Simple Temperature Control

[Bribie G]

Here's one for the newer members who often post "I don't have a fridge, what do I do?".

I live at the Southern end of the Subtropical Zone and apart from the odd spike, we are now entering the time of year when we can look at fermenting ales in the garage at ambient. However we aren't there just yet, so I pulled out the old gear that I used to use on Bribie Island when I didn't have a spare spot in the fermenting fridge.

Quite simple, to keep the brew going at around 20 degrees:

frozen PET bottles, swap over every morning.

Beach Towel

Sleeping bag and bungee strap.

I'm using Wyeast Ringwood that likes to hover around the 20 mark. Irish Ale would be another good one.

One point to keep in mind, during the first couple of days the exothermic reaction of the brew will require a bit more cooling, so keep an eye on temps and have a couple of spare PETs handy.

 

[superstock]

My swamp cooler and Coolgardie safe

 

[damoninja]

Temperature control just about needs its own forum

 

[TimT]

I like the low-tech way to do things. In Melbourne temp control is not so much of an issue - apart from the insane summer heatwaves which push 40 degrees celsius and raise temps inside substantially above 30. If necessary I plonk my fermenters in a tub of cool water. If I do some lager this year I may be a bit more careful about how I keep the fermenters at a precise and stable temperature but then again I may not do lagers this year

 

[pat_00]

i have a couple of old tshirts that are a special wicking material (supposedly developed for the US army or some other BS). They work awesomely for this as they only need to be contacting the water along the bottom edge and they draw moisture up over the whole FV.

 

[wbosher]

I used to sit the FV in a few inches of water with a few frozen coke bottles, and drape a towel over the top occasionally pouring cold water over it. I'd swap the bottles with fresh ones before and after work. PITA but served the purpose until I got a fridge and stc-1000.

 

[pat_00]

I've been thinking of making something like this out of an old 100l food drum:
https://eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php?t=33842

But have space for a 35l FV to fit inside. And rig up the fan and pump to run from an STC1000 controller. But then I can probably get a second hand fridge for the same cost in parts

And it's not really simple either.

 

[lukiferj]

I used to sit the FV in a few inches of water with a few frozen coke bottles, and drape a towel over the top occasionally pouring cold water over it. I'd swap the bottles with fresh ones before and after work. PITA but served the purpose until I got a fridge and stc-1000.

This is exactly what I did and still do when fermentation fridge is full. Certainly not that hard to swap a frozen water bottle in the morning and at night.