Ferm chamber heating methods

Northern Brewer General
1

I originally bought a very small $20 space heater to use in my ferm chamber but it just randomly stopped working about 20 minutes after i plugged it in (piece of crap). I switched to using a lamp with a 100 watt lightbulb but noticed the other day that the plastic on the underside of the lid is starting to bubble as if it were starting to melt.

Just wondering if there is something people have had good success with efficiently raising ambient temps in their ferm chamber. I thought about switching to a lower watt lightbulb but id rather have something that didnt also generate light if possible so I don’t have to cover the carboy to prevent skunking.

2

I use a regular heating pad that does NOT have an automatic shutoff circuit. I need it this time of year to brew ales with.

3

heating pads work great. I have the Brewpad, which is essentially one of those, but with a 40% higher price tag for sucker homebrewers such as myself.

4

Do you suggest wrapping the carboy in the heating pad or just leaving it out to affect the ambient temp of the entire chamber?

5

I just through it in the chamber and it adds enough heat to move the temp up. The normal cooling system in my chamber keeps the system from overheating. No need to wrap the fermenter unless your chamber is poorly insulated.

6

I also use a $20 heating pad from CVS. It has the 2-hour auto shutoff, which sucks. But it really only sucked the once or twice I wanted to raise the temp more than 5 or so degrees in one shot.