February 13, 2022 - 6:50pm
Inexpensive, homemade starter fermenter
Just wanted to show off the inexpensive fermentation chamber for sourdough starters I made. It has gone through a few upgrades, but this is the final version (probably).
This started with a small Igloo Legend 12 cooler. I chose to heat it by attaching a small reptile heating pad to the inside back wall. I wired in an STC-1000 temperature controller, attaching the temperature sensor to a thermowell I had previously used, and inserted a small snap-in receptacle in the back.
Now, I have way to keep my starter at any desired temperature in a small chamber, without spending a huge amount of money. I would be interested in your thoughts.
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Very cool! It never even occurred to me, I built an enclosure with an STC-1000 a while back to control the temperature of a fermentation chamber I used to use to make lager. It has a two outlets, one that switches on to cool and one that switches on to heat. I could easily put a light bulb in a small cooler for a makeshift proofing box. It never occurred to me to use it for bread…
It's funny, but I have the exact same controller, this is how I did mine:
Think your wiring is clever, especially the plug and it is super neat.
Could be a bit worried though with having it inside the cooler because of moisture?
I should have poked the hole for my temperature probe lower down and closer to the heating mat.
-Jon
Much cleaner than mine. I've got a "Mr. Coffee" mug warmer on the bottom and the controller hanging on the front. I tape the sensing probe to the inside of the cooler.