Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:20 am
Yeah, we (my wife and I) were sort of trying something new regarding the fermentation, and it turned out to be a Bad Idea(tm).
Our first solution to the thermowell issue was to ferment with the thermowell in place and the second hole left empty, with a piece of sanitized aluminum foil covering the whole top of the carboy. This turns out to be a pretty good mixture of the worst features of all the other options.
As it turns out, a carboy isn't the place to experiment with open fermentation. The neck is too restrictive, and with a double-drilled bung in place, you just get a volcano instead of a blown bung. And without a blow-off hose, you end up with a microbiology experiment on the floor and all down the sides of your fermenter. Duh... *kicks past self in the butt to make the lesson sink in*
So yeah, screw thermowells.
On a slightly related note, we learned something else on this ferment. The heater wrap that Northern Brewer sells is basically a roll of plastic printed with resistive elements, and then cut to length. As it turns out, the crimps that connect the lamp cord to the power rails are completely unprotected, exposed, deadly, O-my-holy-god, line current. Combine this screw up with my idiotic inattention, and combine all that with metalized bubble-wrap intended to insulate our carboy.... Lets just say that when the thermal controller kicked the heater on, the colors were pretty.
So if you've got one of these widowmakers, check and make sure there's some sort of insulation on the crimps, and if there isn't bust out the electrical tape.
- TP
