Immersion Heater

[smeetsy]

g'day,

Probably been thought of and already asked but has anyone tried using an Immersion heater for there fermenter? If so and if not what problems/advantages have you all come across. I am just trying to figure out a way to keep my fermenter at a certain temp without costing toooo much if you know what i mean.

Cheers :beer:

 

[Borret]

g'day,

Probably been thought of and already asked but has anyone tried using an Immersion heater for there fermenter? If so and if not what problems/advantages have you all come across. I am just trying to figure out a way to keep my fermenter at a certain temp without costing toooo much if you know what i mean.

Cheers :beer:

[post="73387"][/post]​

Hi Smeetsy

Welcome aboard. :beerbang:

I would tend to steer clear of puting any more bacteria traps in your fermentor by adding holes, gaskets, objects etc. There are few other ways to do this. An old fridge or insulted box with a lightglobe, preferable hooked up to a dimmer switch can work well (just cover the light so as to minimise it's effect on the beer. ) This should cost you very little and works well.
If you were to use glass carboys you can put these in a tub of water and control the temp that way with an immersion heater. Some guys may do this with plastic carboys but I am not a fan of sitting anything with a tap in it.
The other option is the heating belts and pads but these scare me due to control and so I have not had any experience with them.

Cheers

Borret

 

[ozbrewer]

i used one in ballarat in the coldest of winters, and had no problems at all......if your going to get one, get a good adjustible one...put it in your carboy when your sterilzing it...no probs

 

[warrenlw63]

Smeetsy.

I've got one sitting up the top of my cupboard. Haven't looked at it for 8 years.

About the 3rd kit I ever did I got some advice from somwhere that escapes me to use a fishtank/immersion heater. May have been that horrible Understanding Beermaking book. <_<

Anyway it wound up heating my fermenter to about 35c and the resultant beer tasted like an old tyre. Not sure if they're really the best way to go about it. Thermostat could have been dodgy. Once you set the temp and stick them in, there's basically no way of getting them out without making a mess and risking infection.

Insulated box with a lightbulb or a heating belt is probably cheaper and more effective.

Warren -

 

[philski]

I've been using a imersion heater for about 2 years now and never had a problem! It is one i picked up from the local homebrew shop and it has an adjustable temp and dangles in the brew through a hole drilled in the lid of the fermenter with a rubber stopper through the power cord.

As long as you sterilise it correctly you shouldn't have a problem with contamination... i never have! You're probably best to test the temp first, ie set it on a temp in the fermenter full of water then see what it heats up to by testing with a thermometer, then you know it will keep the brew @ the right temp. Mine turns on and off to maintain a constant 22 degrees.

Cheers