Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

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Janitor47
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Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Janitor47 »

. Has anyone tried this?
I'm thinking about a self heating 30 gal plastic drum for washes. Bubbler out the top, and aquarium heater to maintain optimal temp. That way I don't have to heat a whole room, or use like 4 of those heated belt things, which I don't think would work anyway, considering the wall thickness of the drums. Thanks :D
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by zacwest52285 »

I have used an aquarium heater in the past without problems. Now I just leave my two 10 gallon fermenters in my wife's walk in closet... She is pissed
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Prairiepiss »

A broken glass aquarium heater in a 30 gal fermenter. Could ruin a bunch of wash.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Truckinbutch »

I use such heaters in my ferments with success . Don't go cheap . Size them to the liquid volume you anticipate and make certain that you have them calibrated to the correct temperature . Insulate the outside of your ferment barrels .
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Janitor47 »

Perfect! Thanks, TB
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by BoisBlancBoy »

If you are worried about broken glass like PP said you can get a stainless heater. They aren't very expensive either. I have two 250 watt ones in my 240 gallon fish tank.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Doogie »

Yes, I have used them for over a year ... I run a 44 gallon Brute fermenter in the garage with 2 heaters, and wrap in a sleeping bag with good results even in cold weather.

Make sure to get one with a temperature setting, and since they are made with glass, handle with care. Using a paint mixer to aerate the mash/wash with them in the fermenter is **not** recommended. Other than that, you should have not problems handling them within the fermenter
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Janitor47 »

Thanks team!
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Cardinalbags »

I used one up until the point it was accidentally dropped on the garage floor. I never did replace it. Instead I placed my 30 gallon fermenter on top of a 2" piece of foam board insulation and wrapped the barrel in relflectix water heater insulation.

i really don't notice any significant difference between using or not using the aquarium heater.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by 8 Mile Hillbilly »

Wrap my fermenter and a small electric oil heater with a furniture pad, the heater does not get hot enough to cause a problem.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by straight_shot »

Just picked up a new Aquarium heater, It's metal and I'm sure it will work out perfect. Time will tell
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Odin »

I do it all the time. Works great. Think about one watt per liter. So a 50 watt aquarium heater for 50 liters of wash, etc.

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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Janitor47 »

So far so good! I bought a metal Fluval 30 gal for my 30 gal drum. Staying consistently at 27c. I'm well pleased :D
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by MoonBreath »

I use 18gal. Sterilite non-toxic children's storage container ..
My aquarium heater is a 200w Aquatop submersible heater w/precise setting.
I always boil my 'city' water, then aerate BEFORE pitching yeast.
I keep it covered with an old homemade quilt.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by DistillIT »

I have used one for a long time without a problem. One thing that I have found via trial and error. Don't let the tip of the heater get submerged in to the grain. It will over heat and shutoff.

I keep mine sideways in my cooler that I ferment in and don't have any problems,
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by bearriver »

Prairiepiss wrote:A broken glass aquarium heater in a 30 gal fermenter. Could ruin a bunch of wash.
I had a glass aquarium heater in 30 gallons of ferment. It finished dry last night and smelled great. Checked it this morning to find I forgot to turn off the aquarium heater, which shouldn't have been a big deal.

So... I pull out the heater to find 2 inches of caked and burned on solids stuck to it. As a bonus my heavenly 30 gallon ferment now smells exactly like a burning tire. I wasted a huge amount of time putting that together and now its getting dumped into the green belt... :evil: Needless to say I'm done with glass aquarium heaters...
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Kegg_jam »

I think paulinka had a good idea for an indirect heating with an aquarium heater. Might be a way to avoid the scorch.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Sungy »

I use one with all my ferments but in an indirect manner. I have a 30 gallon fermentor with a 2 inch (30 inch long) copper tube that fits into my frementor full of water and the submersible heater is inside the pipe. The heater is set to 5f higher than my desired ferment temperature and plugged into a digital temperature controller set to my desired ferment temperature. I have a well installed into the tank with the sensor inside.

If the element blows, it is inside the pipe. I have a smaller one for my keg fermentor using 1.5 inch pipe (16 inch long).
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by bearriver »

I'll have to make an enclosure for my aquarium heaters... Thanks fellas.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by coastershiner »

I always use a glass aquarium heater, actually 4 of them, one for each fermenter. For birdwatchers and ujssm. Never had an issue and fermenting takes half the time to clear than without it. I ferment in my basement and it is cold down there.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Drunk-N-Smurf »

I used one during my first few washes. I was fermenting in an unbeaten garage in the dead of canadian winter.

I went with a heater sized for an 80-100 gallon aquarium in my 40 gallon wash. Figured better to be oversized if I wanted to maintain ferment temps in -30c weather.

Worked like a champ.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by 3d0g »

Fermwrap, or roll your own - the base material is called Flexwatt.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by WillC »

I use a submersible heater with suction cups.I find out the temp range of my yeast and go with the lower number. I place it just above the yeast bed but not touching it. When its cold it will heat up the liquid around where it sits but the other side of my tub and the yeast bed were chilly so i would stir daily during the winter and also wrap it in a moving blanket. I ferment in my finished basement so its pretty cool down here in the winter. When my hydrometer reads close to done i pull it out, let it cool and the yeast settles better. During the summer i dont use a heater. For me fast ferments created off flavors.
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Re: Aquarium heaters to maintain wash temp

Post by Boda Getta »

I have using one to pre-heat my wash before running; if I'm expecting the night and morning to be chilly I put it in before I go bed. Saving me around 25-30 degrees heating up the wash, I did two 25 gal mash's last week and used it to preheat the water for the next morning for mashing.

Good luck

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