Sam. wrote:Have a google about a diacetyl rest, it really helps if your using a proper lager yeast.
Also racking and lagering is a good idea :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Hi Sam thanks for the advise as it is the first time I've even heard of that :handgestures-thumbupleft:
The guy at the HBS said pitch the yeast at 21C then let it get down to 11-15 C and it will ferment out in 2 weeks. The airlock is going off it's tit's and the temp of the ferment is 15C, so when the ferment is done I will take a sample and have a taste to see if it is there. I set my fermenter up on my light box so it will be too easy to get it up 22C once it's done and leave it for a day or 2. I do find with wrapping blankets around the fermenter it does keep the temp nicely. Now with overnight temps getting pretty low by warming it up to 22C and wrapping my sleeping bag around it the temp will stay within a degree or 2 overnight.
Unfortunately my micromite temp sensor project got fried as the blocking diode failed on the ebay relay and sent a spike thru the controller bricking it :angry-banghead: Now i have to dust off my cnc to make a new circuit board and this time I'll put an opto isolator inline so the micro can't get any spikes. Also I will use new components as that diode that failed came from a circuit board I stripped.
Basically the setup is 2off DS18B20 temp sensors where one is placed on the lower section of the fermenter and the other one on the higher section. As the light bulb heats from the bottom a temp differential will be there so when it reachs 4 degrees the relay is turned off turning the light off and the temp is checked until it is the same top and bottom then the light is turned on again for the next cycle. A lcd with touch screen is used and a simple menu system allows for parameter adjustment. Now the pic is a pic32 running basic and with a SD card one can log the temps for the ferment easily.
Cheers Bryan