temperature control

I've used electric blankets many times. A two heating pads wrapped around a tub works well.

I fish tank has a lot of circulation so that the water heats evenly. I would wonder whether the small area of contact with a fish-tank heater would be sufficient to do this in a still environment. I would guess it would be warm right around the heater but cooler farther away.

Quixote

I agree with this assessment. I've tested fish tanks, and farther away gets cooler, PLUS, when it turns on, it is more hot so could I guess impact the wine touching it.

The blanket is the best bet.

My view is that a fish tank heater would have a lot of localised heat would would do horrible things to your wine.

I have a Flat flexible heating panel that puts out 80w per square metre (10 square feet). I plug it in via a thermostat to keep the temperature constant.

Either get one big enough to go around about 80% of your vat (leave room for temperature sensor not to get confused with reading the pad temp and not the contents temp) or get a smaller one and stick the whole carboodle in a crate with insulation to suit.

A send temp sensor that retains max/min temps is handy for adjusting airflow and insulation levels. Too much insulation and the heat generated from the brewing process can stuff things up.

Next level of complexity is a thermostat that'll activate the heat panel to warm or a fan to cool. Great for peace of mind if you go away or simply get inattentive.

Doh! Excuse my grammer, spelling etc. Hope you can make sense of my post.....

I bought some plastic sheeting- the thick kind used for drop clothes from HD for about 5$- and wrapped it around a 4'x3'x6' enclosure (3 shelves). I then put a oil filled heater in there and turned the heat WAY down... happens to correspond to a paint splotch from when it was in a paint booth.

Anyways, this kept the wines at a comfy 70 degrees or so thru the last winter. Not much electicity used either- better seals would help that.

Jas> I want to heat my primary 50 gal plastic vat this yeqar. It will be in a

My method for keeping a carboy at an appropriate temperature for fermentation involves this:

Placed the carboy > I want to heat my primary 50 gal plastic vat this yeqar. It will be in a