Can't Win!

[SirDrinkalot]

I brewed my first brew with Coopers standard lager and dextrose. I was too hot and I put ice cubes in...
even though I did this it ended up at 28. it stayed at 28 for 2 days in my bedroom until i put it in the bathroom and it went to 22-24 degrees..
Just kegged it tonight and turn the fridge on in the bathroom ( new setup)

Now my double batch of Coopers Canadian Blonde which was constantly at 22-24 is now at 26-28.
so pissed off!!!
This just happened tonight. I have put a fan on it to cool it down... but I can't turn the fridge off cause I need to get he first brew ready...
Anyone had probs like this or any advice??

 

[Wolfy]

If you don't have a fridge to keep your fermenter cool, you could try using water-bath.

Put your fermenter it in the bath, laundry tub, a large esky, polystyrene box or something similar that is water tight and will hold the fermenter and enough water to surround it.
Then fill the container with cold tap water and put some frozen-water-filled-softdrink bottles in the water. This setup should allow you to keep very good control of your fermenter temp.
Change the frozen bottles as required (probably not more than once or twice a day) and it will keep the temps low and stable.
If it's still not getting cool enough, drape some wet towels over and around the fermenter (and into the water) to increase the cooling via condensation, using the fan then will help even more.

 

[Jez]

I'm pretty impressed that you have a keg fridge in your bathroom.

 

[theredone]

+1 for water bath.

im doing this as we speak untill i get a new fridge. would probly steer clear of lagers untill your fridge is up and ready. LHBS guy told me lagers are fine in bris heat..... first batch and was absolute rubbish. (that guy is no longer my local). best thing you can do is get away from kit yeasts(although coopers isnt all that bad) and get temps below 20 for ales and below 15 for lagers

 

[stm]

Alternative cheap solution (apart from buying another fridge for fermenting) is to get a 100 can cooler (about $25 from Ananconda etc), and do the rotating frozen-water-filled-softdrink bottles routine.

 

[bum]

Anyone had probs like this or any advice??

Don't wait until your brew is too hot to be thinking about temp control. There are plenty of good, cheap, easy temp control methods posted around the place (some of them are already in this thread) but I think the important thing for you to realise now is that during the more vigorous stages of fermentation your brews will get quite a bit warmer than ambient temps and fluctuating ambient temps will effect the temp of your brew so you need a plan of attack before you start a brew.

Double adapters are good too.

 

[JestersDarts]

I had a great brew once, but now fridge setup in same room temp went up.

ok?

 

[zoidbergmerc]

Air con\heater in dedicated brewing room. Problem solvered.

 

[peas_and_corn]

I'm pretty impressed that you have a keg fridge in your bathroom.

I was thinking the same thing!

 

[bum]

Air con\heater in dedicated brewing room. Problem solvered.

And several others createred.

This method is pretty much financially, environmentally and, erm, socially (is this the best word to describe pissing SWMBO off?) unsustainable.

 

[SirDrinkalot]

Thanks Wolfy!
It was already in the bathtub so I just turned on the water...

 

[SirDrinkalot]

The Fridge is between the sink and the shower...
The fermenters are in the bathtub.

I'm in an apartment in the city... so I don't have a garage... just making do with what I have

I'm pretty impressed that you have a keg fridge in your bathroom.

 

[fcmcg]

Another thing to remeber is that fermentation will create heat . That is , the process of the yeast converting sugar into alcohol has another by-product in heat ( endothermic ? exothermic ? dunno..some type anyway ) This could explain your possible temp rise..
I'd also think that putting a fan on it would just be moving the air around...
But if you put it in the bath, with water , a few frozen bottles , a towel and then the fan flowing on the wet towel...that would go along way to getting your temps right down....and make a tastier brew too !
Good luck
Cheers
Ferg