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When I lager in my chest freezer, I set the controller to 55°, and I also have ferm wrap wrapped around my carboy. This is the best way that I know how to stabilize the temperature as well as possible. When the freezer kicks on, it stays on until my beer reaches 55°, but the cold air in the freezer continues to chill it to the point where the fermwrap turns on. Even after the the ferm wrap turns off, there's still enough cold air to chill the beer again, causing the ferm wrap to turn on a second time before the freezer cycles again.
Is such precise temperature control necessary during the lagering (not fermenting) process? Maybe all the ferm wrap does at that point is cause the beer to warm faster than it otherwise would, resulting in more freezer run time? Maybe it'd be easier not to use the ferm wrap when I'm lagering? I mean, does it really matter if I set the controller to 34°, but it chills to 32° because of all of the cold air, and then doesn't kick on again until it hits 35°? Maybe the freezer would cycle less if I wasn't heating the beer as well. What say you?
Is such precise temperature control necessary during the lagering (not fermenting) process? Maybe all the ferm wrap does at that point is cause the beer to warm faster than it otherwise would, resulting in more freezer run time? Maybe it'd be easier not to use the ferm wrap when I'm lagering? I mean, does it really matter if I set the controller to 34°, but it chills to 32° because of all of the cold air, and then doesn't kick on again until it hits 35°? Maybe the freezer would cycle less if I wasn't heating the beer as well. What say you?