aquarium heater

[hoppinmad]

I\'ve aquired an aquarium heater, brand new of course, and I was gonna use it instead of a brewbelt as it maintains an accurate temp. Anyone tried this??,are there any associated probs? Can\'t think of any myself

[optic]

Think its probably the best thing you can use as it has a thermostat,like you say it maintains a constant temp,myself i use a 25w heat mat so i have to keep an eye on it and have to unplug it when the central heating is on.

[hoppinmad]

Hi optic, yep that's what I was thinking. I was a bit worried about temp changes in my last wash but equally concerned about fitting a brew belt because of the initial heat generated. Hopefully this aquarium heater will solve that and give me a good yield. Won it on ebay for 8quid inc p&p

[optic]

That was a bargain think most of us would be pretty much out of action this time of the year without some sort of heating for the fermenter,mine is busy keeping 5 gallons of Yorkshire bitter fermenting at the moment,roll on some warmer weather then i will be able to have more than one brew going at a time.

[hoppinmad]

I have a barrel full of yorkshire bitter, got the kit from a local brewshop for 7.25 on a gamble but I must say its some of the best beer I\'ve ever made

[umpa]

I use one all the time, it puts the heat in the centre of the wash/wort/must and gives ace results.

[hoppinmad]

brilliant, i cant wait till it comes and i can start another wash, was thinking of trying the alcotec wash as its had some good reviews on here and one of my local hb shops has it on special offer.

[bluecap]

Hoppingmad you have a bargain there well done. Just one thing try and make sure the temperature is set right before you use it on a wash. Test it on in 25 litre of water and adjust till your happy with it.

[hoppinmad]

Good thinking, will do, thanks for that, I would\'ve probably just stuck it in my wash, :-p

[mrweizen]

Wont the melted sugar stick to an aquarium heater? Also would any yeast that come into contact with it die? This is what i have read on other forums which put me off buying one. But if you guys are not having these problems i mite go and invest in one myself now! I was looking at brew belts but they are quite expensive for what they are imo.

[marc83]

I was under the impression the aquarium heater wasnt in contact with the wash,thought if you had a box like cover over your fermenter the heater was inside the box keeping the temp constant.....correct me if im wrong though....

[Andy]

Aquarium heaters need to be immersed in fluid otherwise they will crack from the heat.

[marc83]

ahhhh see now i never even knew.cheers Andy.

[hoppinmad]

been using my aquarium heater constantly since i bought it and it works great, especially in my bakers yeast wash which i find ferments best at 30c, dont affect the yeast because the heater never goes over 30c and my wash is bubblin away nicely ;-) any sugar that \'sticks\' to it will be gobbled up by the yeast pronto.
hoppin

[Jimmy]

I have neither brew belt nor aquarium heater, which gives some indication of why one of my fermentations took from last November to mid April! I keep meaning to pick up one of the Electrim immersion heaters but I always forget until I\'ve spent my paycheque for the month. Meh!