Using a brew belt

critchl

I am using a brew belt on my 5gal FV. Is it safe to wrap the vessel (inc heater) with insulation?

HBO_Staff

Insulating your vessel is a good way to reduce heat loss and help the belt or pad warm it higher and faster (and more efficiently and economically too) - it is best to wrap and cover the vessel, but try not to tightly enclose the heater itself as a precaution, it should be fine but is best not to make it overheat

critchl

Thanks for reply. I am using an STC-1000 controller and the FV is mounted in a fermenting box with some insulation, but the temperature in the box is much lower than indicated by the LCD thermometer on the FV, so I thought wrapping the vessel in insulation would be a good idea. Wrapping the sensor for the heater controller was ok, but I wasn't sure about the heat belt. However, I am going to give it a go. Thanks again.

HBO_Staff

Sounds like a good set-up you have, the heaters work at quite a low temperature but the manufacturers don't give any exact advise on whether or not it so OK to cover the heaters, so it is best to take care just as a precaution