Fridge Mate Temp Control

[hamstringsally]

making the most of easter this year and I have just picked up a great big double door fridge for my fermentation which im thrilled. going to get a fridge mate and hopefully improve my brews but my question is (and excuse me if its a silly one) but
if i set the fridge mate to the run the fridge and cool, ill need a heat element to constantly bring the temp up? does this mean i have to put a light in or some other heat element? or have i missed something very simple? if i do need a heat element what is the best way to go?

any advice would be appreciated

cheers

 

[balconybrewer]

you will only need a heating device when the ambient temp drops to say below 18deg. a fermenting wort produces heat and if you ambient temp is above the fermentation temp the fridge will keep knocking the temp down, but if you cant get them temp to rise above your set temp inside your fridge you will need some sort of heating device. i suggest a 'brew belt'. works for me.

 

[Wolfy]

Firstly, as far as I'm aware a 'Fridgemate' can ONLY be set into manual cooling OR heating mode, with most people using it in 'cooling' mode.
However, assuming you're talking about a 'Tempmate' or other digital controller that has automatic heating OR cooling, you may still not need anything to heat it up, but it depends on the ambient temperature and what/where you are brewing.

If the ambient temperature is consistently below your set fermentation temp you might then need a heating element, light globe, heat-belt or similar to raise the temperature to that which you have set.

But here in Australia for most places much of the year we find the ambient indoor temperature is going to be close to or warmer than your fermentation temperature so only cooling-mode is required, in addition, yeast reactions are exothermic and will tend to warm up the fermenter and the fridge.
As a result you only need the controller to drop the internal temperature to what you have set and then it turns off the cooling circuit thus allowing the internal temperature to stabilise at the value you have set - without the need for a heating element.

 

[hamstringsally]

I live down at phillip ilsand and ideally the fridge would go into my garage. im just a little worried that it will drop below 18 deg for ale or is this ok for the yeast? am just worried a little about winter coming up when the production will be in full swing. maybe i should find a spot for it in the house as another option or should i stick to lagers and brew round 11 deg

 

[Weizguy]

I live down at phillip ilsand and ideally the fridge would go into my garage. im just a little worried that it will drop below 18 deg for ale or is this ok for the yeast? am just worried a little about winter coming up when the production will be in full swing. maybe i should find a spot for it in the house as another option or should i stick to lagers and brew round 11 deg

You still need to keep the yeast in it's working temperature range, regardless of anything else.

If the fermenting yeast becomes too cool, it may drop out and refuse to be roused, especially for Belgians.

I have a similar controller, and have used it in conjunction with a heat pad, sitting beside the fermentor in the fridge to keep the temp high enough. The fridge in this case is not plugged in, just the heat pad. I find the heat pad more reliable than a brew belt, as I have broken a few brew belts, and I find brew-belts too flimsy.

You must be careful to ensure that the temp doesn't get too high either, as the yeast may start producing funky high-temp off-flavours including odd esters and fusels.

The summary is: Yes, you can brew ales and lagers in your new temp-controlled environment.

Beerz

 

[GrainStain]

Can anyone tell me how to recalibrate the Fridgemate? I threw the manual out. Have soldered an RCA plug onto the end of the cable for connection to Jiffy box so need to recal.

 

[jamesmccall]

Can anyone tell me how to recalibrate the Fridgemate? I threw the manual out. Have soldered an RCA plug onto the end of the cable for connection to Jiffy box so need to recal.

You can find the instructions for it here: http://mashmaster.com.au/UserFiles/2321-Fi...eMKIIColour.pdf