What's going on in your winery today..

[Cellar_Rat]

Be careful with that !! CO2 can suffocate you.

[Sharpyuk]

Mine are in the upstairs bathroom, which isn't ideal.. I'm hoping to get my shed sorted out so I can have them in there..

[oliver90owner]

Be careful with that !! CO2 can suffocate you.

More likely drown if he has his head in the bucket!

Or were you referring to fermenting in the cellar and then sleeping on the floor?

[RTPFUN]

Mine are in the upstairs bathroom, which isn't ideal.. I'm hoping to get my shed sorted out so I can have them in there..

For "cellar" read converted shed. So your shed idea will work well. Mine’s all insulated has a curtain over the doorway to keep out the heat/cold. I heat it in winter with one of those little 500 watt heaters combined with a decent thermostat. And for wine racks loads of adapted IKEA shelving. There’s 490 bottles up there at the moment and another 120 reds waiting to be bottled this week. It’s going to be busy weekend of bottling.

[Sharpyuk]

Have you got a link for converted shed topic? I too was planning on insulating my shed to try and stop temperature fluctuations, and most likely a small heater to keep the wine from freezing in winter

[SleepyDave]

I'm trying to get some ideas for keeping mine cool in these warm spells. It's fluctuating between 40F and 70F at the moment.

[SiSandrine]

I insulated mine last year and it has reduced the fluctuation somewhat. Not been abve 14c yet but did get down to about 4c in winter. When summer really bites it will be interesting to see what happens.

[Cellar_Rat]

Insulation keeps what's in in and what's out out. Also fermenting in plastic and metal makes life easier because it is less conductive.

If you have a camp mat - particularly the sort with the tinfoil bit, these are brilliant. roll it around the outside of a standard Young's fermenter and secure with a bungee or piece of string. Failing that bubble wrap.

Also makes a good improvised mash tun!

[RTPFUN]

I'm trying to get some ideas for keeping mine cool in these warm spells. It's fluctuating between 40F and 70F at the moment.

I have a little vent powered by a computer power supply fan which is at ground level and another vent up at the eaves of the shed with a flap so as not to let the heat out in winter. It’s on two thermostats and if the internal temperature gets above 15C then the power goes on and if the one outside drops to below 12C (which it does most evenings ) the other thermostat powers up the fan to cool the cellar sorry shed.
edit the thermostats came from Claus Olsen and can operate hot or cold above or below your setting.

[RTPFUN]

I insulated mine last year and it has reduced the fluctuation somewhat. Not been abve 14c yet but did get down to about 4c in winter. When summer really bites it will be interesting to see what happens.

The 500 watt heater I have kept mine nice and warm it was only £20 at B&Q. However the thermostat cost a bit more £30 at Claus Olsen set at 10C for the winter and to be honest it hardly came on other than when I was in and out a lot.

[oliver90owner]

Sleepy Dave,

Is this a shed? As others have indicated, insulation keeps heat in and keeps heat out (no such thing as 'cold getting in'!)

A fridge positioned such that the radiator is on the outside of the shed and the door (open) inside the shed, coupled with some circulation assistance (cold air will leak out anywhere around the floor) would help. A totally separate thermostat, with a reasonably large hysteresis, is a must as refrigeration compressors don't like starting immediately after being shut off and can burn out if the safety cut-out fails.

Leccy bills are not as horrendous as you might expect as the fridge should have a reasonable COP (coefficient of performance) if the shed is only vented at ceiling level. Remember vents need be at low level if you are heating the thing and heavier-than-air carbon dioxde needs to be considered.

RAB

The alternative is a proper air-con unit which is horrendously expensive to buy.

[Sharpyuk]

The cooling is probably the most difficult to achieve, although in our summers here in Yorkshire I can remember when temps got much above 25C - I don't think that would be too bad?

Fans may be enough to cool things down a little. I think air conditioning the shed may be a bit extreme..

I was more concerned about out winter temps as they can get VERY cold - a simple heater should be fine for this to stop the wines freezing

I'm hoping a bit of insulation will be enough to keep things cool through the summer?

[Cellar_Rat]

I was more concerned about out winter temps as they can get VERY cold - a simple heater should be fine for this to stop the wines freezing

The trick with storing wines in outbuildings is not then getting very cold or indeed a bit too warm, it is sudden changes in temperature that must be avoided.

Insulation is the answer. Sometimes you can find nonworking walk in chiller rooms for sale on eBay - for the cost of the shed, and probably cheaper if you are planning to insulat it. They are a complete 6 inch insulated box.

Mine never drops below 5° C in the harshest of winters and generally doesn't exceeds 20° C in the hottest of summers it is currently around 14° C. but the really good thing is the temperature does not move quickly. Particularly if you have it stuffed with wine in it because liquid has a massive buffering effect on temperature change.

[Sharpyuk]

That's good to know! I am planning on insulating so should be ok..

[Cellar_Rat]

You can get cheap little oil filledelectric radiators that are 500 W with a frost setting. I know mine has never cut in but it has been there just in case