Cooling Fermentor

[sid]

Hey all I've got to cool my fermeneter down a bit for the next brew and I've read alot of people put the fermenter in a tub of water then freeze milk bottles and throw them in, sounds easy, I might try it.

but do you get any chance of water getting in through the tap and causing infection?

 

[paul]

Unless you tap is currently leaking water wont be able to get in.

 

[tangent]

if you leave it open, definitely

 

[Lobsta]

if u have a worry about your fermentor tap leaking and allowing nasties into your fermenter, make sure the water level inside the fermenter is higher than that of the bath of water it is in. that way, if there is a leak, you will know about it coz the water in the bath will go brown (obviously so, not just mould), and the water levels will equalise, then you will know that there is a leak. but, as everyone else has said, if u have the tap closed, nothing should get in or out.

 

[brewgirl]

I've got a brew fermenting in a bath of water to keep the temp down, and its working great. If you're worried about bugs put something in the water that will kill them. I just used the milton I sanitised the fermenter with to fill the container I'm using for the water bath. That way I don't have to worry too much about the water going bad.

 

[Damian44]

You could throw a wet towel over the fermenter, and that will suck up the water too.

 

[sid]

Sounds good then might give it a go the next brew, how long the frozen milk bottles last? hopefully a couple of days, then chuck in another couple.

 

[BoilerBoy]

Hey all I've got to cool my fermeneter down a bit for the next brew and I've read alot of people put the fermenter in a tub of water then freeze milk bottles and throw them in, sounds easy, I might try it.

but do you get any chance of water getting in through the tap and causing infection?

When I use to do this I made up a makeshift plug by cutting up a bottling tube into 3-4 cm lengths and after heating them in hot water I jammed one end with an air mattress plug sealing it up and then placed the other end in the plastic fermenter tap.

I still use them now when a tap starts leaking in the fridge.

Cheers
BB

 

[goomboogo]

When I use to do this I made up a makeshift plug by cutting up a bottling tube into 3-4 cm lengths and after heating them in hot water I jammed one end with an air mattress plug sealing it up and then placed the other end in the plastic fermenter tap.

I still use them now when a tap starts leaking in the fridge.

Cheers
BB

I would have thought when there is a leak out the end of the tap, it is time to buy a new fermenter tap.

 

[KHB]

I did this method a few times before i got my ferment fridge going i found a 2ltre bottle would last a day had to replace it daily

 

[BoilerBoy]

I would have thought when there is a leak out the end of the tap, it is time to buy a new fermenter tap.

Agreed,

However, discovering that your tap is leaking usually happens when your fermenter/Cube is already full.
BB

 

[Barndillo]

Sounds good then might give it a go the next brew, how long the frozen milk bottles last? hopefully a couple of days, then chuck in another couple.

That depends on so many factors that I cannot say.

How much water in the tub? What temp is it? What's the surface area of the tub? How much wort? what temp is the wort? What is the thermal conductivity of the wort? Have you put salt into the milk bottles?
What material is the tub? What insulation have you covered it with? Is there an insulating blanket over the top of the tub?... get the idea!!! :huh:

 

[brewgirl]

That depends on so many factors that I cannot say.

How much water in the tub? What temp is it? What's the surface area of the tub? How much wort? what temp is the wort? What is the thermal conductivity of the wort? Have you put salt into the milk bottles?
What material is the tub? What insulation have you covered it with? Is there an insulating blanket over the top of the tub?... get the idea!!! :huh:

I use a 40L black plastic tub I got from the warehouse for $7... and I use 1.25 coke bottles, I've put salt in it... don't know if it does anything, but it stops people taking them for drink bottles, and I change it 3 times a day... keeps it all around 18 deg, hasn't gotten higher than 22deg... can wrap a towel around the top for extra cooling if you want, but I'm currently only doing a small brew so don't need it.

 

[simpletotoro]

this method also works ...cheap as chips...

for starting out controlling your fermenting temps this options pretty cheap and basic as ....collect and freeze as many 2litre soft drink bottles as you can.....

go to Harvey Norman or someone like that and get a large carborad box....big enough to fit you fermenter in with room to spare....

go to your green grocer and get some foam boxes from him 2-4 is heaps.....
get you box seal up top and bottom with heaps of heavy duty tape....take a stanly knife and cut a door in one side of it just.... cut it on three sides yeah leave the other side as a hinge..cut it big enough to get your fermenter in and out of it easily.....

line the inside with the foam boxes that you have cut up ..tape them to the sides ,bottom and top securely ....if its hot just put some frozen 2 litre bottle in the box with your fermenter .....youll have to work out what works for you best ok.....

do not stress if the temp go down below 18/c it'll just take longer for the brew to ferment out....
after some trial and error you will work out basicly how to maintain the temp in the box.....
I agree it's a pain in the arse but it does workan old fridge that doesn't work, works even better but the box is in every ones budget free

maybe help someone?
cheers simpletotoro

 

[EK]

I havent had any problem with infection by using a 80L tub to keep the fermenter cold. The tap is sealed, otherwise wort would slowly drip out of it when it was sitting on a bench.

Your options to keep the fermenter cool are basically:
* Water bath (tub/sink of water to sit the fermenter in). I have used this method a number of times.
* Fermentation fridge with a temperature controller.
* Wet towel, possibly with a dripping system to keep it wet (Have a look at this post for detials, and also the one a few above it.).
* Esky or 100 Can Cooler with frozen bottles of water. I have just bought a 100 Can Cooler from Anaconda and will be giving it a go next.

With any of the options that rely on frozen bottles then you are going to need to replace the bottles a couple of times a day. This means that you are going to need a good number about 6 or so to rotate. You might be able to get away with replacing bottles once in the morning, once in the evening and once late at night.

You need to watch out for condensation with a plastic tub of water, I suggest something like newspapers underneath to prevent condensation from flowing all over the place. This means that you will need to watch out for mould on the newspapers and that you don't disturb any spores when taking hydrometer readings or (especially) during bottling. This is also true if you wrap a towel around the fermenter (so I have heard from other people on the forum who use this method).

Hope this helps.

EK

 

[Barndillo]

I use a 40L black plastic tub I got from the warehouse for $7... and I use 1.25 coke bottles, I've put salt in it... don't know if it does anything, but it stops people taking them for drink bottles, and I change it 3 times a day... keeps it all around 18 deg, hasn't gotten higher than 22deg... can wrap a towel around the top for extra cooling if you want, but I'm currently only doing a small brew so don't need it.

Salt dramatically lowers the freezing point of water. If you have a solution of 1 M NaCl solution the freezing point is roughly -3.4C. Somewhat colder than normal ice @ 0C.

 

[sid]

some good ideas in here, I'll have to try the salt in the bottles, the lower the better.

I probably won't need as many frozen bottles as you use in Oz, We are sitting around mid 20's most days, so not too bad.

 

[brewgirl]

I use about 3 1.25L bottles per day, I keep 4 in the freezer on rotation, I'm in qld, and it keeps it pretty well at 18deg. I've found the 40L tub to be a good size as it fits the fermenter in easily, but doesn't take up too much space.

I haven't had problems with condensation or mould either.

 

[sid]

I use about 3 1.25L bottles per day, I keep 4 in the freezer on rotation, I'm in qld, and it keeps it pretty well at 18deg. I've found the 40L tub to be a good size as it fits the fermenter in easily, but doesn't take up too much space.

I haven't had problems with condensation or mould either.

Yeh looks as though I'd be in for 2 a day here in NZ if your using 3 a day in QLD, 18 deg is a good temp to get, I'd be quite happy with that.