I have a small freezer that will hold my primary and secondary fermentation, but not a whole lot more than that. I placed it in my basement, in one of the storage rooms. I can cool it off using my digital meter. That is not a problem.
The problem I have is, during the winter the storage room sits about 50-55 degrees, way too cold to conduct fermentation. The freezer, obviously get down to this temperature eventually. My question is, aside from buying a heat belt and hoping that the belt will heat the whole freezer, is there any other suggestions? I would rather not heat the storage room, as the electric heater is a monster!
I made an ‘incuMaider’ by filling a large rubbermaid bin with water and regulate temps with a cheapo aquarium heater. The incubator stays at a constant 68 degrees F. There’s a few threads on the subject, and I know many brewers that use this with great success.
Keep the fermenter in your freezer (good insulation from the cool surroundings) and put a Fermwrap on it. Use your temp controller to regulate it. Tape the thermo probe directly to your fermentation vessel for the most accurate reading.
Its only that cold in the winter, 'cause we’re cheap and don’t turn on the heat down there. I just got into doing Ales in October, so it will have to wait until next winter. By then I may own my own place and be SOL.
