PolishWineP
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Thanks! Bert (my certainly better half) came up with the name. My attitude often goes with it.uavwmn said:
another new northern MN wine maker
- Thread starter moose
- Start date
Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
Jack on Rainy
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Welcome Moose,
I am 80 miles north of you and have similar house temp variations.
I want to caution you about using a thermometer placed on top of the
primary fermenter. It isn't very acurate and understates the must temp
by maybe 5 degrees. I did some experiments with measuring temps a few
months ago when I noted my stick-on thermometer wasn't reading the
same(higher) than the cheapo thermometer I had laying on top of the
cover. I put a cloth over the themometer on top to insulate it from the
room temp to see if the room temp was affecting the reading. It was!
But, still it was reading lower than the stick-on. My conclusion was
and is that the air space above the must also insulated the thermometer
from the must temp.
I then started thinking about how to check the stick-on to see it that
was being accurate. I took the cheapo, hollowed out a slot in the back
of a 1" thick piece to styrofoam to fit it and taped the cheapo to the
side of the fermenter right next to the stick-on and then taped the
styrofoam over the bulb section of the thermometer and compared
readings. They matched! So, I am thinking that the stick-on is fairly
close although I think slightly low since the plastic bucket doesn't
transfer heat very well. My next experiment is to tape a piece of
bubble wrap over the stick-on thinking to insulate it from the room
temp and still be able to read it.
Another temp control thing which works for me. The floor in my
fermentation area (my wife still thinks it is a project room which it
was until I started this addicting hobby....) is heated so some heat is
available from that source. In the winter, that source is too little to
heat the must to temp so I use a 20w brew belt. That is too much! So, I
put two screw drivers between the belt and the vessel. Fooling with
that a bit gets me to 73 +/- 1 degree.
BTW, maybe we should give Trashy a geography lesson! You are still 81
miles south of Canada! Oh, and another thought: Almost all the kits you
buy will have been made in Canada!
I am 80 miles north of you and have similar house temp variations.
I want to caution you about using a thermometer placed on top of the
primary fermenter. It isn't very acurate and understates the must temp
by maybe 5 degrees. I did some experiments with measuring temps a few
months ago when I noted my stick-on thermometer wasn't reading the
same(higher) than the cheapo thermometer I had laying on top of the
cover. I put a cloth over the themometer on top to insulate it from the
room temp to see if the room temp was affecting the reading. It was!
But, still it was reading lower than the stick-on. My conclusion was
and is that the air space above the must also insulated the thermometer
from the must temp.
I then started thinking about how to check the stick-on to see it that
was being accurate. I took the cheapo, hollowed out a slot in the back
of a 1" thick piece to styrofoam to fit it and taped the cheapo to the
side of the fermenter right next to the stick-on and then taped the
styrofoam over the bulb section of the thermometer and compared
readings. They matched! So, I am thinking that the stick-on is fairly
close although I think slightly low since the plastic bucket doesn't
transfer heat very well. My next experiment is to tape a piece of
bubble wrap over the stick-on thinking to insulate it from the room
temp and still be able to read it.
Another temp control thing which works for me. The floor in my
fermentation area (my wife still thinks it is a project room which it
was until I started this addicting hobby....) is heated so some heat is
available from that source. In the winter, that source is too little to
heat the must to temp so I use a 20w brew belt. That is too much! So, I
put two screw drivers between the belt and the vessel. Fooling with
that a bit gets me to 73 +/- 1 degree.
BTW, maybe we should give Trashy a geography lesson! You are still 81
miles south of Canada! Oh, and another thought: Almost all the kits you
buy will have been made in Canada!
Jack on Rainy, thanks for the information. I have been keeping notes since we started this wine making kit. When we start our 2nd kit, at least we'll have something to go by. I may try the screwdriver trick because we have to plug and unplug the belt to regulate the temp. Been try to keep it around 72-73. The wine is in the second fermentation stage now.
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