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Date: 20 Dec 2006 13:13:51
From: JoeyB
Subject: Painted Copper in a Fermenter?
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I know bare copper in a fermenter is a no no. What about painting it?
Powder coating?
There's some epoxy based paints at the hardware store for painting
appliances, what about
one of these? I'm buiding a fermentation temp control system and I
can't resist the thermal conductivity of copper. I'll resort to
stainless if I need to but it has only 1/8 the the thermal conductivity
of copper.
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Date: 20 Dec 2006 21:42:55
From: Andrew
Subject: Re: Painted Copper in a Fermenter?
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JoeyB wrote:
> I know bare copper in a fermenter is a no no. What about painting it?
> Powder coating?
> There's some epoxy based paints at the hardware store for painting
> appliances, what about
> one of these? I'm buiding a fermentation temp control system and I
> can't resist the thermal conductivity of copper. I'll resort to
> stainless if I need to but it has only 1/8 the the thermal conductivity
> of copper.
>
Keep in mind that the paint will reduce the thermal conductivity of the
copper. You might consider having the fermenter chromed. A lot tougher
and no floating surprises in your beer.
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Date: 20 Dec 2006 18:43:18
From: Scott Lindner
Subject: Re: Painted Copper in a Fermenter?
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> Keep in mind that the paint will reduce the thermal conductivity of the
> copper. You might consider having the fermenter chromed. A lot tougher and
> no floating surprises in your beer.
Dang.. you beat me to it.
Plus, the biggest contributor to thermal conductivity in this situation is
turbulence and not the conductivity of the material. I don't know what
recirculating a fermenting wort would do to the brew, but I'd think it would
really increase the ability to control the ferm temps down to the gnat's
a**.
What do the pros use? Stainless steel?
Scott
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Date: 20 Dec 2006 15:32:53
From: David M. Taylor
Subject: Re: Painted Copper in a Fermenter?
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"JoeyB" <joseph.burgel@gm.com > wrote in message
news:1166649230.960117.109600@73g2000cwn.googlegroups.com...
>I know bare copper in a fermenter is a no no. What about painting it?
> Powder coating?
> There's some epoxy based paints at the hardware store for painting
> appliances, what about
> one of these? I'm buiding a fermentation temp control system and I
> can't resist the thermal conductivity of copper. I'll resort to
> stainless if I need to but it has only 1/8 the the thermal conductivity
> of copper.
I would suppose epoxy might work. Since you're not using it for corrosion
protection, a single thin coat (perhaps 3 to 4 mils) might be the answer.
Be sure to scratch up the surface nice to ensure it adheres well. Let it
cure for about 10 days before use. Then, I would rinse it with boiling
water about 3 times to help get any residual solvents out before actually
using it as a fermenter. I've never heard of anyone doing this but in
theory I think it would work.
--
Dave
"Fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinking." -- Brad Paisley
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