plug anything in.  

I have a 22L brew in the brew fridge at present.  I am brewing at 21º.  The ambient temp in my kitchen is 13º.  The outside temp is 10º.   I am east of Melbourne.
I pitched the yeast when the wort was 23º and put it in the fridge 4 days ago and the temperature stabilized quickly.  I have Inkbird set to kick in with +/- 1º from 21º

As an example of a typical heat belt cycle  (like now)...

At 20.0º Inkbird turned the heat belt on  at 11.45pm.   By 11.52pm it had raised the temperature back to 21º and turned the belt off.

By 12.30am Inkbird turned the belt back on again at 20.0º and stayed on for 7 minutes to raise the temperature to 21.0º at 12.37am.  

It came on again at 1.15am and off at 1.22am.   7 minutes on 38 minutes off.

On a rough average the heat belt is running 9 minutes an hour in these conditions and I think it is rated at 30W. 

 

 

Thanks Thirsty Jim.  I'm new to these forums, and didn't realise my response wasn't posted here. So I'll have a go at copy and paste.  Or rely on my memory (somewhat brew-affected!)

I noted that your fermenter is in a fridge. Is the temperature probe in the liquid, or measuring the ambient temp. in the fridge? 

The small fermenter does not use an airlock - the lid rises and allows the release of CO2. Coopers advised against weighting down the lid.

That's very good information and sets my mind at ease.  I may have to move my brewing operation from the shed, where it's now 2 degrees 

[UncleStavvy]

2 hours ago, guzzlerg said:

I may have to move my brewing operation from the shed, where it's now 2 degrees

I brewed a batch in the kitchen once. If you don't enjoy the smell of fermenting beer then perhaps you should try another hobby?

@guzzlerg I saw a reference to another Inkbird product that draws less than 3W so perhaps you can use that as a working number

Edited June 2, 2020 by UncleStavvy

[Journeyman]

I looked around the inkbird site - can't find anything on consumption but the support email is https://www.ink-bird.com/contact-us.html

[BlackSands]

If I remember rightly the power consumption of an ST-1000 controller was 3W - (confirming a figure mentioned above) so I imagine the Inkbird is the same or similar.  So, as a general rule of thumb I guess you could safely conclude it's adding a further 7 - 10%-ish to the power rating of the heat belt itself.   The on-cycle time can be fairly short in a well-insulated environment but it is important to measure the brew temperature as closely as possible and the usual way to do this is tape the sensor probe to the side of the FV, and insulate it as well as you can, protecting it from the influence of the surrounding air - you don't want your controller over-responding.  The beer itself has a significant thermal mass and hence high thermal inertia compared to the surrounding air.

[Thirsty Jim]

7 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Is the probe dangling in the fridge? Seems awfully quick to raise 20 odd litres a full degree. 

The heat belt sits loose around the base of the FV.    The fridge compartment is only 178 litres.  The brew is 22 L.   The probe is duct taped to the side of the fermenter and insulated under a piece of EVA foam.  I have a second probe (just a thermo, not an inkbird)  that I also tape to the FV without foam insulation.  I don't think the insulation does much at all to tell the truth.   I have run them both together and there is a consistent 0.6 difference between them which I figure is just a calibration issue.   The temperatures recorded in my previous post are from the insulated Inkbird probe. 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by Thirsty Jim
fridge volume

[guzzlerg]

Thanks everyone, especially Thirsty Jim & Blacksands for the technical info. I've ordered the Inkbird ITC-308. I figure if I sit the small FV in an insulated  box (made of mdf) with the belt at the bottom and probe taped to the outside of the fermenter it will be a good start. Refinements can be made if necessary to get keep the brew at around 20 degrees C. I will report on the first small batch brew - a Diablo IPA - in due course. Cheers!

[Boozadog]

I have same temp problems in North East Vic my kitchen is cold ,I went to pet shop brought 100w fish heater ,drilled 5mm hole in lid cut cord to heater,pushed it through and rewired it ,it is one of the ones with a external temperature dial so only the heating element and the temp gauge is inside the fermentor seems to work a treat for me 20c lowest I set mine to lowest spot, kept my pale ale at 21c 

[guzzlerg]

I used a similar heater in my 30 litre barrel. But I'm setting up a smaller 10 litre fermenter for the Coopers Craft Brew kits. 

Today I've put the finishing touches on an insulated brew box, and I've fixed a 25W rigid panel to the back wall. Still waiting for my Inkbird temperature controller to arrive, then I'll be set.

I've experimented with water in the barrel, and it seems to work well. It will be a "suck it and see" exercise to get the brewing temperature in the fermenter to sit at 20C.

[Journeyman]

16 minutes ago, Boozadog said:

I have same temp problems in North East Vic my kitchen is cold ,I went to pet shop brought 100w fish heater ,drilled 5mm hole in lid cut cord to heater,pushed it through and rewired it ,it is one of the ones with a external temperature dial so only the heating element and the temp gauge is inside the fermentor seems to work a treat for me 20c lowest I set mine to lowest spot, kept my pale ale at 21c 

I did that for a bit but graduated to this... 40W conventional bulb in a soup can. Can stops light getting to the brew and also distributes the  heat nicely.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Journeyman

[Boozadog]

1 minute ago, Journeyman said:

I did that for a bit but graduated to this... 40W conventional bulb in a soup can. Can stops light getting to the brew and also distributes the  heat nicely.

file:///home/markmcd/Documents/Craft%20Beer%20&%20Brewing/Pics/Canned%20Heat.jpg

Yer I'm thinking everyone that stays brewing eventually graduates to Better options I seen it on YouTube but so far it's doing well for me a quick temperature fix.

[Journeyman]

1 minute ago, Boozadog said:

Yer I'm thinking everyone that stays brewing eventually graduates to Better options I seen it on YouTube but so far it's doing well for me a quick temperature fix.

Hey, my first attempt was an electric blanket. Unfortunately it was a double-bed one folded in half with an insulated side on the inside against the FV and I carefully put the controller for the side on the outside to '1'. Next morning I found I had actually plugged in the side next to the FV and IT was on '3' and my brew was at 36°.  

Thanks to advice on here I still got a very drinkable brew from it.

Humans are amazing - the most violent things will not kill them but some of the most minor things will - beers are like that so always come and ask before thinking the brew is stuffed and needs to be thrown down the drain - it is surprising what those little yeastie-beasties can do.

[guzzlerg]

I've been brewing for about 15 years, and have tried all the methods you guys have to keep the brew at an even temperature. The fridge with incandescent light bulb was great, especially for the 23 litre glass carboy.

However, I've now moved to a remote area, and my new place is 100% off-grid.  So power consumption in winter, after sundown and until mid-morning, becomes a critical issue as I'm running on battery power for up to 16 hours a day. Hence my preoccupation with efficient heat sources and thermostats.

Regarding "undrinkable" brews: I'm currently sipping on a 5-year-old Scottish heavy ale which didn't show much promise, but I'm glad now that there's a few bottles left.

[Journeyman]

3 hours ago, guzzlerg said:

However, I've now moved to a remote area, and my new place is 100% off-grid.  So power consumption in winter, after sundown and until mid-morning, becomes a critical issue as I'm running on battery power for up to 16 hours a day. Hence my preoccupation with efficient heat sources and thermostats.

That's  exactly the reasons I went with the light bulb. I'm not off grid but low income so anything that reduces power draw is good. Given how good the bulb is I've been thinking about a 20W to replace it.  (my mother was half Jewish and my father's side Scottish - it comes naturally.  )