Ridiculous Fermenter

Jhogan0101

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So i am making a 10 gal hefeweizen batch. I purchased a 15 gal fermentor so there would be plenty of room for the large krausen. I pitched with 3 packets of the imperial stephon G01 (yes overkill again).

in the fermentor:
(1) tilt (purple)
(1) 100 watt aquatop controller
https://www.aquatop.com/products/titanium-heater-w-controller-100w
(1) aquatop cps-12 pump
https://www.aquatop.com/collections...uction-cup-mount-1-321gph?variant=37439361671

Also the inkbird temp probe is inside.
so my thinking is to try to keep the yeast in suspension(more yeast, better/faster attenuation?)and to keep the wort at 64F. The freezer its in is set to 45F. This will no doubt use a lot of electricity.

I was going to use a more powerful heater but when it energizes the surface of the heater gets quite hot and i would think kill a lot of yeast. The smaller heater will not do this and the pump will keep the yeast moving around the heater.

Ill update this thread as to what happens here.

last photo is a belgian tripel that just got completed, Surprisingly good for a first one.

https://ibb.co/Pc5BdNT
https://ibb.co/x3XYg1p
https://ibb.co/VVGsgtv
https://ibb.co/kJvFLpz
 
Sounds complicated. Am I understanding right that your fermenter is set to 45f but you're using a heater to heat to 64f?

Just my opinion, but a hefeweiZen is not a good choice to over pitch on from past experience.
 
No, the freezer/fridge it is sitting in is set to 45F. The temp in the fermentor is set to 64F.

Yeah, last batch hefeweizen (same recipe) was a 5 gal with wyeast 3068 and got stuck 10 points before FG. I was unable to unfuct it. Tired of stuck fermentations so going overboard now.
 
Last edited:
Fermentation is exothermic, so would it not be easier to just use the Inkbird to control the freezer to keep the wort at 64° and do away with the heater altogether?
 
Looks like a lot going on in there. 3packs of yeast should be enough I highly doubt you'll get a stuck fermentation. Btw what has been the OG and FG of these stuck fermentations?

You might want to invest in a stir plate and 3-5lt flask for yeast propagation might be cheaper in the long run for ya.

What id do is tape the probe under a stubbie cooler to the side of fermentor set yeast mid range of fermentation range and let them do their work ramp temp day 3ish and very rarely have a stuck fermentation. Good luck
 
So i am making a 10 gal hefeweizen batch. I purchased a 15 gal fermentor so there would be plenty of room for the large krausen. I pitched with 3 packets of the imperial stephon G01 (yes overkill again).

in the fermentor:
(1) tilt (purple)
(1) 100 watt aquatop controller
https://www.aquatop.com/products/titanium-heater-w-controller-100w
(1) aquatop cps-12 pump
https://www.aquatop.com/collections...uction-cup-mount-1-321gph?variant=37439361671

Also the inkbird temp probe is inside.
so my thinking is to try to keep the yeast in suspension(more yeast, better/faster attenuation?)and to keep the wort at 64F. The freezer its in is set to 45F. This will no doubt use a lot of electricity.

I was going to use a more powerful heater but when it energizes the surface of the heater gets quite hot and i would think kill a lot of yeast. The smaller heater will not do this and the pump will keep the yeast moving around the heater.

Ill update this thread as to what happens here.

last photo is a belgian tripel that just got completed, Surprisingly good for a first one.

https://ibb.co/Pc5BdNT
https://ibb.co/x3XYg1p
https://ibb.co/VVGsgtv
https://ibb.co/kJvFLpz
:eek:
 
Looks like a lot going on in there. 3packs of yeast should be enough I highly doubt you'll get a stuck fermentation. Btw what has been the OG and FG of these stuck fermentations?

You might want to invest in a stir plate and 3-5lt flask for yeast propagation might be cheaper in the long run for ya.

What id do is tape the probe under a stubbie cooler to the side of fermentor set yeast mid range of fermentation range and let them do their work ramp temp day 3ish and very rarely have a stuck fermentation. Good luck
They usually start in the 1.050 range and stall lower 20 or upper teen.
 
Fermentation is exothermic, so would it not be easier to just use the Inkbird to control the freezer to keep the wort at 64° and do away with the heater altogether?
My thoughts exactly!
Couple of other thoughts. Where is the aquarium heater going? Inside the fermenter? If you need heat in your fermentation chamber, consider using something like a light bulb or seedling heat pad or similar to add heat. My inkbird has heating and cooling set up capabilities. I would think yours would also.
Where is the pump going in all of this? Also inside the ferementer? Why, if so?
 
My thoughts exactly!
Couple of other thoughts. Where is the aquarium heater going? Inside the fermenter? If you need heat in your fermentation chamber, consider using something like a light bulb or seedling heat pad or similar to add heat. My inkbird has heating and cooling set up capabilities. I would think yours would also.
Where is the pump going in all of this? Also inside the ferementer? Why, if so?
if you read through the thread you’ll see i answered most of what youre asking. The pump and heater are inside the wort.
The weather here in philadelphia is in transition so to keep it in my garage it would get too warm. Im keeping it in the freezer at 45F because there are 4 other beers in there that are cold crashing now. 45F is too cold to ferment. The aquarium heater is capable of warming the wort to keep it at 64F. A light would not work inside the fermenter because it could short out, wouldn't keep up with heating, and wouldn't fit through the fermenter hole.
 
if you read through the thread you’ll see i answered most of what youre asking. The pump and heater are inside the wort.
The weather here in philadelphia is in transition so to keep it in my garage it would get too warm. Im keeping it in the freezer at 45F because there are 4 other beers in there that are cold crashing now. 45F is too cold to ferment. The aquarium heater is capable of warming the wort to keep it at 64F. A light would not work inside the fermenter because it could short out, wouldn't keep up with heating, and wouldn't fit through the fermenter hole.

I actually did read the entire thread, I've just never seen or heard of this approach. I see in your avatar you're occupation is construction. I think you could easily fab up a fermentation chamber that would accomplish both heating and cooling needs at low cost and less complication. Your beer would probably turn out much better also. There are many examples online of such chambers. I've seen many that require not much more than foam board, 2 liter bottles of frozen water and a simple heat source.
Just offering up other ideas that I think would work better.
 
Waaaaay too complicated for any beer. For a hefeweizen, just do a room temp fermentation and be done. As long as you're not getting over 75, it'll be fine.
Beyond that, you'll have to schedule so you're not chilling and fermenting at the same time... it's pretty much that simple. I've always had to have one chamber for fermentation temps - usually a freezer with a controller - and a fridge or other temp-controlled freezer or crashing fermenters and storing kegs.
 
Waaaaay too complicated for any beer. For a hefeweizen, just do a room temp fermentation and be done. As long as you're not getting over 75, it'll be fine.
Beyond that, you'll have to schedule so you're not chilling and fermenting at the same time... it's pretty much that simple. I've always had to have one chamber for fermentation temps - usually a freezer with a controller - and a fridge or other temp-controlled freezer or crashing fermenters and storing kegs.
Yeah i get it im way over complicating this. I really dont want a banana hefeweizen. The fermentation increases temp in my experience. If i leave to room ferment at say 72F the fermentation would get as high as 80F *maybe* spewing out banana esters (imperial G01) Although its not necessary, I'm a fan of perfection, nothing worse to me than putting out $30 and 6-7hrs of work for a beer that is not as good as it could've been.
 
I bought a separate and dedicated fermentation chamber which cost approximately $300. I purchased a used fridge for 200, and the ink bird and wrap around heater came in at about $100. One of the best investments I made. I also use the chamber for cold crashing, but I space out my brew days so that I am done crashing before I need the chamber for fermenting. Keeps it simple. Seems that your fermentation could be compromised be being in with the cold crash, and maybe the heat from the fermenting batch is compromising the cold crash.
 
I bought a separate and dedicated fermentation chamber which cost approximately $300. I purchased a used fridge for 200, and the ink bird and wrap around heater came in at about $100. One of the best investments I made. I also use the chamber for cold crashing, but I space out my brew days so that I am done crashing before I need the chamber for fermenting. Keeps it simple. Seems that your fermentation could be compromised be being in with the cold crash, and maybe the heat from the fermenting batch is compromising the cold crash.
Ill keep that combo in mind. I have tilts in all of the beers to keep track of their temps, so far they are keeping steady.
 
If anything do post your results with this here cold crashed internally heated fermentation :).
 
Ill keep that combo in mind. I have tilts in all of the beers to keep track of their temps, so far they are keeping steady.
Keep in mind.... that’s the temp at the top of the wort/beer (tilt floats on top). Depending on the height of your fermenter that can show a few degrees warmer. And with the airspace in the tilt, the temperature change doesn’t show quickly.
 
If anything do post your results with this here cold crashed internally heated fermentation :).

Here’s where its at now, almost 24 hours later. The fermentation was so ferocious that the temp went to 74F while i was sleeping. I was very surprised to see that 45F was not cold enough to keep it from going above 66F. I lowered the freezer to 40F and the temps started coming down. The temp has stabilized now at 65/66F. I REALLY hope it will not be bananaweizen bc of the temp spike. Im going to keep it cold for the rest of the fermentation to try and balance out the flavor with more clove accents.
https://ibb.co/4S4KXGn
 

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