Heat Pads - Bought new fermnter

[carlton747]

Got a new fermenter today 30Lt variety anyway bought a heat pad as well , they say that the temp control is set at 24degrees is this to hot to be brewing at if so have I wasted my money I 'm a bit confused as to wether I'm brewing correctly . any thoughts . put down a coopers dark ale with 1 kg of liquid amber in the new fermenter . got some airlock action now . Never brewed with anything but sugar as a primary I' m still confused and paranoid ...help....

[matr]

Got a new fermenter today 30Lt variety anyway bought a heat pad as well , they say that the temp control is set at 24degrees is this to hot to be brewing at if so have I wasted my money I 'm a bit confused as to wether I'm brewing correctly . any thoughts . put down a coopers dark ale with 1 kg of liquid amber in the new fermenter . got some airlock action now . Never brewed with anything but sugar as a primary I' m still confused and paranoid ...help....

Yes I think you wasted your money. 24C is no good.

The only thing you could really use it for is as a heater hooked up to a temp controller. But to heat a fermenting "box" not the fermenter itself.

Keep your ales at about 18 - 20C.

The Dark ale will be quite sweet with the 1kg of Amber. Will still be way better than anything you made with just sugar though. It's all experience though.

[Tipsy]

+1 to the temp controller.
I occasionally use one with a heat pad under the fermenter.
I keep the probe at the bottom of the fermenter near the heat pad so it dosen't overheat.
It's great for starters also.

[carlton747]

I also forgot to mention that I live in Tassie so it will get pretty cold here soon , that was part of the reason why I got the heat pad so I dont know , none the wiser....

[earle]

As above 24C is too high but once its gets cold you could hook it up to a temp controller like a fridgemate of tempmate and dial in you own temperature. If your brew gets too cold the controller turns on the heat pad and brings your brew back up to your set temp. Check out http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=718 and http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=2592 but you can get them off ebay as well.

[carlton747]

thanks for the info will keep it in mind only new at this caper so every bit of knowledge I get from you gus is invaluable , thanks guys..

[emnpaul]

Hang on to the heat pad. 24 degrees is perfect for culturing/making yeast starters, if and when you come to it. They would work really well with a big, flat bottomed earlenmeyer flask.

Just not for fermenting.

Cheers
Paul

[Bum]

Just not for fermenting.

In Tasmania? I swear I have no idea what you guys are thinking sometimes.

Carlton, as matr mentioned, these are fine to use for heating up a space rather than heating a fermenter directly. I use one all winter in a turned off fridge here in Melbourne. Essential brew-gear for me and if you're brewing with ale yeasts in winter I'd suggest it probably will be for you too.

[billybushcook]

The other use for the heater is a hot box for conditioning/carbonating bottles.
Bottles on the shelf in Tassie might struggle to carbonate at all in winter.

Mick.

[AidanMatthews]

I use one of these for fermenting they are fine...

Go and get yourself an electric timer, they plug in and turn on and off as per your settings.
Run for 45 min to 1 hr and off for 3 hrs, or if its very cold you might want to run for say 30 min with 30 - 45 min break to keep it more consistent. You dont want beer fermenti temps jumping up and down.

In tassy in the middle of winter you may want to change it around to get a good medium, always keep eye on temps.

I do this and it works well with me, my next step is fridge with tempmate from craftbrewer.

You will soon get used to where you want it.

[emnpaul]

Just not for fermenting.

In Tasmania? I swear I have no idea what you guys are thinking sometimes.

Um. Yeah. Must have missed that bit.

Sorry.

[carlton747]

I dont know about the rest of Aus but down here in Tassie at the moment its starting to get bloody nippy so I think the investment of the heat pad wil be very sound in the middle of winter . when we're getting tempreture's over night of well below zero etc.

[carlton747]

and will also add as for the Tasmanian bashing on this forum we do brew the best beers in Australia if not the world and are probably better at drinking them per capita .. but myself personly have only taken up home brewing recently so only a newbie, I would like too know how you up north would be brewing your beer in our conditions ..

[Bum]

and will also add as for the Tasmanian bashing on this forum we do brew the best beers in Australia if not the world

Uh...I've only had gushers from Moo Brews, the most hideous beer I've ever drunk from 2 Metres Tall (Huon Dark Ale) and Boags. However, the boldness of that first claim does suggest that you might actually sink enough of it to make the second claim true.

[emnpaul]

and will also add as for the Tasmanian bashing on this forum we do brew the best beers in Australia if not the world and are probably better at drinking them per capita ..

I've got nothing nice to say so...

but myself personly have only taken up home brewing recently so only a newbie, I would like too know how you up north would be brewing your beer in our conditions ..

Still got a lot to learn myself but if and when I could afford the set up: I'd be fermenting in a fridge. I'd have a heat belt either on my fermenter or hanging in the fridge and control it with a temp mate. I'd also tend to brew more lagers as these yeasts work well at lower temperatures and you'll save on power by "working with mother nature rather than against her." Perhaps this is why Cascade use lager yeast for all their beers now, or so it's said?

Have you read the stickies at the to of the making beer topics page? There is some good info in there, in particular Chris' "simple things that make HB better"

Hope you enjoy your new hobby but be careful, it can quickly become more addictive than the actual drinking!

[matr]

and will also add as for the Tasmanian bashing on this forum we do brew the best beers in Australia if not the world and are probably better at drinking them per capita .. but myself personly have only taken up home brewing recently so only a newbie, I would like too know how you up north would be brewing your beer in our conditions ..

Yeah and apparently you are good at certain other things too..

But I won't mention them here..

[warra48]

I think a heatpad for use in Tasmania is a good investment.

I use a small fridge for my fermenter, and have it fitted with a TempMate from CraftBrewer.
The beauty of a TempMate is that it enables you to attach both heating and cooling, and it will automatically switch from one to the other as needed.

I only use mine for cooling, but in winter, even up here I sometimes struggle to maintain 18°C for my ale temperatures overnight.

[barrelboy]

and will also add as for the Tasmanian bashing on this forum we do brew the best beers in Australia if not the world and are probably better at drinking them per capita .. but myself personly have only taken up home brewing recently so only a newbie, I would like too know how you up north would be brewing your beer in our conditions ..

Didn't know the Coopers family went to Tas? Believe it or not but in winter I put a couple of t-shirts and a zip up Parker over the fermenter(s), works suprisingly well.
bb

[billybushcook]

I dont know about the rest of Aus but down here in Tassie at the moment its starting to get bloody nippy so I think the investment of the heat pad wil be very sound in the middle of winter . when we're getting tempreture's over night of well below zero etc.

Day time temps here in the Hunter in Mid 30's
Nights around low 20's.....Beautiful!!!!

Been that way for a few weeks now.

I have no idea why any one would choose to live in cold areas of the world, but for some reason they just do!

Cheers, Mick.

[carlton747]

warra have you got anymore info on those Tempmates , cost set up etc might look into getting 1 cheers.