keeping fermenter cool in warm weather

[doctor strangebrew]

Temps are getting very warm here in California, so I have a crazy idea to keep my fermenter cool (1 gallon jug) Just like a "swamp cooler" (evaporative cooler) I'm going to wrap my fermenter in a towel and set in container of water. Maybe also use a fan for more evaporation. Anyone tried something like this? On really hot days, might add ice cubes to the water. I'm also going to try ale yeast... any suggestions?

 

[doctor strangebrew]

I thought of this idea years ago for making beer in a 5 gallon carboy. Also considered adding a small pump to keep the towel wet (don't think I need that for 1 gallon jug)

 

[Blacksmith1]

there are several threads on here that recommend doing exactly that process.

 

[JimRausch]

Standard Operating Procedure. Ice bottles in the summer, aquarium heater in the winter. As needed of course. If you use enough water in the bucket equal to the level in the fermenter, then after about a 24 hour equilibration, the temp of the water bath is equal to the temp of the fermentation. It's a lot easier to take the temp of the water bath and adjust accordingly.

 

[Maylar]

Standard Operating Procedure. Ice bottles in the summer, aquarium heater in the winter. As needed of course. If you use enough water in the bucket equal to the level in the fermenter, then after about a 24 hour equilibration, the temp of the water bath is equal to the temp of the fermentation. It's a lot easier to take the temp of the water bath and adjust accordingly.

Kool. What kind of temp range does an aquarium heater offer?

I know a guy who uses the bathtub in his spare bathroom. He says with ice bottles he can maintain a 2 degree variation. Water has a lot of thermal mass.

 

[Maylar]

There are more sophisticated solutions too -

http://shop.greatfermentations.com/...MI6-Tg9cvI4AIVg4CfCh3EKwjNEAQYASABEgJZJfD_BwE

And the big bucks method -

https://brewjacket.com/

 

[doctor strangebrew]

Good to know my idea wasn't "crazy" after all. Will try doing 1 gallon batches first, but also want to try making beer in 5 gallon batch... will rig small pump for that. Biggest issue is the house is already cooled with a "swamp" cooler, but my room is far away so not too much humidity I hope.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Swamp coolers for cooling the house are illegal here. Too many things that can grow in them year round. I have been considering a small one for my brews though.

 

[HTH1975]

I use frozen 2L bottles of water placed around the FV. Two of them is perfectly acceptable to maintain lager temperature around 11-13C here in the UK with 25C ambient.

When the beer hits FG, I place four 2L bottles (frozen) around the FV and have got the FV down to 8C at the time of writing. If I had more freezer space four eight bottles at a time, I’m sure I could get the FV down to 4-5C no problem.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Guess I need a chest freezer just for cooling bottles

 

[doctor strangebrew]

blacksmith, you must be kidding! Like anything else, swamp coolers require regular cleaning and replacing pads. In the winter you cut off water supply, drain and cover. In the spring, replace pads, clean/flush, ect. During the summer, use bleach and then drain/flush... all common sense. The water supply here also has small amount of chlorine. Might as well outlaw toilets just because people don't clean them. Sorry for the rant... swamp coolers use much less electricity than AC units and here in California the power grids are overloaded during the summer so swamp coolers are very popular. Anyway, same thing with DIY cooler for fermenter, clean and sanitize often.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Non the less they have been ilegal here since before I was born. That is the reason they cited. I used one when I was out in oklahoma about 40 years ago so I know how well they work, and how to keep them clean.

 

[doctor strangebrew]

I've been very lucky that the weather hasn't been too hot, but had out first 100 degree day recently, so going to do the "swamp" cooler method (cloth wrapped around carboy sitting in water) Had an idea to make this work better (besides a fan which really helps!) I'm going to use a towel that is longer than the diameter of carboy and create "pleats" all the way around... this creates more surface area for evaporation. This, and using a fan, should really cool things down, just have to add water more often. Hope it works.

 

[Maylar]

Can you monitor the fermentor temp and determine the amount of delta with the cooler?

 

[doctor strangebrew]

I'll try one of those simple temp strips on side of fermenter. I'm determined to brew beer this summer, even if I have to add ice cubes to the water.

 

[Blacksmith1]

If you have a shed that you can empty, glue four inch styrofoam to the inside walls and run a small ac. You should be able to keep the temps down around 65 or less without breaking the bank.
This is my goal with the shed here. Just need to get it empty......

 

[doctor strangebrew]

I have no funds at the moment... lucky if I can even buy supplies to make beer. Small window AC units are fairly cheap and a good solution for my bedroom, but living with my elderly mother (long story) and she would ***** about the electricity used. She did say I could use all the ice I need.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Understood.

 

[doctor strangebrew]

I'm testing this on a 1 gallon jug of cider. Working good, but adding a fan today (scored a closeout deal... 4 inch rechargable fan $3)

 

[doctor strangebrew]

Wow! That little fan did the trick (3 speed set on low) Anyone wanting to try this technique get a small fan. Don't have a way to check temp, but it feels very cool. Can't wait to try this on my 3 gallon glass carboy.

 

[doctor strangebrew]

Got over 100 degrees today! Added some ice... worked great, but lucky I am around most of the day to play with this. I have found that with the fan it actually dries the towel out too fast, so what is really needed is a small water pump to keep the towel wet (looking into that, only need small amount of flow) I've seen tiny water pump that works on batteries, but not practical so maybe a power supply or rechargable batteries. When refilling the water, it's better to pour it over the towel instead of just filling the bottom container. I am going to play with this little 1 gallon setup and work it out before trying 3 gallon. Might take some photos to post.

 

[wasully]

There are more sophisticated solutions too -

http://shop.greatfermentations.com/...MI6-Tg9cvI4AIVg4CfCh3EKwjNEAQYASABEgJZJfD_BwE

And the big bucks method -

https://brewjacket.com/

I thought the big bucks method would be linking to a glycol chiller.

 

[Maylar]

I thought the big bucks method would be linking to a glycol chiller.

That'd be the megabucks method.

 

[doctor strangebrew]

This is hard to believe, but I think I did too good a job. I couldn't see what was happening in the jug with the towel over it, and was so obsessed with trying everything, after 5 days I went to bottle it and it wasn't done... had not cleared yet. Oh well, it was a good experiment and learned a few things. Filled a 2-liter bottle (it still had some bubbles) and letting it "secondary" for awhile. Put the rest in another 2-liter and threw it in the fridge... surprisingly yummy for "green" cider. A bit of carbonation, a bit of sweetness, and nice apple flavor... not too yeasty actually. I like this idea of doing a quick batch, putting some away to finish and just drinking the rest "as-is". please understand this is not how I treat beer! Much more serious when I make brew... just having fun and I was very thirsty!