Keeping fermentors warm? saisons...

[sdgbrew]

I want to ensure the temp doesn't drop below 80 during fermentation and wondering how people are going about it?

Thanks

[Buckley]

For jacketed ferm. I remove the glycol lines and use hot water through the inlet. For non jacket tanks I have drapped a hose over the top of the vessel and let water slowly run down the vessel. Trying to make sure that the water ran pretty evenly over the tank. Pretty low tech ways. I have always thought f make a heating loop using my heated cip tank and a pump to cycle water at a specific temp through my jackets, but have yet to actually make it =)

[Michael Murphy]

I pitch warm and the insulation does the rest.

[DancingCamel]

If your ambient temp is anything reasonable I think your fermenting yeast will just naturally take your temps up into the 80's. We had one beer that didn't make it to the level of our cooling jacket - the fermenter hit temps in the 90's. Was like watching a herd of bison charging off a cliff...

[Buckley]

the only time I have really had to warm them was when I worked in a lager house where the ferm room was pretty chilly and at the end of fermentation I would warm it up a bit to make sure I was getting everything I could from that yeast. But I pretty much send over in the mid 70's and let it roll trying to keep it from going over 90.

[sbradt]

We've always just pitched it warm (80°F) and let it go. Our ambient temperature in the brewhouse runs around 55-60°F during the winter months and it's never been a problem

[JoeV]

Pitch warm and the yeast should maintain the temp. and even increas it by 5 degrees in my case in an insulated tank. But if you ever need to warm a tank, say a lager from 45 to 60 for a diacetal rest you need a way to heat the glycol. We put a bypass heating loop in the glycol lines for each tank. Hook up a in-line aquarium heater with its own pump on a cart with casters. The in-line aquarium heater (for really big aquariums) comes in a cartrige filter type housing. Im sure you could also fabricate something using a heating element from mcmaster carr or similar in a housing of some kind. Then if you need to heat a tank for any reason you just hook it up.