Guest guest Posted June 8, 2008 Report Share Posted June 8, 2008 I bought a Lutron Lamp Dimmer that was previously recommended (sorry, forgot who) and tried to calibrate it by using only water in the Yogourmet. The temperature only got to 95F at the max. setting. So, I tried again, without the dimmer, and got the same results. Since fermentation is an exothermic reaction, I have to assume that the reason the Yogourmet overheats when making yogurt is due to the heat produced by the bacteria. I'm going to try using only one 5 gram packet of Yogourmet starter next batch to see if reducing the initial quantity of bacteria will help to prevent overheating. The directions on the Yogourmet starter calls for 5 grams per quart of milk for a 4 - 4 1/2 hour fermentation period. SCD yogurt ferments for 24 hours, 6 times longer, and bacteria grows exponentially, so reducing the initial quantity of bacteria by half shouldn't have any negative results. Since the Yogourmet doesn't have a thermostat, the ambient temperature of the room has a noticeable affect on the temperature. I can't put the Yogourmet in the garage in the winter when it's only 50F in there. It doesn't get hot enough. In the summer, when it's over 80F, it gets way too hot. Alan Crohn's/Colitis 2003 SCD 08/2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 > > I am very surprised that your water temperature only got to 95 F. What was > the ambient temperature of the room where it was working? How accurate is > your thermometer? I was trying to test the Lutron dimmer. The Yogourmet was only filled with water. I wasn't trying to make Yogurt. The ambient temperature varied from 72 - 80F during the time I was testing. I used a Polder digital thermometer. My Yogourmet gets too hot when making yogurt with 2 packets of starter. I was thinking maybe it wouldn't overheat if I used less starter. Alan Crohn's/Colitis 2003 SCD 08/2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Hi Alan. My Yogourmet machine (bought in March 2008) tends to heat the water bath to 120 F after several hours, if left alone, with the room temperature between 66 -75 F. That is why I use a Leviton Lamp Dimmer (similar to the Lutron Lamp Dimmer), to reduce the power and thus the temperature of the water bath. I check the water bath temperature every few hours and adjust the slider on the dimmer switch as required, to try to keep the water bath at about 105 F. I am very surprised that your water temperature only got to 95 F. What was the ambient temperature of the room where it was working? How accurate is your thermometer? I find the Yogourmet thermometer difficult to read if I use it in the water bath, so I use a larger thermometer, intended for checking the temperature of meat, to monitor the water temperature. I discovered by accident that using my Crockpot and the Yogourmet on the same counter could drive the Yogourmet temperature up by at least 10 F degrees. So I know that ambient temperature is important. If fermentation is an exothermic reaction, and if the water temperature is only getting to 95 F for you as it is, then I don't understand why you would want to reduce the quantity of bacteria. I also wonder whether all the lactose would be digested by the bacteria if you used half the recommended amount of starter. I'm curious where you got the information about fermentation being exothermic. If that is the case, then I have to wonder why it is necessary to heat the water bath. In my opinion, the machine heats the water to about 120 F because the manufacturers consider that to be the ideal fermentation temperature. I have only been making yogurt for a few months. But I have been getting excellent results over and over again using my method, including 10 g of starter for 2 litres milk, and using the lamp dimmer to keep the water temperature between 100 F and 110 F. Ellen in Toronto SCD 12 weeks scd4alan " wrote: >I bought a Lutron Lamp Dimmer that was previously recommended > (sorry, forgot who) and tried to calibrate it by using only > water in the Yogourmet. The temperature only got to 95F at > the max. setting. So, I tried again, without the dimmer, and > got the same results. Since fermentation is an exothermic > reaction, I have to assume that the reason the Yogourmet > overheats when making yogurt is due to the heat produced > by the bacteria. I'm going to try using only one 5 gram > packet of Yogourmet starter next batch to see if reducing > the initial quantity of bacteria will help to prevent > overheating. The directions on the Yogourmet starter > calls for 5 grams per quart of milk for a 4 - 4 1/2 > hour fermentation period. SCD yogurt ferments for 24 hours, > 6 times longer, and bacteria grows exponentially, so > reducing the initial quantity of bacteria by half > shouldn't have any negative results. > Since the Yogourmet doesn't have a thermostat, > the ambient temperature of the room has a noticeable > affect on the temperature. I can't put the Yogourmet in > the garage in the winter when it's only 50F in there. > It doesn't get hot enough. In the summer, when it's over > 80F, it gets way too hot. > > Alan > Crohn's/Colitis 2003 > SCD 08/2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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