by hillzabilly » Thu Nov 09, 2017 10:01 pm
I wrapped about 50mts of 13mm black irragation tube around mine then a layer of insulation taped over with silver duct tape , then have an aquarium heater inside an ex 25-30lt fermenter with a small pump ,this circulates the water thru the poly pipe and back to the small fermenter ,and a small aquarium chiller wich controls the heater if required or chiller,wich has made it possible to control temp in the big fermenter from 10'c-35'c wash temp.Perth winters can be chilly and summer pretty hot ,have not had a problem with very consistent ferments(the real secret of stillin)all year,prolly cost about $320 for the chiller and say $300 for the rest is not cheap ,but I think its paid for itself after 5 plus years of faithful service.Anything that helps give great fermentations cannot be a bad thing ,I used ta think the still was at the center of stillin but have the opinion its mashing and fermenting now,and problems are more costly with the big fermenters wich should not be overlooked.cheers hillzabilly ;-)