StillSmart

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-19T22:21:19+00:00

Hehe, no it should have read nice. Although I currently do have a rodent problem, they like the malt too. So maybe it was a Freudian slip.

Statistics: Posted by Capt-Cudellez — Thu Sep 19, 2013 10:21 pm

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-19T22:14:54+00:00

Wtf do I know Capt.,you have been doing this longer than I....
And I know it must have been a typo but I am unsure I wan't a mice tasting wash

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Thu Sep 19, 2013 10:14 pm

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-19T16:50:11+00:00

John51 wrote:
e2a: Cooler ferments can make for a better quality wash.

Depends what you are after, I do my neutral wash at 25.5oC with the yeast I use, and its mice and clean tasting.
For my whisky I dial in 32oC to generate some nice fruity esters, and push the rum wash to 35oC for the same reason.

Statistics: Posted by Capt-Cudellez — Thu Sep 19, 2013 4:50 pm

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-19T09:23:37+00:00

I use a 4 foot tube heater between the fermenters and the wall.

e2a: Cooler ferments can make for a better quality wash. Can give a bit more alcohol too.

Statistics: Posted by John51 — Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:23 am

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-17T18:12:01+00:00

A few things you can do......

Insulate the fermenter - an old blanket or sleeping bag will do.

Pitch with a yeast starter, this should mean as you are pitching when the wash is still warm, the large starter lets the yeasts get working quickly, and they start generating there own heat before the wash cools.

If you are dealing with lower temps, maybe try a lager yeast that is happier at these temps.

I found those aquarium heaters worked okay, but I used to have trouble with yeast burning onto the surface. Also 25w might keep it chugging along indoors for a small wash, but for 50L you'll probably want 100-150w unless the fermenter is insulated realy well

Superslim007 wrote:
MMmm thanks for your feedback but Iv'e just seen the price of the soil heaters and they are about £50 each

Shouldn't need to pay anything like that.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biogreen-HK6-0-GB-Warming-Cable/dp/B005N96OS0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379441403&sr=8-1&keywords=50w+soil+heating

Statistics: Posted by Capt-Cudellez — Tue Sep 17, 2013 6:12 pm

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-17T17:49:19+00:00

Thanks Aidan

Statistics: Posted by Superslim007 — Tue Sep 17, 2013 5:49 pm

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-17T16:24:26+00:00

Bread yeast like Allinson's works best at around 30oC.

AM

Statistics: Posted by Almanac — Tue Sep 17, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-17T16:16:45+00:00

MMmm thanks for your feedback but Iv'e just seen the price of the soil heaters and they are about £50 each the aquarium heaters were only £6.80 each so I think I'll give them a whirl, just trying to get the ideal temp to set the stats at

Statistics: Posted by Superslim007 — Tue Sep 17, 2013 4:16 pm

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-17T14:50:56+00:00

I use those heaters. Not sure what the ideal temp is, I aim for about 28c according to the thermometer on the heater.

Chuck

Statistics: Posted by chill — Tue Sep 17, 2013 2:50 pm

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-17T14:27:19+00:00

If you check out a thread on here called "winter fermenters" I think. It showed how to ensure the temperature was maintained using a soil heater I believe coupled with a controller of some description off ebay.

Hope that helps.

Statistics: Posted by amaark — Tue Sep 17, 2013 2:27 pm

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-17T11:02:14+00:00

Oh yeah I am using Alinsons dried active yeasd (yellow tin in Asda)

Statistics: Posted by Superslim007 — Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:02 am

Re: Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-17T10:03:19+00:00

mate, it all depends on your yeast and its temp tolerances/ideal. what yeast are you going to use?
With a typical TPW (and getting into cold times; where you are), then aim for a starttemp on the upper end of the tolerance and use the heaters (ie 1 per fermenter) AFTER the first couple of days...as the vigorous ferment beginning will be a heat producer in/of itself (esp. if insulated via a cover, etc)

mind you....wtf would I know...I live in the subtropics!

Statistics: Posted by Frank — Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:03 am

Autumn is upon us and then the winter of our discontent

2013-09-17T09:09:11+00:00

Well a bit over dramatic but I'm now facing the problem of keeping my wash at the right constant temperature.

I make my wash in a spare room in the house, as it gets cooler without keeping the central heating on 24/7 it is difficult to keep and maintain the temp circa 18 degrees so I have invested in a couple of little fish tank heaters (25w) which should be fine for 25-50 litres each.

Does any of you guys use these?

What is the ideal temp setting for 25L TPW?

Thanks

Statistics: Posted by Superslim007 — Tue Sep 17, 2013 9:09 am