# Keeping Fermenter Cool Without Electronic Temp Control.



## Slightly (5/1/10)

Recently I asked around and read a fair bit about fridges and temp control to keep my fermenter staying cool - no higher than 20 degrees, especially on 30+, or even 40+ degree days. 

I was just wondering about your techniques to maintain constant low temps?

Thank you!


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## jbowers (5/1/10)

Hahaha man, you are just like I was when I was getting in to this. So many questions, so many many answers.

Best bet is find a room that sits at a constant temperature, preferably a pretty low one. Most people have a room in the low 20's, high teens at most times.

From there you can use a big ole tub filled with water, with a towel draped over the fermenter. Put some ice blocks in there to cool the sucker down and maybe get a fan going. That will drop it a few degrees.

That being said - I got my fridge set up for 150 bucks and IMO, the fact that I just punch in a number and walk away is more than worth the price.


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## Slightly (5/1/10)

jbowers said:


> Hahaha man, you are just like I was when I was getting in to this. So many questions, so many many answers.
> 
> Best bet is find a room that sits at a constant temperature, preferably a pretty low one. Most people have a room in the low 20's, high teens at most times.
> 
> ...



Noted well.

Thanks!


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## murrayr (5/1/10)

my first, and very basic way of keeping the temp down was putting the fermenter in a square plastic bucket, putting bottles of ice in around it and chucking a sleeping bag over the lot. very simple and on a 35 degree day it keeps at around 18, depending on how many bottles i use. when i first tried it it went down to 13 on a very hot day witht 4 bottles. now i usually use 1 or 2.
cheers


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## BEC26 (5/1/10)

Go to Bunnings, buy a "Smash" 75 can cooler.

They are located with the eskies/outdoor stuff

They are Grey and flat 

$30 + rotating 2x 2l icebottles brings 18 degrees here on 35+ days.

Of course, go the fridge option if $$$$/space allows.

Cheers


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## Flash_DG (5/1/10)

I also started out with the wet towel over the fermenter while in a tub of water with a fan, kept it about 20-22c 
I now have a fridge I got given for free, needed a paint job so i hit it with a coat of Black chalkboard turned out well and cheap too 
I still need to get a tempmate type controller for it but I seem to have got the dial in the right place for now.


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## MarkMc (5/1/10)

Been trying to keep my first brew cool in the bath, with about 16 600ml frozen water bottles on a cycle between the bath and the freezer. Its very hard to keep that much water cool enough to cool the brew, especially when its 30+ outside. I often found the temp guage up to 26 degrees even though the 4-5 inches of bath water was more like 20-22.

Have a look for the BribieG setup with 2 fermentgers wrapped in a Duvet (Doonah)

edit http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...st&p=575197


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## Flash_DG (5/1/10)

MarkMc said:


> Been trying to keep my first brew cool in the bath, with about 16 600ml frozen water bottles on a cycle between the bath and the freezer. Its very hard to keep that much water cool enough to cool the brew, especially when its 30+ outside. I often found the temp guage up to 26 degrees even though the 4-5 inches of bath water was more like 20-22.
> 
> Have a look for the BribieG setup with 2 fermentgers wrapped in a Duvet (Doonah)


You don't have a laundry tub you can put it in?


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## MarkMc (5/1/10)

Flash_DG said:


> You don't have a laundry tub you can put it in?



Nah, the laundry will get wet....

I spotted a few options at Bunnings so heading down there again this weekend before brew #2


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## jbowers (5/1/10)

Also, I really cant stress how good gumtree is. They have free stuff a lot of the time. FREE STUFF!


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## BoilerBoy (6/1/10)

Slightly said:


> Recently I asked around and read a fair bit about fridges and temp control to keep my fermenter staying cool - no higher than 20 degrees, especially on 30+, or even 40+ degree days.
> 
> I was just wondering about your techniques to maintain constant low temps?
> 
> Thank you!



Use or get a dead fridge and rotate frozen PET bottles as needed, got a lager brewing ATM with 4 x 1.25L bottles and 2 x 2L bottles keeping a contant temp of 8-9C

Cheers,
BB


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## Bribie G (6/1/10)

In reply to your other thread about fridges, I posted a pic of my current system and as MarkMc points out, one of the uses I put the frozen PETs from the freezer to, is to run an 'overflow' fermenting area using a towel and doonah system. This is a great and foolproof method of fermenting around 18-20 degrees right through the summer. Currently I not only have a brew going in the dead fridge shown in the photo (as Boiler Boy suggests in his post above) but I also have two ales going in the towel/doonah setup. It takes about 3 minutes to swap out all the PET bottles every morning then my work is done for the day  

In case you missed MarkMc's link, here 'tis again:


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## mfeighan (6/1/10)

i just stick my fermenter(s) in the bath tub, fill with water and direct a fan on it. most of the time it will stay around 19-20 on the hot days i get a towel onto it. the last heat spell perth got b4 christmas i only needed to chuck some frozen bottles in the tub once.


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## jbowers (6/1/10)

It's all a matter of convenience vs cost. That being said, if you value your time at a mere 10 dollars an hour, you will pay for a second hand fridge/tempmate set up in a year of brewing quite easily.


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## datou (6/1/10)

I'm currently running a fridge that I got after SWMBO decided we needed to upgrade our fridge in the kitchen. $5 timer from bunnings keeps it sitting at 18-20 pretty happily.


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## svyturys (6/1/10)

BEC26 said:


> Go to Bunnings, buy a "Smash" 75 can cooler.
> 
> They are located with the eskies/outdoor stuff
> 
> ...



I've been looking at these over the past week. I noticed that they have a $16.00 version as well. For those who are wondering, these things are 500ml in diameter and about 400 ml high, plent big enough to fit a fermenter and pack ice bottles around it. To check temps or get a sample you simply collapse the "esky" (pull it down like a sock). 

I'm thinking of using smaller bottles to get a more even spread of coolness, but these "eskies" mean no more messy ice baths and towels and they store away easily.

A quick question, if I put salt into my PET bottles with the water, will that make for more efficient cooling?

Cheers


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## svyturys (6/1/10)

I guess I'm answering my own question here. Yes, adding salt to the water in the PET bottle can drop the freezing point to around -20C. (Isn't Google great?)

Now the question is ....how much salt?

Is there anything else which is commonly available yet more efficient?

Cheers


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## BEC26 (6/1/10)

svyturys said:


> I've been looking at these over the past week. I noticed that they have a $16.00 version as well. For those who are wondering, these things are 500ml in diameter and about 400 ml high, plent big enough to fit a fermenter and pack ice bottles around it. To check temps or get a sample you simply collapse the "esky" (pull it down like a sock).
> 
> I'm thinking of using smaller bottles to get a more even spread of coolness, but these "eskies" mean no more messy ice baths and towels and they store away easily.
> 
> ...




I have the 75 can one and it can fit the feremnter in (Coopers style) along with 3x 2l bottles (needed for the first day only - 2 daily after that) and I can zip it closed to keep the cool in. 

It isn't tight but i would prefer it to an open top option.

While at Bunnings, make sure you get a second feremter for $16 as well. Bunnings calls them water drums and you have to buy the tap separately

Cheers


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