Fermenter heating - No power

[blond.chap]

Just wondering if anyone has looked at this before, I've got multiple fermenters up in my shed and the temperatures are too low for a healthy fermentation.
The problem is that the shed doesn't have power, and I can't run an extension cord up there 24/7. I was thinking of getting a car battery and a 12V heater of some sort.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or previous experience, particularly on:
1. Will a car battery be suitable for this (power available, time between charges)
2. Suggestions on suitable 12V heaters (immersion, heat belts etc.)
3. Other ideas

[googe]

Good idea blondy, only thing I could say is a car battery wouldn't be the best option, a deep cycle one would be better. You would have to work out how many amps your belt or.heater will draw and get a battery to suit. From memory a 80 ah deep cycle is around $300, there's no use buying shit when it comes.to batteries. And a good trickle feed charger to suit can be anywhere from $150~ $300. That combo would last a long time though compaired to a super cheap battery and charger. I've got a couple of tinny 7ah batteries here hat trickle.charge of a.wall plug, might have to.steal your idea :smile: . I've often thought about lpg used for heating but have no idea how you'd do it safely. Good luck mate, will be watching with interest.

[crow]

two things come to mid, 1/ fermenting causes heat , if you could insulate well enough that would keep the temps up but that is going to be difficult in a shed in winter.
2/ see if you can get a cheap second hand solar water heater . I threw one out over at Clinton the other week, it had a few leaks and hadn't been used for yrs but the water that came out when we moved it nearly scolded my hand. so yeah you could plumb it down to pipes or hoses that wind around ya fermenters with some sort of insulator around that. Reckon ya could pick one up cheap if ya looked about :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[blond.chap]

Cheers Googe, thanks for the feedback. Bugger me though, I don't know if $600 is in the budget for a little fermenter warming project

Thanks Crow, yeah this shed has more cracks than walls and even the walls are just thin galvanised iron. The solar hot water thing's not a bad idea though...

The other thing I have going is that my 44gallon drum for cooling water is in the same shed, which leaves a bit of heat in there, I might start collecting ex coolant from the RC and placing it around the fermenters. Unfortunately that will only heat for a short while, and relies on more frequent runs that I can handle.

The other option I guess is to bring the fermenters in to the house one at a time, let them ferment out and return to the shed for cold storage.

[Jonno]

while theyre still warm throw a blanket around them maybe??

i just leave my fermenters out in the weather. Not sure if this is a bad thing yet as this is my first time fermenting through the colder months :laughing-rolling: i dont plan on brewing every week so im happy to wait.

[bt1]

Howdy blond,

Wondering why you want to say on warm washes in winter?

Try changing over to a lager yeast I use SAF lager S23... it runs between 4 - 15 from memory happier 4 -9c. Make up some bigger brews like 200lt pickle drums $29 from paramounts in SA, they take about 4 -6 weeks, Stager 2 a few weeks apart, you'll be running 2 runs a weekend no power costs etc.

Pinch some wash from first brew when setting up second wash with active yeast add to second repeat this process so you only pay for first yeast setup...Just a yeast bomb starter and your done.

btw if you end up with dryer tastier washes well you've discovered the real reason for changing over.

bt1

[blond.chap]

Howdy blond,

Wondering why you want to say on warm washes in winter?

Try changing over to a lager yeast I use SAF lager S23... it runs between 4 - 15 from memory happier 4 -9c. Make up some bigger brews like 200lt pickle drums $29 from paramounts in SA, they take about 4 -6 weeks, Stager 2 a few weeks apart, you'll be running 2 runs a weekend no power costs etc.

Pinch some wash from first brew when setting up second wash with active yeast add to second repeat this process so you only pay for first yeast setup...Just a yeast bomb starter and your done.

btw if you end up with dryer tastier washes well you've discovered the real reason for changing over.

bt1

Now why the hell didn't I think of that. Great idea bt, thanks

Ok next question, does anyone have a cheap source of lager yeast? Otherwise if it's $6 per 12g packet I might start recycling lees.

[Jonno]

How much of that yeast would you need for 200l wash and is it ok to add this type of yeast on top of the usual bakers after a gen?

Cheers

[blond.chap]

I'm thinking I'll do a couple of small batches then recycle the lees into a larger batch. I recon 1 12g satchet per 30L initially, then use the lees for a bigger batch.

Couldn't tell you about how it will play with bakers sorry.

[Colin Smith]

Get a old treadmill ,,, hook it up to a 12 volt converter joined to a electric blanket,,,, tie your dog to it with a big bone hanging in front of it ... That should work :))

[Brendan]

Blondy, when using a car battery for heating or lighting, you'll find it runs flat rather quickly and wont be worth it...

I like the idea of a colder yeast too :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Jonno]

I've got my second 200L fermenter i might setup with using that lagers yeast. Be quite expensive for the yeast to start off with so hopefully i dont kill them in the first gen :laughing-rolling: