Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Eating and Drinking => Homebrew => Topic started by: mrsbean on July 22, 2012, 18:14
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looking back on earlier posts about heating mats,would a heated propagater tray do. they hold 2 demijars. would it get to warm or not warm enough,just a thought as i,m sure most of us have one and a lot cheaper than heating mat. or any other method please as my room will be quite cold during winter were i will have to leave wine.
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I would say go for it Mrs B, just keep an eye out for overheating if it's not thermostatically controlled.
You can always put a couple of teatowels underneath the dj's to dissipate the heat transferred and buy a cheap timer from fleabay so it only comes on when the heating goes off. :)
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Put some demijohns with water in on the mat and take a temperature reading 24 hours later and 24 hours again. You want it around 25C or the yeast might die. You might have toalternate between demijohn on and off if too warm and a thick towel if too cold.
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will do the water test,did,nt think of that. thanks
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We used to have an Ex-wine-Five (big 5 gallon plastic bag with tap, used to diespense draft wine in the off-licence back in the seventies), in a box, on wooden bearers on top of the Raeburn for our wine!
Never got too hot, wine finished in about two weeks, and never ever spoiled!
Had to be careful about over-stoking the fire, but it wasn't ever going to get too hot back then...
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did water test, after first 24hrs 27.5, after 2nd 24hrs 26. so during winter months when room will be much colder i think i could chance using tray.
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saves a few quid.
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yes it will,i can buy wine thermometer instead. thought i,d killed yeast in my blackcurrant wine. oh,s hands dont feel heat so not going to let him test again.