An interesting observation

[KevP]

Hi all

I have been fretting the last few days over whether my King Kegs were getting too cold, as the MouseHole Brewery is shed based for storage, and affecting the beer inside, but on drawing a brew tonight ( I have a 2 pint flaggon ) I thought I'd stick in my thermometer to see just what temp the beer was at.

Now the temp in my shed is 1.8C (oregon scientific weather kit wireless unit) but the temp in my flaggon (within 3 minutes) was 7.8C!

Thats more than a bit higher! and unless something has gone drastically wrong in my measuring its made me much happier.

I must point out that each King Keg is wrapped in a sleeping bag but still, thats a big difference.

[farmhousekeg]

The temperature in any large container of liquid tends to reflect the average temperature over quite a number of hours BEFORE the current time. So its feasible that if the shed has been warmer during the day e.g. when the sun was shining in the window or onto the walls and roof, the shed temperature maybe reached 10 degrees or more. The liquid in the KK will then have be warmed up a bit and will hold this warmth due to the sleeping bag wrappers. So I think your measurements are probably reasonably accurate. This technique was sometimes used in the past by researchers who wanted to know about average temperatres over a period of time without the aid of computers or electonic temperature loggers. They simply used jars of water covered in tin foil to reflect direct heat/sunshine with a thermometer suck through a rubber bung lid. The bung and thermometer could be quickly removed to get a reading of the water temperature which could be very different to the current air temperature but which would give an indication of average temperature since the last reading.

This endeth the science lesson!

[KevP]

Thanks for the lesson!!
I was reasonably well informed beforehand, my friends dad is a retired Meteorolgist and he told me that my my beer would be warmer than the ambient temp, and he was very right!
I'm not a complete dullard when it comes to temps and weather etc as I have a 500 quid Davis weather centre in my garden/roof top which is linked to the internet giving live readings 24/7.

The reason I checked was because I have been considering an insulated box to stabilise temp swings as much as possible.

[farmhousekeg]

Thanks for the lesson!!
I was reasonably well informed beforehand, my friends dad is a retired Meteorolgist and he told me that my my beer would be warmer than the ambient temp, and he was very right!
I'm not a complete dullard when it comes to temps and weather etc as I have a 500 quid Davis weather centre in my garden/roof top which is linked to the internet giving live readings 24/7.

The reason I checked was because I have been considering an insulated box to stabilise temp swings as much as possible.

For sure your insulation idea will only help in reducing any temparature swings, I'd go for it especially since its a low cost option, so very little to lose. Your weather stations sounds awesome!!