Asking a lot of questions here... sorry

So I "should" be bottling my first batch soon, though we'll have to see. Also I'm hoping to start my first 5 gallon batch soon as well. I've stated this before but to be on the safe side...

I live in an upstairs apartment in an old house with basically NO temperature regulation so I was considering using a swamp cooler to keep some sort of standard temperature. However before I do that I have a couple of questions....

1) Should I put my bottles in a swamp cooler as well seeing that they are going through a secondary fermentation as well?

2) How much ice do I need to add to the cooler? Or is that going to be more of a "whatever you need to keep the temperature around what you want" sort of thing. If that's the case what is a decent way to check the temperature without breaking the bank?

Sorry for all of the questions....
Thanks!

Once bottled, don't worry about temp. Don't let them get to 90-100f, but under that, you're fine.

Amount of ice depends on the cooler setup and ambient temp. You'll have to play with it.

I'd use a stick-on thermometer. Apparently common for aquariums. They should only cost a couple bucks.

A swamp cooler works great. You do have to dial in how much ice to use. You can freeze bottles of water and drop them in. How much will depend on the ambient temp. Once the water is cool it really does not take a lot unless it is really hot. The beer should be pretty close to the water temp so just stick your thermometer in the water occasionally to check it. A stick on thermometer just above the water line is also a good way to keep an eye on the temps.

No need to swap cooler your bottles. They will be fine.

Check out the Cool Brewing bag, worked great for me without using a big tub of water.

Warning with the swamp coolers. Especially if you are in a humid area be sure to protect your floors under and around the swamp cooler from condensation. The swamp will sweat and give you a heck of a coffee table ring on your floors id you do not pay attention.

DrunkleJon said:

Warning with the swamp coolers. Especially if you are in a humid area be sure to protect your floors under and around the swamp cooler from condensation. The swamp will sweat and give you a heck of a coffee table ring on your floors id you do not pay attention.

Click to expand...

Yeah,a piece of heavy plastic sheet with a beach towel or some blotter matirial will help protect your floor. I used to make wine when we lived upstairs in a duplex. It was another room directly off the living room where a window in that room lined up with one on the other side of the livingroom. that & a fan helped keep things cool. The house also had this long,narrow closet along one side of that other room too. Great place to age my bottled wines,as it stayed pretty cool in there for some reason.

Use frozen water bottles and just try to swap out the bottle with a fresh one at least twice a day..........