Byron Hawkins

I closed my permies account more than 2 weeks ago and I'm still getting these emails. Isn't there some kind of law against that?

Thanks Adrien, though I make a different kind of yogurt that takes 48 hours in the box. It's more like a smooth cheese. So I will need a steady heat source of some kind.

I'm wondering how warm the cooler will be if it contains a large jar of water that is kept at 95° by an electric heater. Maybe someone on a science forum will know how the heat transfer will balance out...

Well, solar might work if I had some kind of material that would absorb heat during the day and release it at night. For "sour juice" I usually ferment 30 days, so it does need to be fairly stable. Seems like there must be materials that would work, but I have no idea how to find out about them.

Neal, do you by chance know if the aquarium heaters work for fermenting at 100°+? I'm also wondering if it's necessary to put the heater in water. I suppose it would be easy enough, though simpler not to.

Byron

Interesting idea, but unfortunately I just have space heaters here in southern California. I've thought about the refrigerator too, and also the possibility of putting warm electronics in the cooler, since there is enough space at the lid handle for wires to get out. But so far nothing is quite working, either because the heat output is not consistent, or because it's too difficult to route the warm air.

A fish tank warmer would be perfect except that they only go to about 90°. The light bulb works, but of course they burn out after a while, and it's not the most efficient way to generate heat. Maybe a countertop "5th burner" would work, but I'm thinking it might not have a low enough setting. Well, I'll be interested to know what you come up with for your new place.

I'm looking for a small and efficient heat source so that I can use a camping cooler for making yogurt and other lacto-fermented stuff. In my last apartment I had a gas oven that maintained 105°F all by itself, because of the pilot light. But I just moved, and the appliances here are electric.

For now I am using a cooler with a light bulb inside, but of course that is not cost effective. Can anyone recommend some kind of cheap device that I could put in the cooler to keep it around 105°F? Thanks for your help.


Byron