Hey all,
I live in Maine, and due to the colder weather have not been able to get my last two batches (a Dubbel and a cider) to carbonate despite moving them around to try to find warmer spots. I had some luck putting a few bottles in a styrofoam shipping cooler on top of my fridge, but I could only fit 4 short bottles at a time. The Belgian is currently at my father in law’s place close enough to a coal stove to get it going, but I should probably figure something else out for future batches. Any thoughts?
A box of some sort (cardboard, a cooler, an old dead fridge) with a reptile heater bulb in it.
If you have a clothes drier, put the bottles on top of the drier.
I use a kegerator fitted with a reptile heater and a fan. The heat and cool are controlled with an Inkbird. Of coarse, I no longer use it as a kegerator. But it works awesome as a fermentation chamber. I bypassed the cooling thermostat and use the Inkbird. Something to consider.
Meantime, a heating pad or heating blanket may help.
Thanks for the suggestions.
I bottle condition with an inkbird, heating pad (12" 25w above) on its side in the middle of a large cooler.
Cooler used can hold about 48 22oz bottles, ink bird probe on end, mat in center.
Removed spout from cooler for probe and wires. It’s dialed in @ 73 degrees, and
holds it there in a 50-55 degree basement.