Heater for SS Brew Bucket

[Uncle Albert]

Fil. Please could you tell me exactly what JG products I would need to buy to get 2 x US style Sankey PRV couple to work..?

I currently have zero equipment of any kind.

Thanks

James

[24/7]

James

Have a look on Youtube for 'Fermentation Chambers' - made from rigid insulation, it's simply a small cupboard that would keep the worst of the weather away from your FV. With the exothermic heat given off by the yeast it would lessen, if not do away with, the need for additional heating. Thou at minus 10 you may want to look into warehouse style propane 'jet' heaters

Good luck
Steve

[Uncle Albert]

Thanks Steve. There has been a development, I have negotiated with SWMBO to use one of downstairs bathrooms as my fermentation room........ However all CO2 and conditioning related activities must be in the garage /artic tundra.


As a complete newcomer, are there any brews which are particularly suited to cold climates?..... My basic physics says high ABV ones but there must be more to it than that....

[killer]

As a complete newcomer, are there any brews which are particularly suited to cold climates?..... My basic physics says high ABV ones but there must be more to it than that....

Think about it more as "what yeasts are suited to cold climate ?" - Lager is the obvious one. You ferment at about 12°C and then lager at between say -1 and 5°C for a long period of time. So that might work well for you.

Otherwise, consider that Nottingham yeast for example will ferment well (though more slowly) as low as 13° C.

In any case you say that you have a downstairs bathroom to ferment in - so temperature control should be less of an issue for fermentation. Otherwise remember that many beers (especially clean flavoured beers) will benefit from a cold-conditioning/ lagering period at 1 - 10°C.

Cheers

[roscoe]

whilst all this brew like monks using the natural temperatures etc is fair and well

I say it's your hobby and you should practically brew what you like to drink
if that means hoppy pale ales then arrange for keezer or make an insulated box and have some tube heating to 15oC or so rye

in the winter your low temperatures are great for clearing the beers so just take them to your bare arctic garage and few days later the beer will be crystal clear.

as your practical knowledge increases you'll have a neat system

Slainte

[Fil]

jg fittings u need ... how long is a ball of string?? any tight corners would benefit from elbow fittings as the ldpe 3/8" line has a wide bending arc kinking is bad.. how many T or Y's will u need to branch off for 2nd, 3rd kegs gas? how many kegs will u have online at a time?
is -10C the usual temperature?? if so look at brewing hi conditioned lagers and white beers

ebay seller harmonyhut has a good rep with brewers, and my local hbs is online at stonehelm.co.uk?.com? and they have a huge stock, and if buying u can ring em up and they are always willing to help, thurs fri and saturday Stefan is in and he is a very friendly and knowledgeable chap..

if using 3/8" ldpe gas/beer line then thats what u need to connect to if buying a uk keg coupling it should come complete with the one way valves for gas n beer and connectors to attach beer and gas line, tho many wont.. i think the thread on UK sankey fittings is a 1/2" bsp male, and on the US ones is a 5/8"..

however on the serving/beer side you may need to consider using micro 3/16" line for its pressure restricting properties in which case a few fittings to step down will be needed.

when starting with kegs its common to pour pints of foam, beer can drop all its condition if it hits a big change in something, pouring cold beer into a warm glass can stimulate it, a kink in the beer line or rough cut edge in a jg speedfit fitting can also do it but the most common is a big pressure drop at the tap point, if the beer is at 10psi for example fed to a tap thru a few meters of 3/8" line will result in 10psi beer behind the tap valve and that pressure drop can stimulate a foam out. so use thin micro 3/16" line which will restrict the keg pressure at about 1to2psi per foot length, so a 4-5ft length of micro line inline before the tap should drop the pressure at release to a nominal non foam stimulating level..
again its a balance between enough restriction to stop foaming and not too much to slow the pour down too much..

[Uncle Albert]

So to lager is a verb? Never knew that. How long can one lager a beer for in the cold?

House is empty a lot so thermostat will be set to around 7C to prevent burst pipes when I am away... Looks like I may have a shot at decent lagers if I can fermentation sorted out. Thanks guys I enjoy the old lager, but to be honest I like most real beers.

What temperatures and keeping periods are best for wheat beers?

Why does cold clarify beer?

Good thing is, in about 6 months, I will be able to come back to this thread and actually understand it.... Good old Internet

[Uncle Albert]

Fil - I understand what you saying about the pipes. In terms of the coupler I have sent an email to abcdirect2u, it looks like they may have the PRV couplers - I hope it comes with the JG connections attached. Barneey has made contact for me to speak to CaptF about couplers and also hopefully a reg. So that looks promising. Still confused about the regs a bit, think I only a need a £50 eBay type primary reg with 2 gauges if just serving from a single keg....?

The fermentor heating bits and bobs means I should be able maintain low 20 temperatures, if i switch that off then it will Be based in the house temp, which will be around 7 to 15C in the bathroom. Big house + oil fired central heating = major bills, so it's a case of put an extra jumper on rather than crank up the gas thermostat.

If I put the kegs in the garage, as agreed with her, then they will average 15C in August, going down to 7 in October (winter tyres go on 1st Nov) then around 0 in Jan. Was - 20 a few years ago, but that was freak occurrence and short spell.

[Fil]

Yes a single primary regulator will work fine for one or more kegs serving at the same pressure

I didnt quite take in just how low the ambient temps are with you brrrrrrrrr..
you should have much fewer keg chilling problems than most, and you might even benefit from a small insulated warm box to keep the kegs between 5-11C depending on the beer your pouring at the time.

at least your doing the homework before getting the kegs, i sort of spotted em bought em and then started to work out how TF to use em.. and it was a good few months before i stopped pouring foam into a jug only to decant 1/2 a pint of flat beer 10 mins later..

once sorted (and with a stable keg temp) it should be a case of plumb up, fiddle to tune and once set just pour pint after pint till done.

[Uncle Albert]

Fil - I am looking at micromatic gas regs on eBay at the moment... There are primary and secondary for good money.... I don't need a secondary at the moment...... How do you adjust the pressure settings on the reg? Good source of air hose? Cheers again

[Uncle Albert]

Barneey and Capt F have solved all my many brewing problems.... Time to make something drinkable! Thanks for all the help - been a very steep and rapid learning curve so far