How to keep a 100L stockpot warm in the winter?

[Blackaddler]

Winter's on the way, and I'm looking at ways to heat my FV in the shed.



I'm not a fan of aquarium heaters. I have a couple, but a heated glass tube hanging down the side of a stainless steel pot is a possible recipe for disaster, methinks.

So I've been looking at heated trays, and found this one.

At 56 x 48cms, it's just about the right size for the 50cm base of the pot.

Does anyone use one of these? The question is, will it cope with keeping a pot full of wort warm in the middle of winter?

With a old duvet wrapped round everything for extra insulation, it might be enough, I reckon.

[boingy]

I can't see any electrical spec on that pad. You really need to know the wattage of it. Some of those plant heaters are really low power. I have a heated window tray that is rated at about 11W which might struggle to heat such a large volume of wort in very cold weather.

Aquarium heaters are pretty robust. The biggest risk from them is that they are quite hard to clean and sanitise.

Another alternative is the "brew belt" - a heating cable that wraps around the outside of the pot.

[Blackaddler]

For some reason, I was thinking that it was 50W. Maybe it was something else I'd seen. I'll find out.

I have thought about a brew belt as well. Would it be man enough for a large stainless pot, though? They're designed for 5 gallon plastic FVs aren't they?

[BrewingAgain]

You appear to have a way of cooling the wort so could you adapt that to heat ? Disconnect the cooler and use a 1kw steamer heater to heat a small insulated tank/bucket of water and then pump that round the circuit in the FV.

[Blackaddler]

You appear to have a way of cooling the wort so could you adapt that to heat ? Disconnect the cooler and use a 1kw steamer heater to heat a small insulated tank/bucket of water and then pump that round the circuit in the FV.

Yes, I use a flash chiller to pump cold water round a 10mm copper coil wrapped round the outside of the FV. I'd like to keep this in place as well as a heater, as fermentation can get a bit warm to start with. All controlled with an ATC800+.

It might be possible to adapt a wallpaper stripper I have, but seems a bit like overkill. It would use a fair bit of wattage, I think.

[boingy]

Might also be worth exploring soil heating cables. They work out much cheaper than brew belts "per metre" and I would have thought they could perform well if you insulate carefully. I have not tried this though so it would be an experiment.

[sparky Paul]

For some reason, I was thinking that it was 50W. Maybe it was something else I'd seen. I'll find out.

Yes, you weren't dreaming, the info's there if you click on [View All Options & Prices].

The small one is 50W, the larger one is 100W.

[Scooby]

I used a 20w Heat Mat secured under insulation for a 20l plastic fermenter, and added a 28w mat when I got my stainless fermenter.



They are thin and flexible and I use masking tape to secure them round the circumference of the fv prior to fitting the insulation jacket. The heat is very gentle and over a wide area and they work really well.

[WallyBrew]

You appear to have a way of cooling the wort so could you adapt that to heat ? Disconnect the cooler and use a 1kw steamer heater to heat a small insulated tank/bucket of water and then pump that round the circuit in the FV.

Yes, I use a flash chiller to pump cold water round a 10mm copper coil wrapped round the outside of the FV. I'd like to keep this in place as well as a heater, as fermentation can get a bit warm to start with. All controlled with an ATC800+.

It might be possible to adapt a wallpaper stripper I have, but seems a bit like overkill. It would use a fair bit of wattage, I think.

My coil is inside the FV and uses a maxi 110 for chilling and a flow through Hydor (200W I think) for heating. They are on the same circuit controlled by an ATC800.

The electrics have to butchered slightly using two double pole double throw relays so that the pump will come on whether heating or cooling is necessary.

This is the old version as it has been adapted to run two FV's and the three port valves are now redundant.

[Blackaddler]

Some good ideas here, guys.

The soil cables sound like a good idea. I've not seen them before.

It'd be an easy install. I like the sound of that. Further investigation is required.

The heat mats taped round the circumference are neat too. Although I don't think they'd suit my FV, as the pot is 160cm round. I'd need a few of those mats to cover it, so not so practical unless I can find something near enough the right size.

[beermonsta]

just another idea to throw into the melting pot...(from an older post I made)...

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl ... _14213.htm

Gentle heat helps soothe tired muscles
Illuminated switch with 3 temperature settings
100 watt
Cover and heating element washable at 40°C (with cable removed)
Automatic safety switch off after approx. 90 mins
Size (cm): 38 x 65
2 year manufacturer’s warranty

What do you think chaps as a belt heater-esq fermenting aid?
I know the auto off might be a pain, but not if it heated the ATC800 etc to the set point before the 90 minutes as this should re-set the timer perhaps? Or just chop the elecric gubbins off and hard wire to the ATC800.

£15 for 100Watts - sound reasonable to me - penny for your thoughts...

[Blackaddler]

just another idea to throw into the melting pot...(from an older post I made)...

Gentle heat helps soothe tired muscles
Illuminated switch with 3 temperature settings
100 watt
Cover and heating element washable at 40°C (with cable removed)
Automatic safety switch off after approx. 90 mins
Size (cm): 38 x 65
2 year manufacturer’s warranty

What do you think chaps as a belt heater-esq fermenting aid?
I know the auto off might be a pain, but not if it heated the ATC800 etc to the set point before the 90 minutes as this should re-set the timer perhaps? Or just chop the elecric gubbins off and hard wire to the ATC800.

£15 for 100Watts - sound reasonable to me - penny for your thoughts...

Not a bad idea. I actually freecycled something similar last year. It's a 50W foot warmer, about 1ft square. [Like a mini electric blanket.]

I've strapped it to the fermenter as an experiment, but I don't think it covers a large enough area. I think it'll probably struggle in the colder weather.

[Blackaddler]

FWIW you can get stainless steel or even titanium aquarium heaters.

I've not seen those. They're not that expensive either.

There are other reasons why I don't really like them much, though. The heat is concentrated in a small area, which might stress the yeast, and also the lid of the FV has to stay open a little where the cable runs in.


I'm "warming" to the heated tray at the moment. It's so simple. Just plonk the fermenter on top of it. There's no cables to disconnect from the FV when I need to clean it - unlike the heated cable job, which will leave a mains cable dangling.

Cost for the tray is £27.50 + £4.99p+p
Cost for a 7m heat cable is £16.77 from a local pet supermarket.

With the heat cable almost half the cost of the tray, it might just have the edge.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[beermonsta]

I'm "warming" to the heated tray at the moment.

this is a bit of a ...hot topic... have you thought about a large tray (like a under bed platic box/flexi tub from the £1 shop) and putting an aquarium heater in that. I'm thinking of doing this as i'm currently building a housing for and ATC800. I'm also going to drop a SS re-circ coil in too connected to the re-circ of a maxi 110 for cooling/largering/crashing etc. Advantages - no cleaning, no sanitisation required. Disadvantages - adds bulk, spillage potential, not efficient due to loss of heat/cold through lack of insulation/lid. Which makes me think of cladding with wood and filling the gap with foam & making a similar polo shaped lid. What do you reckon? any other obvious ads/disads I've missed?

[Blackaddler]

I don't think it'll do the job, to be honest.