Immersion heater question.

Production methods from starch to sugars.

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FreeMountainHermit
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Immersion heater question.

Post by FreeMountainHermit »

Guys, I've just been informed by a higher power than I that my fermenters are no longer welcome in our upstairs living quarters which leaves only our unheated basement to pursue my hobby. I'm currently using submersible aquarium heaters in my 16 gallon fermenters which do the job nicely upstairs but fail miserably downstairs in the cold so I'm looking for another type of submersible heater that will be up to the task.

Your thoughts please.


Thanks, FMH
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rad14701
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Re: Immersion heater question.

Post by rad14701 »

Build a fermentation box/cabinet, or insulate the fermenters... :idea:
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FreeMountainHermit
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Re: Immersion heater question.

Post by FreeMountainHermit »

Just found what I'm looking for but it needs a controller to work. The good news is that my digital temp controller from my BBQ smoker will work just fine.

Plug & play. YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY. :clap:
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F6Hawk
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Re: Immersion heater question.

Post by F6Hawk »

It can't be THAT cold in your basement... My aquarium heater keeps my washes at 75° easily, even though my house temp is only 62~65° at times. How many watts is your heater? Here's some sizing info. I figure 10 gallons for the two ferment buckets, and another 10~15 gallons for the water the heater sits in. Now you need to know the temp of your basement, get your delta, and size accordingly.

Dang table looked bad, so here's the link: http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/heati ... eguide.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

If your basement is 60°, and your ferment target is 75°, you need 75~100W. I would go larger rather than smaller, to reduce wear on the element. The price difference is minimal.

Good luck!

P.S. I guess I got lucky... others complain about the smells, but my family seems to like the smell. Ahhhh, yeast...
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FreeMountainHermit
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Re: Immersion heater question.

Post by FreeMountainHermit »

Hawk, low 30sF in our basement is not uncommon. Anyhooo I found a heater that I can use with my PID controller.Accurate to 1 degree.

Thank you very much for your link & reply.

FMH
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