Cold, Cold Garage

[urbanmyth]

I need some help, fellow brewers!

I have a brewday planned next weekend with my brother. We are going to tackle a decoction mashed dunkle, using the first runnings for a 2.5 batch of doppelbock.

Both of these brews are lagers. My plan is to ferment in my garage, which is a balmy 38F these days. Can anybody speak for the benefits of using different temperature raising methods? I have looked into both fermwrap and fermbelts, but don't really trust them. I don't think a water tub and aquarium heater would do so well, as most of them only go down to 66F or so.

It seems my best bet is to do a space heater or infrared light in a cardboard and aluminum foil box. This of course would have to be hooked up to a temperature control of some kind. Anybody have success keeping a box at 52F in a 38F or so garage? Am I running a risk of starting a fire in said garage?

Thanks!

 

[bucfanmike]

i run a big chest freezer with an ebay controller. Probably not practical to have set up by the weekend. It works great when combined with a small ceramic heater inside. But if you can have the temp control in time its the way to go.

 

[urbanmyth]

I have a stand up freezer that has a broken fan/cooling system. It was housing my holiday ale when it was fermenting. Would that be an option? Throw in a cheap space heater with an internal thermostat set to 52ish?

 

[bucfanmike]

Yes. Either a very small ceramic heater or many use the ceramic based heat lamp.

 

[lectricbrewer]

I use a brewbelt and it works VERY well.

 

[WhiteEagle1]

What up Twin Lakes!
You could try the Polish route....... Wrap a bunch of Xmas lights around your carboy and put it in a cardboard box. I use the same method for my bottles during the conditioning phase to keep them at 70*.....works great!
See you at Pier West!

 

[b-boy]

I live in Buffalo, NY. I use a ceramic reptile heater. I can keep my ferm chamber at 65 without a problem.

 

[urbanmyth]

http://www.twinstarhome.com/durafla...ireplaces/_spaceheaters/desktop/dh-14-t.html#

Any idea if this can go as low as lager temps?