Brewing trays

[Deneeve]

A mate of mine who hasn't brewed for a few years has told me he used to use brewing trays-heated trays that you stand your brew on during fermentation....he's had a look for them but thinks the mrs. might have turfed them out.. i've had a look around but cant seem to find them anywhere(net etc.) He said it was big enough to put two FV's on and had a thermo. Does anyone know of these or where you can get them??

Cheers, Happy drinking,

D

[Deneeve]

oh.. and one other thing.. are they any good???

[Ditch]

Just as well to use a 'Fish Tank Heater', mate. Set it. Dump it in. Forget about it. Job done.

I remember the 'bottom boilers' ye talking about. Probably the nearest thing ye'll find now would be the wafer thin " Heat Mats " used by many herpetologists. Though they'd need a thermostat fitting. FV can't move itself on and off one.

Like with those 'Brew Belts'; Another failed venture people are still mugged into buying old stock of. Then swearing blind by, to save face. Who wants to be for ever chasing the thing up and down, looking for the moments best position?

Fish Tank Heaters. Been around longer than most of us. Only had one minor change in all that time ~ integrated thermostat. Kept £1m's worth of delicate fish happy all this time. Never once been cited as poisoning a brew either

[colgilbec]

Really pleased i kept my 2 boots wine mats,they are ideal for winter brewing,i am suprised that these have not been re-introduced,a cracking bit of kit.

[Jolum]

Get hold of an old fridge, a TC-10 (or similar) and a greenhouse heater and make a fermentation\conditioning chamber. It really is easy to do and gives you so much more flexibility in use - you can stick a fermenter in there or for conditioning, you can stick in a king keg or 4 cornies (depending on the size) or a corny and some bottles.... I must say, it's one of the best things I've done to improve my brewing, it's also reassuring to know exactly what temp my beer will ferment and condition at rather than leaving it to the whims of my central heating

Of course, all of this is just my opinion

[thedeckking]

Just found these on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Homebrew-Home-bre ... 48389b5857
I've yet to find anything that I've ever wanted that isn't on there. What did we do before ebay

[Deneeve]

nice one guys, loads of interesting stuff, as always, cheers!!!!

[Capped]

Dunno about heating trays,but here's my solution. Using 18mm thick MDF I constructed a box approximately 2ft square. In this I fitted a light bulb. The FV sits on top of the box and reaps the gentle heat of the bulb below. The box is vented generously to prevent heat accumulating within. As I do my fermenting in the small 'room' under the stairs which is unheated and next to an external wall,it can get pretty nippy. In really cold spells like this I can fit a higher wattage bulb. Currently got a 25watt item fitted and it works a treat!

[Deneeve]

i'm liking that idea Capped, simple and cheap, nice one, cheers!