Did i make a mistake?

[PieOPah]

There have been previous discussions about external heating. Personally I think that the heating plate would be most effective. The brew belt will only heat a small portion of your wort and you may need to keep moving it around.

Of course, the immersion heater is probably the best solution but for me this won't work as I use a better bottle for fermenting in so there is no way I could use an heater like this.

[Talheedin]

Hi Hoppkins

I've got a brew belt that I inherited from a friend and while it has got my first two brews off to a good start I'm going to get a fish tank heater as soon as possible and going to lag my brew cupboard this weekend. They're cheaper to buy if you look around, they regulate the temperature of the fermenting beer rather than just keeping the external temperature cosy and you can set the desired temperature pretty easilly meaning that you're only using electricity when you need to and not all the time.

Does anyone know what the wattage of the brew belts are?

Talheedin

[tubby_shaw]

Hi Hoppkins

I've got a brew belt that I inherited from a friend and while it has got my first two brews off to a good start I'm going to get a fish tank heater as soon as possible and going to lag my brew cupboard this weekend. They're cheaper to buy if you look around, they regulate the temperature of the fermenting beer rather than just keeping the external temperature cosy and you can set the desired temperature pretty easilly meaning that you're only using electricity when you need to and not all the time.

Does anyone know what the wattage of the brew belts are?

Talheedin

My Youngs brewbelt is 25W

[inthedark]

Of course, the immersion heater is probably the best solution

Wont an immersion heater have the same 'hotspot' problem as a heating belt? In order to keep the beer which is furthest away from the heater up to temperature, the heater temp has to be much higher in the absence of any circulation.

Am no expert in fluid dynamics, however - does the heating cause fluid movement?

[tubby_shaw]

Of course, the immersion heater is probably the best solution

Wont an immersion heater have the same 'hotspot' problem as a heating belt? In order to keep the beer which is furthest away from the heater up to temperature, the heater temp has to be much higher in the absence of any circulation.

Am no expert in fluid dynamics, however - does the heating cause fluid movement?

No hotspot as such ITD, basically the heat from the immersion heater will cause the warmer wort to rise displacing the colder wort above it which will cause circulation. Also the action of the carbon dioxide rising through the brew aids in circulation.
Also the thermostat is attached to the heater so unless there is a mechanical failure no overheating

[Jim]

When the weather's as cold as it is now, I can't use my temperature controlled cupboard in the garage, as the heater's not powerfull enough (and I don't really want to spend a packet on electricity to keep it warm enough anyway).

I wrap a duvet round the fermenter and stick it in the corner of the dining room. Once the yeast gets going, there's enough heat generated to keep it warm enough even on the coldest nights (my max/min thermometer confirms this).

[Hoppkins]

Excellent, ill try the sleeping bag lagging for now and see how it goes. I'm glad to hear that my froth looks ok

Thanks for all the replies.

[Hoppkins]

Ok i checked the foam tonight and some of it is a much darker colour where it has come into contact with the towel..

It seems darker and almost dry. The rest is whitish colour.

Is this bad?

[Orfy]

Probably not. Just leave it be for a few days.
The more you open it the more chance there'll be of nasties getting in.

Have you not got a lid on it? (get one!)
Do you have an hydrometer?

[tubby_shaw]

Ok i checked the foam tonight and some of it is a much darker colour where it has come into contact with the towel..

It seems darker and almost dry. The rest is whitish colour.

Is this bad?

If you only have a towel covering the brew then yes this is bad especially if it is in contact with the brew
As soon as the yeast is pitched the lid should be snapped onto the brewing bucket.
Just using a towel could allow all kinds of things, wild yeast and bacteria enter your precious brew
Not to mention the detergents and fabric softeners on the towel

[Hoppkins]

i have a towel over the top then the lid loosley on that. I have the towel to stop stuff getting in. I didnt expect the foam to rise so high.

I have a hydrometer.

My last foam had darker patches too.

Should i remove the towel and put the lid back and crack it open?

[Orfy]

Take the towel out, put the lid on, not open. Leave it 2 days then take a gravity reading.

Depending what your instructions say then it should read around 1010 and that means primary fermentation is done.

[Hoppkins]

I put the lid on. Should i not leave it open a crack for air? Or snap it on fully?

I took the towel out, the only parts of the foam which went dark and more solid are those bits in contact with the towel. What are the chances this brew is ruined?

It's only been fermenting for 2 days now.

Also how can i get liquid from the bin without further contaminating?

[tubby_shaw]

I personally would snap the lid back on and not worry about the yeast head touching the lid. The production of carbon dioxide produces a positive pressure inside the brew bin keeping any nasties out and the lid is not gas tight so the gas can vent
The darker patches are normal and are just oxidised dead yeast cells, when and if you progress to extract brewing and then all grain you can see some real s&^t on the top of your brew, bits of hop and other stuff that escapes our best efforts to filter it out
But saying that, don't worry too much just keep things clean and if the yeast head touching the lid causes you concern just take it off rinse it with freshly boiled water to clean it and put the lid back on

[Hoppkins]

ok ive snapped lid on totally and removed the towel.

I got the towel thing from my dad. I always DID have the lid on but only resting on.

Sorry to be all panicy ^^