brewers belt in garage on insulated fermentation barrel

[escapizm]

Hi Folks

I returning to kit brewing after 15 years off. Wife has asked i "do it in the garage" so ive bought a brewers belt (amongst everything else needed today).

Ive butchered two old carry mat (camping insulation mats) and made a jacket for my fermentation barrel. One fits snug over the brewers belt and has slot for viewing scale and thermo strip. The other encases the hole thing.

A few questions, is the brewers belt ok being wrapped in a foam sheet and with the the heater on and two "blankets" do you think it will maintain heat in a garage at approx 5-10 deg C. Ill put belt towards base for max heat about 3" from bottom.

See below for pics

There is also a lid and base to sit it on altough it will be elevated and not on the concrete floor.

Im making Brewmaker IPA and will bottle in grolsch bottles next weekend, if the tin says it'll be ready in 5 days and i leave it for 7 will that be an issue.

Thanks

[stevezx7r]

Any chance you can re-size those images? They're huge

800*600 should suffice.

[boingy]

I think I can make out the head and the feet but I probably need some more pics if I am to work out the gender of the baby.

[escapizm]

Smaller pics attached, any info would be appreciated.

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[shandypants5]

I use a brew belt on one of my FVs and I just throw a couple of old folded bedsheets over it.(it in the garage like yours)

To be honest you have to keep an eye on the temp as it can get too warm, mine creeps up to 25 sometimes.

Your mats look great but they might be TOO good at their job.

I have a thermostatic immersion heater in the other FV and its much better, more insulation means less electricity used, unlike the belt.

As far as your kit goes , most people on here tend to leave it in the FV for 10 days, even if it finishes fermenting after 5 or 6 days.

This gives the yeast time to clean up the taste a bit and allows the beer to drop clear.

Any longer than 10 days on the yeast bed can cause odd flavours though.

[boingy]

I think it will be a bit hit and miss unless you use a thermostat.The best, low cost solution is a submersible fish tank heater with a built-in thermostat. The insulation is still a good idea because it gives the heater a more stable environment. If you want to be a bit more techy (and spend a bit more!) many brewers use things like this:

http://www.forttex.com/index.php?main_p ... ducts_id=1

And, yes, it is fine to leave the fermentation for an extra few days. 5 days can be optimistic in any case.

[Titanium Tone]

Hi escapizm,
I have also been banished to the garage. I have tried the fishtank heater and found it could not cope in the very cold weather. I now use a brewbelt in conjuction with a ATC 300 and poly cover see below (pics) this works very well and i would recomend strongly. The ATC 300 costs approx £25 and the poly cover cost about £8. Also my local HBS advised me not to let the brewbelt come into contact with anything other than the FV.

[escapizm]

Thanks for numerous replies. I’ve taken the safe route and filled the FV with water at 20 deg c, connected brew belt and slipped into patented insulation system . Don’t think fact brew belt in contact with foam of mat is problem as it doesn’t get that hot locally.

Garage is 8 deg C and fluid is 22 after 6 hours, expecting snow (-5 deg C) tonight so will check in morning and if 20 ish I think I’ve got it sussed Just paid visit to shed where ye oldy grolsch bottles from my original brew from at least 15 years ago (friend and I made fire water!!!) and doh I’ve only got 28 and need 40. A guy left thread on here I read about buying grolsch bottles with lager in for £1.80 (bargain I thought), I put link it in favorites a week ago and just checked again and they’re now £2.51!!!!!!!!!! .

Any body know where I can get'em cheaper?

Will post more info under newbie thread when I get going.

Thanks

[escapizm]

I think it will be a bit hit and miss unless you use a thermostat.The best, low cost solution is a submersible fish tank heater with a built-in thermostat. The insulation is still a good idea because it gives the heater a more stable environment. If you want to be a bit more techy (and spend a bit more!) many brewers use things like this:

http://www.forttex.com/index.php?main_p ... ducts_id=1

And, yes, it is fine to leave the fermentation for an extra few days. 5 days can be optimistic in any case.

-------------
Thanks. The ATC80o looks good, how do i get it in the FV, Could I drop it through air lock hole in lid? What about keepeing air out or is that not an issue. How does it turn my brewbelt off do i plug the belt into it?

Think the ATC, brew belt and insulation may do the trick?

[brysie]

hi all

one thing i have noticed.....

had a coopers bitter on the go in my `office`...it sits around 18 degrees but drops overnight so ive gone fishtank heater route.
now ive tested the heater so im pretty sure where i am with it, but one morning last week the fv was showing 25 degrees.

i dont know if im right about this , but does the brew generate its own heat as well?

[Titanium Tone]

Hi again escapizm,
You only need the ATC 300 not the 800 the 300 is cheeper. The Unit plugs into the mains and the brewbelt plugs into the ATC 300 the probe then goes into the FV through the lid i have used a cable gland from Maplins, see link below .
You then set the required temp on the LCD display and the unit will turn the belt on and off to maintain the set tempreture.
The cable gland you require is the PG9 the probe fits through the hole in the cable gland and it screws down tightly onto the cable and onto the FV lid to keep any nasties out.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=24611

[stevezx7r]

brysie - Yes, fermenting beer produces c02, alcohol (a few different types) and heat. Expect the inside of the fermenting beer to be a good couple of degrees C higher than the ambient temp.


escapizm - Try Freecycle (free to join), your local pub or your local supermarket bottle collection area. If you can get them, magners cider bottles make ideal beer bottles.

[Robdog]

Ah i was just going to make a new thread on this very subject.

So if i got something like this http://www.swelluk.com/aquarium/aquariu ... rs-18.html and made a hole in the top of a fv i could insert this into the brew and control the temp of the probe with an ATC800?

Ive got 3 FV's now but the probes in that link for up to 50ltrs of liquid are only £10.99 which doesnt seem to bad as long as they last and are up to the job.

The ATC800 will cost a bit more but ill save on not having the heating on 24/7.

[escapizm]

Hi again escapizm,
You only need the ATC 300 not the 800 the 300 is cheeper. The Unit plugs into the mains and the brewbelt plugs into the ATC 300 the probe then goes into the FV through the lid i have used a cable gland from Maplins, see link below .
You then set the required temp on the LCD display and the unit will turn the belt on and off to maintain the set tempreture.
The cable gland you require is the PG9 the probe fits through the hole in the cable gland and it screws down tightly onto the cable and onto the FV lid to keep any nasties out.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=24611

Great thanks, pg9 on way form maplins!

[escapizm]

Hi again escapizm,
You only need the ATC 300 not the 800 the 300 is cheeper. The Unit plugs into the mains and the brewbelt plugs into the ATC 300 the probe then goes into the FV through the lid i have used a cable gland from Maplins, see link below .
You then set the required temp on the LCD display and the unit will turn the belt on and off to maintain the set tempreture.
The cable gland you require is the PG9 the probe fits through the hole in the cable gland and it screws down tightly onto the cable and onto the FV lid to keep any nasties out.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=24611

Titanium Tone

Does the probe sit in the gland ie above the fluid or is the cable gripped ie does the probe pass through he gland.
Ive found one below but the probe looks a little different, what do you think.
http://www.reefdreams.co.uk/acatalog/AT ... TIMER.html
Thanks
escapizm