Submerging Fermenter Tap In Water?

[Dribs]

Need a tub to fill will with water and frozen bottles very soon as the heat is on this weekend. I've got the basic Coopers DIY kit which is just plastic and rubber, nothing to rust. Thinking that finding a tub approx 6cm high so the tap hangs over the lip of the tub would be very tricky. So, I'm wondering if chucking the fermenter into a large tub in which the tap would also be partially submerged would run a risk of infecting the brew?

Or, could I just sanitise the tap before bottling by shooting a non-rinse formula up the tap hole?

 

[Aces High]

Need a tub to fill will with water and frozen bottles very soon as the heat is on this weekend. I've got the basic Coopers DIY kit which is just plastic and rubber, nothing to rust. Thinking that finding a tub approx 6cm high so the tap hangs over the lip of the tub would be very tricky. So, I'm wondering if chucking the fermenter into a large tub in which the tap would also be partially submerged would run a risk of infecting the brew?

Or, could I just sanitise the tap before bottling by shooting a non-rinse formula up the tap hole?

I do this all the time. I just use a polystyrene brocolli box from the supermarket. Never had an infection yet

 

[esssee]

Dribs,

This is exactly what I do. I use a 40 litre (I think) bin from Big W. Don't get the ones from Bunnings, they are narrower and taller, and therefore do not fit a fermenter with a tap attached.

Just sanitise the tap after taking Gravity Readings, and before bottling. No worries.

Also, drape a wet towel around the fermenter, allowing it to also sit in the water so that the water will wick up through the towel, and keep it cooler.

 

[Florian]

I'd chuck a bit of PBW or napisan into the water. That way you can reduce the risk of contaminants settling in and getting to your beer.

Be sure to rinse it of with starsan or similar before transferring your beer.

 

[argon]

I'd chuck a bit of PBW or napisan into the water. That way you can reduce the risk of contaminants settling in and getting to your beer.

Be sure to rinse it of with starsan or similar before transferring your beer.

...or ferment in the pool hey mate

 

[dougsbrew]

i submerge my fv 3/4 way up(tap fully submerged) and i tip bleach into the coolant water to kill any nasties that may arise.
the more water in your tub, the more stability in holding a temp.

 

[mr_tyreman]

...or ferment in the pool hey mate

Like Zizzle posted, if these guys can do this....im sure you'll be fine bloke

 

[Florian]

...or ferment in the pool hey mate

Well, it seemed to have worked out, the results were obviously good enough to reproduce 400L of it an sell at Archive.
Didn't have a tap at the cube though, and the glad wrapped opening was just above the water line. Thank god, because i didn't have enough PBW to be sufficient for the size of the pool... :unsure:

I reckon it's better temp control than any fridge can give you, provided the water is at the right temp, which it only is for a short period during winter, and only for ales obviously.

 

[CONNOR BREWARE]

I do this in summer right up to the 15ltr mark on my 30 ltre fermenter. I've tried bleach and what not added to water in the past but i think its not required. pressure inside the fermenter is higher due to the wort head being higher. no infections after years of this and durring a heat wave last summer it still produced at 43 out of 50 on the BJCP comp thingo.

I'd say just water no additives and keep some room to top up with ice bottle or ice slurry if things heat quickly as can happen in Perth.

still i'd rather convert the fridge, but thats coming

 

[Truman42]

Mate Ive got mine sitting in one of those laundry trubs you get from the reject store.
I have a fish tank heater in there connected to an STC1000 for temp control and a small pump to keep the water moving. Also put some bleach in the water to kill the nasties.

Its sitting in my garage and even though were getting temps of 30C this weekend I doubt that the water would heat up much more than a few degrees being in the garage.
You would need constant temps that high and nights that don't cool down much for a few days before your water starts heating up that much.
But if it does I will add some cool packs to the tub.

I'll let you know how it goes.

View attachment 49759

View attachment 49758

 

[Ryan WABC]

Has anyone had any problems with bleach or sanitiser ruining their stick-on thermometer?

 

[gravey]

I reckon it's better temp control than any fridge can give you, provided the water is at the right temp, which it only is for a short period during winter, and only for ales obviously.

I wouldnt go that far, considering a $17 temp controller can give you exactly the temp you want to ferment at when using a fridge

 

[Feldon]

The water in a tub has a much higher thermal mass than the air inside a fridge. The water will be quicker and more efficient at changing and holding the temp of the beer in the fermenter.

 

[technoicon]

i think both would give you good control. i would think that the insulation in a fridge will stop the temp moving that much in heat, so the need for more quicker and efficient temp changes wouldnt be needed, but water out in the heat will need changing after a while..

my fridge basically isnt on once i get it to temp.

but if you didnt have a fridge then water would be best. i've also seen people wrap it in a towel with ice bottles.. what ever works for you i guess

 

[Feldon]

i think both would give you good control. i would think that the insulation in a fridge will stop the temp moving that much in heat, so the need for more quicker and efficient temp changes wouldnt be needed, but water out in the heat will need changing after a while..

my fridge basically isnt on once i get it to temp.

but if you didnt have a fridge then water would be best. i've also seen people wrap it in a towel with ice bottles.. what ever works for you i guess

The insulation in a fridge lies between the air inside and the air outside. So it has little to do with directly controlling temperatue inside the fermenter. It is the plastic wall of the fermenter that is the problem - it acts as an insulator between the beer and the ambient environment outside. In a fridge, the air on the outside has much lower thermal mass compared to water, so it is comparatively very poor at drawing the heat out of the fermentor (remembering that (1) heat flows only from high to low and (2) yeast fermentation is a exothermic reaction - it produces heat inside the fermenter). A water bath, on the other hand, will be more efficient at extracting heat from the fermentation. Its higher thermal mass also means it that it is more resitant to change in temp than air - ie. it takes a lot more heat (joules) to raise water one degree than it does to do the same thing to air).

 

[technoicon]

i think the 30-40 degree outside air temp would be a bigger problem than 1-2 degree fermenter increase?

 

[manticle]

Or, could I just sanitise the tap before bottling by shooting a non-rinse formula up the tap hole?

Yes.

 

[pk.sax]

@ OP.... I just spray a little sanitiser in the water around the fermenter, I've found it discourages sandflies, mozzies etc from collecting.

The water in the bucket is good because it conducts the heat from the fermenter through to the frozen bottle etc. I'd normally chuck in a couple of trays of ice in the water to help it get cooler.

Other option is to stick a few frozen bottles around fermenter and wrap a wet towel around the whole lot in a bucket with some water in it.

 

[Florian]

:icon_offtopic:

i think both would give you good control.

Yes, both will be good, but a pool full of water at the right temp will be better.

but water out in the heat will need changing after a while..

You won't need to change the water in a pool (which is what I've been talking about and which resulted in this OT discussion). But yes, if you only had your fermenter sitting in a small tub of water out in the heat, then you might either change it after a while or use some ice to cool it down.

Everything else has been brilliantly explained by Feldon.

 

[danbeer]

Assuming the pool was outside, how did you stop the brew getting light struck?