Hi All, I am brewing a Saison as we speak. I purchased a FermWrap heat belt to keep the fermentation temperatures high (around 85F). However, I did not purchase the Stopper Thermowell. I do however have a few temperature controls that I use for my refrigerators. My question is how can I maintain a steady Saison temperature with the heat belt and temperature control, but no Stopper Thermowell. Thanks!
Oh...and ambient temperature is roughly 65. I don't know how hot the belt gets, but maybe I just put it on there without a temperature control and it will raise the temperature x degrees?
You could tape the probe to the side of the bucket. Move the heat belt to the bottom of the bucket and tape the probe just below the top of where it is filled.
+1. Tape the probe to the fermenter with some foam or flashing, to make sure the probe is reading the fermenter temp, and that should work for you.
Ok so I'm thinking I am going to cut up an old T-shirt and wrap the probe in that 2-3 times and tape it to the bottom of the bucket, then place the bottom of the heat pad a few inches above that...
i've been told to not put heat wraps near the bottom, since it will cause the dead yeast to burst and will leave a bad flavour.
That is great to know actually. But don't ale yeast ferment from the top, until fermentation is complete? Does this mean I should put it at the bottom, then move to the top? I'll probably be putting the heat wrap on later tonight.
I wouldn't insulate the probe from the bottom of the bucket by wrapping it in the t-shirt. Tape the probe directly to the bucket then insulate that area from ambient temperatures with t-shirt / foam / kittens. I would dry run with the heat pad to see if it raises the temperature of the plastic in the bucket in the surrounding area and keep the probe well away from that. You could also try getting a grocery produce bag, the long thin skinny kind, and put the probe inside that then drop that into your fermenter. Should insulate the probe and be sanitary.
the dead yeast mostly fall. just going by what a local brewer suggested to me. hell, he even said that heat control doesn't matter. so 80s vs 90s doesn't matter.
Right, but my ambient is 65. Should I just turn on the heatbelt without the temp control? I highly doubt the heat belt is going to raise it 20 degrees anyway...
no clue. guess it depends on the wattage of your belt. i just bought a lizard aquarium heating cable. will tape it to my carboy w/electrical tape. i forget the power on that heater, but its meant for tropical lizard tanks, so i'm guessing its meant to heat things up to the low 90s.the more cord attached, the better the heat will be. so i may use that to "control" the heat (using more cord means more heat). as far as i know, the true saisons would be made when the summer heat was at its hottest, so kicking the heat up to 80 and beyond is fine. again, i am far from being an expert and i have yet to use my cord, so take everythign i'm saying with a huge grain of salt.
I've always put 'em below the mid-point on the carboy, on my totally nonscientific notion that it's probably a good idea to keep the heat source away from the yeast cake and the krausen, but low enough so that the warmer wort has room to move upward and create a bit of circulation. Total guesswork, but it seems to have worked so far.
