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Heating Fermenters during the winter - Bruehol Brewing - Benicia CA

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  • Heating Fermenters during the winter - Bruehol Brewing - Benicia CA

    We have not completed our glycol run just yet and trying to determine the best way to heat our fermenters in the short ( temp drop ) winters we sometimes have. Nothing like what most of you go through. We have discussed using a T at the bottom of each fermenter w/ another solenoid to control heated glycol through the glycol jacket. That would require switching to a BCS-462 vs BCS-460 and then some. We can not use Fermenter condo's such as those used by "Cleophus Quealy Beer Company"www.cleoph.us/. Would love to open this one up to any ideas and hear what everyone has up their sleeve.

    Glycol cooled by: Perlick 4410 ( ebay-$299 )
    3 x 3bbl jacketed fermenters ($3900ea )

    http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/...hol/image.jpeg

    http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/...l/3bblFerm.jpg

  • #2
    Im out in livermore, Ive only had to heat our FV once due to a stuck valve. The heat generated by fermentation is enough to keep things warm, even in the winter. Interior temp of the building is never below 55 degrees. When I did have to heat the tank, I had two halogen flood lights a few inches away from the manway door, and a space heater at the bottom of the cone, it took a day or so, but I got the temperature high enough for the yeast to kick in and they did the rest.

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    • #3
      If your jacketed ferms are insulated, your castback temps in the proper range, and your yeast pitching sufficient (and yeast healthy), you should never have to heat a fermenter. Depending on how low your ambient temps, you might want to run hot liquor through your ferm CIP arm for a bit before your castback.

      We experience sub-freezing temps in our fermenter hall every winter (a couple of our ferms are partially exposed to outside temps, which can drop below 0F for long periods of time), and never have to heat a fermenter--given, ours are a bit bigger, but still, the main problem is controlling the heat produced by fermentation.
      Timm Turrentine

      Brewerywright,
      Terminal Gravity Brewing,
      Enterprise. Oregon.

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      • #4
        What we do...

        We use a 4 gallon on demand water heater (Eemax EMT4), a 3/4 hp pump (the kind used on line chillers), and a Johnson Control temp controller that turns the pump off when desired temp is reached. This heater has a wide temp range so you can set it a little warmer than room temp all the way up to really hot. Works really well!

        -Michael

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        • #5
          I have 3bbl plastic conicals with SS cooling coils inside. Not the same as a jacketed fermenter, I know.

          At 3bbl, I don't think there's enough thermal mass for the exothermic ferm to offset a cold (like 15 F or colder) temp drop.

          The good news- it only takes a 100w bulb pointed at the cone and surrounded by reflectix to keep the tank at the correct ferm temp.

          So it won't take much heat to keep it in ferm range.

          Jc


          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
          JC McDowell
          Bandit Brewing Co.- 3bbl brewery and growing
          Darby, MT- population 700
          OPENED Black Friday 2014!

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