TOPIC:

"nfitzy":urutegbj wrote: Hi all,

I'm new to home brewing and am on my second kit. I haven't brewed during winter yet so have had no need to heat my fermenter. Will a brew belt keep the fermenter to 25 or are there any DIY solutions that would work better. I was thinking of building some kind of insulated box with a heater but if brew belt works I'll go for that.

Thanks,
nfitzy[/quote:urutegbj]

25 is a bit high, if you can drop that to around 20 you're in a better spot. A lightbulb is a good way to get that low level of heat into a brewbox, if you can hook it up to a thermostat even better.....

"nfitzy":2icyol2b wrote:
are there any DIY solutions
[/quote:2icyol2b]
I toyed with the idea of making a home made brew belt out of some nichrome wire (same stuff used in a toaster and probably what is on inside of a brew belt) and a few other bits to control how long it is switched on for.

It is very cheap - but potentially very dangerous if you get it wrong.
in the end I decided that a brew belt or a light bulb are cheap enough to warrant the project pointless.

Maybe ill get back to it if im bored with nothing to do sometime.

"nfitzy":rpogj8cj wrote: Thanks for the feedback lads. I will probably go with a brew belt. Has anyone connected a brewbelt up to a thermostat with the sensor inside the fermenter to measure the temperature of the beer rather than the ambient temperature of the room? I am looking for the most energy efficient and cheapest solution to keep my brew warm.

Thanks again.[/quote:rpogj8cj]

I have one attached to a brew belt and also a fridge. The ATC-800+ from Forttex has a hot and cold circuit on it, so the brew belt is in the fridge and both are plugged in. The belt doesn't turn on all that often.