fermentation chamber and Johnson controller questions

[jefferym09]

bought a big chest freezer and a johnson temperature controller, but of course now its getting cold out and my garage isnt warm enough to keep the interior of the freezer above 57 degrees. the johnson controller has a setting, which i already switched, for heating instead of cooling. but im confused on what this does exactly... cold setting kicks the freezer on when it gets to warm, i get that. but if you switch it to heat setting, one would assume that it heats the freezer up when it gets to cold.... but a freezer cant warm up, its a freezer. (unless there's something about freezers i dont know)

> whats the best way to insulate/heat a freezer for fermenting?
>what exactly does the "heat" setting on the johnson controller do if the freezer cant physically warm up? is the controller used for different things besides brewing?

the best way i can think of is to switch it back to cooling mode and add a heating element to the freezer. does that sound right?

 

[govner1]

You have a single stage temp controller,ie, it will turn on either your fridge compressor for cooling to maintain the temp you set OR if you connect it to a heating source it will turn that on @
& maintain the temp you set eg
Hen conditions warrant.
I use a ceramic bulb for heating since it produces no light & unlike small heaters won't cause a fire (don't ask).
So, you either need to adapt your beating/cooling source based on conditions, get a second single stage controller, or get a dual stage which will turn on either based on your settings.

 

[jefferym09]

does a dual stage controller have two outlets? one for a heating source and another for the freezer?

 

[govner1]

Yes

 

[Black Island Brewer]

When you have a single stage controller that you manually switch between heating and cooling, you'll need a separate heat source when you need to heat instead of cool. I used a ceramic reptile bulb until it melted part of my fridge. Now I use these: http://www.petmountain.com/show_pro...um=cpc&utm_term=11442-507321&utm_campaign=PPC

 

[Chops1867]

I use a ceramic bulb for heating since it produces no light & unlike small heaters won't cause a fire (don't ask).

What's a ceramic bulb? Never heard of one.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Looks like this: http://www.sjkaquatics.com/zooce60....HTxQiExT1fHnEytshJmXl4-b0Jj2zP_LXzhoCry3w_wcB

 

[jefferym09]

looks cool, i only need the freezer to be about 10 degrees hotter, do you think that bulb would be overkill? i dont want my johnson controller to work too hard cuz i know it takes like 3/4 of the actual freezer life away

 

[govner1]

What's a ceramic bulb? Never heard of one.

They are basically ceramic heaters that screw into a std light bulb fixture. The come in different wattage ratings & are commonly used to heat reptile enclosures. The emit no light.
I mounted mine inside my ale ferm chamber so that the fan also use would circulate the air more evenly.
You can find them on Amazon or eBay.

 

[jefferym09]

got a new devlopment, i got one of those ceramic light bulbs and it does the job well, maybe too well. the johnson controlled thats plugged into my freezer cant keep up with how hot the bulb is getting it. i can hear the freezer kick on when it gets too hot, but it only runs for like 2 seconds before it shuts off. dunno if thats defect or not...

but anyway my question is can i use the johnson controller on that ceramic heating bulb instead? that way it will shut off when it gets too hot and the ambient temp of the room will cool it down. can the controller do that?

 

[fightingtxag01]

That sounds like a short cycle. You may want to add a small fan to circulate the air. Depending on where the ceramic bulb, cooling coils (or blower), and your thermocouple is located you may not be getting an accurate temp.


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