Ive finally got my fermentation fridge on the go. Ive got a heat pad as my heat source but I think it may be too hot or too slow to lose heat once it cycles off. The fridge has a fermenter with 30 litres of pbw in it & Ive an empty carboy too just for the test. (my probe is wrapped in foam)
What is your setup on the stc1000? What are you using for heating (ive read a 60w ceramic heater is good)
Im at 1c differential & 5 min lag time (f3?) Its cycling from heating to cooling right now so Ive plugged out the heating side for now as the ambient temp outside is enough to heat I think.
Any advice appreciated as Im brewing tomorrow & would like to have it all dialled in by then. Thanks.
A bulb in a metal roses tin.
I've similar setting on the stc1000. I use a 30W bulb and have my temp probe taped to the side of a piece of Styrofoam. The probe side is wedged against the side of the fermentor (so it's reading the temp of the vessel...not ambient) half way up by a triangle of plywood. Works great and doesn't cycle much.
Low watt bulb in a tin it is so. Cheers. What have ye got your F2 & F3 set to?
Mine is at this...
F1 5 Target Temp
F2 2 Variance
F3 3 Refrigeration Delay?
F4 0.0 Temp variance
100w bulb with a bunch of foil under it works really well.
Light bulbs are for lighting rooms.
Ceramic heaters are for heating them ::)
Here you go...
http://alturl.com/kpwnf
Well spotted mine was more expensive than that
A light bulb is even cheaper!
or a happy medium, the ceramic bulb (it can be a bit tight in some fridges to fit the heat tube);
50 WATT CERAMIC HEAT BULB / LAMP ES FIT - REPTILE
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-WATT-CERAMIC-HEAT-BULB-LAMP-ES-FIT-REPTILE-/200851359924?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Reptiles_Spiders_Insects&hash=item2ec3ac88b4 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-WATT-CERAMIC-HEAT-BULB-LAMP-ES-FIT-REPTILE-/200851359924?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Reptiles_Spiders_Insects&hash=item2ec3ac88b4)
approx €10, does need an ES (Edison Screw) light fitting though, not the standard/everyday BC (Bayonet Cap).
Damn! I think I paid a lot more that in Woodies, think it might have been €2.99!
My fermenting beer doesn't like light.
I've also finally got a temp control fridge set up. I don't have a heat source yet, so will need to figure out what is best in relation to that, as space is a bit tight.
Where are people placing there temp probe? I have mine in a jug of water at the moment, but my only worry about that is the water in the jug won't be quite the same as the FV, due to heat given off during fermentation. It's got a pale ale in there at the moment, done with a dried packet of West Coast Ale yeast, and the suggested range is 17 to 20, so I have it at 18.5. Should I lower it down a bit more, as I am hoping to have a nice clean ferment in order to let the hops shine?
Can one use "Heating Cable"? I have about 10 meters left of mine.
Quote from: Il Tubo on August 19, 2013, 10:20:52 AM
Quote from: Ciderhead on August 19, 2013, 12:37:20 AM
My fermenting beer doesn't like light.
How do you know!
UV is the bad stuff, but a good ole fashioned light bulb doesn't give out any worth talking about.
and thats what I thought until the canadian blonde bottled in clear 1 litre bottles stored in my dark shed over winter 2 years ago and only source of light was tungsten bulb turned into Pepe le Pew.
http://theblog-o-beer.blogspot.ie/2009/03/skunked-or-light-struck-beer.html
I read a better article somewhere, I think it was BYO, in any case wavelength different but still has an impact.
Quote from: Taf on August 19, 2013, 10:07:09 AM
I've also finally got a temp control fridge set up. I don't have a heat source yet, so will need to figure out what is best in relation to that, as space is a bit tight.
Where are people placing there temp probe? I have mine in a jug of water at the moment, but my only worry about that is the water in the jug won't be quite the same as the FV, due to heat given off during fermentation. It's got a pale ale in there at the moment, done with a dried packet of West Coast Ale yeast, and the suggested range is 17 to 20, so I have it at 18.5. Should I lower it down a bit more, as I am hoping to have a nice clean ferment in order to let the hops shine?
The narrow bit on the floor in front of the compressor below the first shelf is a good spot for a heat source as long as air can flow through the fridge.
I normally sandwich sensor 1/4 way down the wall of the fementor just below krausen and some flexible foam.
1st day or so with exothermic I set it 0.5-1 degree lower and then back to target after that.
So in you case I would have gone 17.5-18 and them 18.5 after that.
Fridge will kick in if it goes mad in any case.
Here is the article that must have been from the same research that blogger copied even the same graphs
Be kind on the bloggers, they don't all talk shite...well nearly all.
http://byo.com/stout/item/2263-lightstrike-advanced-brewing
Do you know what skunky beer tastes like :P
I went with a 40w bulb covered with a tin can in the end. Bottom shelf as suggested by CH.
(http://i.imgur.com/XJNbnnwl.jpg)
Im going to have to drill some vent holes in my ply wood shelves to promote air flow around the entire fridge. I cut the shelves as large as I could so I could fit two carboys on each shelf but I now know this prevents any airflow. Might stick a mini fan on the hot side with the bulb too. Cheers for all the tips!
Quote from: Hop Bomb on August 19, 2013, 11:21:34 PM
I went with a 40w bulb covered with a tin can in the end. Bottom shelf as suggested by CH.
(http://i.imgur.com/XJNbnnwl.jpg)
Im going to have to drill some vent holes in my ply wood shelves to promote air flow around the entire fridge. I cut the shelves as large as I could so I could fit two carboys on each shelf but I now know this prevents any airflow. Might stick a mini fan on the hot side with the bulb too. Cheers for all the tips!
Very nice, believe it or not I can get 2 carboys sitting on the original glass shelves if I double the shelves up, I don't throw them on there but can get 2 side by side. big gap at back and front of shelf allows airflow.
It also leaves me space for a jug at the front for blow off from both. I found I had to ducktape them to the sides though to stop the silicone tube from kinking, anyway in about 8 carboy brews only 2 full whack blow offs.
I am liking your keg fermentor, I know you posted about it already, where is it again?
I've seen this idea in the US which is just food grade perspex sitting on a bead of silicone and unlike the keg am warming to the fact that you can get in to scrub if required?
No light is better than any light don't listen to Tube I know he prefers to do it with the lights out :P
I had glass shelves on mine but the way they sat in the fridge was weak. Just some recessed gap inside the wall. Not like a normal fridge that has a ridge sticking out. PITA.
I cant find the thread on the sanke fermentor. But this is Wills one: http://nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,246.msg2571.html#msg2571
And Reubens one on how to dismantle another way (thats how I had to do mine): http://www.taleofale.com/2010/03/how-to-dismantle-european-sanke-to-make.html
I just trimmed down the neck so it would fit a carboy cap. With the carboy cap I can still transfer under pressure. For cleaning right now Im soaking in PBW over night after the brew is done. Next evening I get in there with my carboy cleaner yoke on the drill & try get around it as much as I can. Then rinse twice & starsan it. I plan on modding it with a corny lid eventually so that way Il get my hand, a scrubbing brush & a torch in there for cleaning. (Ive seen how good pbw is on my crusty conical flasks though so Im confident its doing the job)
In relation to the temperature setting within the fridge. Is it best to have it up full or medium? the reason I am asking this is I think when it kicks in it goes down past the desired temp and takes a while to get back up. Should I decrease the lag of .5 degree or will this mean it turning on and off more often?
I think the temp regulator in the fridge is only a thermostat and the fridge is either on or off. So I keep mine up to almost full just so that it doesn't cutout at a higher temperature than the STC1000 is set for.
Quote from: imark on August 20, 2013, 12:00:08 PM
I think the temp regulator in the fridge is only a thermostat and the fridge is either on or off. So I keep mine up to almost full just so that it doesn't cutout at a higher temperature than the STC1000 is set for.
But my fridge has a switch that goes from 1 to 6, and gets noticibly cooler when you change it? Same with my fridge in the kitchen. the butter was coming out soft recently, so I adjusted the controller in the fridge and no more soft butter.
Quote from: Taf on August 20, 2013, 11:54:06 AM
In relation to the temperature setting within the fridge. Is it best to have it up full or medium? the reason I am asking this is I think when it kicks in it goes down past the desired temp and takes a while to get back up. Should I decrease the lag of .5 degree or will this mean it turning on and off more often?
Leave it at max cooling and 1 degree otherwise your compressor will be firing every 5 secs
What Controller do you have on the Fridge Taf?
Have you a plug and socket with controller in the middle?
Quote from: johnrm on August 20, 2013, 01:48:29 PM
What Controller do you have on the Fridge Taf?
Have you a plug and socket with controller in the middle?
STC1000, and yes it's in the middle of plug and socket. It was one I got from Vince so already wired, so don't ask me any technical questions. I know that when you looked at one of my fridges before, it seemed to me that we would be hacking directly into the thermostat within the fridge, but this setup just turns it on/off, so maybe there are different ways of doing it?
Yep that's fine just set your fridge to max
I concur.
I'm building my fermentation fridge soon. I note CH and others place the heat source at the bottom and encourage air flow.
I've read on other forums that some people prefer to place the heat source away from under the trub as it could over heat (on a relative basis) the trub and produce off flavours. They prefer to place heating tube on wall/ceiling of fridge.
Any opinions?
Try it and see how it works out.
In theory, it might make a difference, you could always circulate air in the chamber with a pc fan or similar.
MY fermeter chamber is a 2 inch insulaating board construction, a household thermostat ( calibrated) and a 50 watt heat belt which is highly effective as a slow steady heat source.
I reckon where the location of the heat source is not as important as the thermostatic controler