This + This = Saison

[Inkleg]

So I got this heat tape with 6 ft cord installed by them and this thermowell.

Three feet of the tape will wrap around a bucket. The temperature probe of a STC-1000 will go into the thermowell.

Last night in my 68* sunroom I put 5.5 gallons of water in a fermentation bucket, set it on a towel, wrapped the tape around it, put the thermowell in the bubbler hole and slid the STC probe in the thermowell hole, for true water temperature. Placed another towel over the bucket and plugged the tape into my controller.
I will end up drilling a hole in the lid and using a #2 bung to hold the thermowell. The thermowell is 12" long and goes well into the liquid.

Starting water temp was 70*. The controller reads in Celsius so that's what I'm posting.

Set STC-1000 to 24*C
6:45 pm - 21.2 or 70.2
7:30 pm - 23.1 or 73.6
7:45 pm - 23.7 or 74.7

Reset to 27*
8:15 pm - 25.0 or 77
9:00 pm - 26.5 or 79.7

Reset to 30* and covered with another towel (did I need to, who knows, but I did)
10:00 pm - 29.4 or 84.9 and went to bed.

It was sitting at 29.7 when I got home from work tonight.
Reset to 32.2, after all, let's see what it can do. It is now sitting at 32.1 or 89.8

For anyone needing heat to ferment, this should work GREAT. I can use this for Saisons and Biere De Garde to help bring out the flavors of the yeast at higher temperatures and keep my fridge for Lagers and Ales. This can also be used to heat the fridge.
The tape was 20$ shipped and 2 of the thermowells weren't much more than that. Hope this helps.

[philm00x]

That sounds like just the ticket for keeping the brew fridge at the proper temp, particularly in the colder months when it's harder to maintain higher temps. I'm glad the STC probe fits in the thermowell. Gonna add these to my Christmas list unless I pick them up on my own beforehand.

[BlackDuck]

Looks like a pretty cool set up Jeff. Nice work.

[Inkleg]

I'm really impressed with the quality of the thermowells. The end is round, the entire length is smooth and there is a flare at the open end (I know that just sound wrong ). It will seal well and be easy to keep clean.
The thermowell will give much better control over actual wort temperature.

[Banjo-guy]

Sounds like a great heating solution. I think Ill go this route.

[Inkleg]

Just took this so it's easier to understand. They can make the heat wrap in any length. I put "please assemble" in the box at check out and they put it together for me.

Thermowell.JPG (71.44 KiB) Viewed 531 times

[mashani]

Hmmm.... me likey.