a question about temp control...

[Pomdrinking]

Alright team, i'm looking at a fridge and inkbird setup, mostly because i want to do a bunch of lagers in the summer.  My brew room is about 22c, it varies a little but its never less than 21 and never more than 24.  Now, if i have my fridge and inkbird set up around the 12 - 14c mark and i want to make lagers, kolsch, pilsner and so on do i need a heat pad/belt/tube/whatever?  My thinking is this, if my fv is at temp then the inkbird shuts off the fridge and it slowly warms up to whatever temp i've set as the top range and the so the fridge then turns back on and cools the fv again.  Why would i need a heat source?  If i'm happy to make ales at my ambient temp of 21-24c and i just want to chill the fv for cooler fermentation is there any point in splashing cash to buy a heater?  Just looking for some knowledge/opinions...  Cheers

[ozdevil]

heat pad or belt will help hold the temp at fv temp   eg if it drops below  your certain temp it will bring it back quicker then waiting on the ambient temp

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

5 hours ago, Pomdrinking said:

Alright team, i'm looking at a fridge and inkbird setup, mostly because i want to do a bunch of lagers in the summer.  My brew room is about 22c, it varies a little but its never less than 21 and never more than 24.  Now, if i have my fridge and inkbird set up around the 12 - 14c mark and i want to make lagers, kolsch, pilsner and so on do i need a heat pad/belt/tube/whatever?  My thinking is this, if my fv is at temp then the inkbird shuts off the fridge and it slowly warms up to whatever temp i've set as the top range and the so the fridge then turns back on and cools the fv again.  Why would i need a heat source?  If i'm happy to make ales at my ambient temp of 21-24c and i just want to chill the fv for cooler fermentation is there any point in splashing cash to buy a heater?  Just looking for some knowledge/opinions...  Cheers

I don't own an Inkbird (yet) I have the Mangrove Jacks STC-1000 which would work the same way, being Dual Controllers they work hand in hand, one heats, one cools - when one is not on, the other one is. Heat Belts are available at very low prices especially online. If you want to make lagers etc it would be the best way to brew at the intended temperature.

[Space]

The Inkbird has a heating and a cooling output and seeing as a heater is so cheap you may as well complete the set.

[Tone boy]

Hey @Pomdrinking  

In your situation where the room never gets below 21 degrees, you probably don’t need the heat pad. Your thinking is sound, the fridge will cool to the shut off point and then the ambient temp will bring it back up.  
I have both the heater and fridge plugged in, that way I don’t have to think about it. Heaters are cheap, so for me it was a no brainer. I brew in the shed where summer nights can occasionally still get cool, and temp fluctuates a lot more. 
For lagers in a 21 degrees C room I think you would be fine.

[Otto Von Blotto]

With that ambient temperature you won't need heating inside the fridge. If you set the controller probe up properly, i.e. taped to the fermenter underneath foam or something, the temperature won't overshoot under the set temp by much if at all once the fridge turns off. The warmer ambient plus fermentation creating its own heat will be enough to let it slowly come back up to the point the fridge turns on again. 

 

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

As others have said if your fridge is in a pretty consistent 21c environment then unless you are using Belgian yeast strains or kviek where you want an elevated temp then you will never need heat. My fridge sits in my garage which is connected to my house. It gets cold in the winter but not below 10c or so. I never need heat for a lager at all in any season. It never turns on. For ales I only need heat in winter. Otherwise the heat of the brew in the confined space is such that heat is only needed in winter.