Wrap Around Kombucha Heater Belt | Propagate Pro Brewing and Fermentation Heat Mat Warmer | Keeps Your SCOBY Happy and Productive with Stickon Thermometer

I bought this product because my house is too cold for the SCOBY in kombucha. I am happy to say that it has brought the temperature up to the correct range and the fermentation is now proceeding. I thought this product would have some form of temperature control, but the insert clearly states that it has only one heating level and it's either on or off. Fortunately, the level seems to be perfect for a one gallon container of kombucha. There are rubber bands to hold the heating pad in place and they also seem to work. I really like the temperature gauge which I placed underneath the heating pad. Overall, for the price, this seems like just the thing at a good price if you keep your house on the cool side and you'd like to make kombucha.

I’ve bought this product twice now, I use one for my kombucha and another for my fish tank. For a while I was placing the pad loosely around my gallon kombucha jar to control the temperature in the winter, using props to keep it in place. Now I place it underneath two gallons and it takes it perfectly up to 84 in the summertime. I also place it underneath my fish tank which heats a 5 gallon tank up to 82-84 from 75 or so. I love this product, it’s a good price and as a bonus it comes with a stick-on temperature strip which is nice to have around.

Just after recieving the product, the owner of the company sent me a nice email explaining the use of the wrap around heater as well as some background about it's development specificly for Kombucha home brew. It was nice to see artisans making a product to help others in this craft. The area where I have the Kombucha is very cold, about 50 degrees F. So I was very concerned about keeping the Kombucha warm enough to activate and maintain the fermentation process. It's been in use for about a week and a constant 81 degrees with only an occasional dip to 79 degrees one time when it got to the mid 40s. However, I wrapped a blanket around the heater and underneath the jar, and the temp has maintained around 81 degrees each time I have checked it. The system is simple, and comes with a stick on thermometer so you can constantly monitor the temp. Two thick rubber bands to keep the heater in contact with the surface of the glass jar are also included. So far no it has worked perfectly and the dedication and attention by the owners of the company and their dedication to the Kombucha brewing craft is appreciated and shows in the usefulness of the product. As soon as I get the hang of the fermintation process and make multiple batches at the same time, I will be getting some more of these "Easy Heezy" heaters.

Not quite perfect but I have ordered a second one so that tells you that it's good enough. It is easy to understand and use. My issue is that used alone with one gallon bottle it quickly reached the high end of the brewing range and I took it off to be sure it didn't go over 85 degrees. Then I wrapped it around 2 bottles at a time (1 gallon each) and it worked perfectly. It doesn't fit around 2 bottles completely but it covers the front of both bottles with just enough extra to fit around the sides and hold in place with the band. I brew two bottles at a time anyway so this arrangement makes me very happy. If you are only going to brew one gallon, keep an eye on temperature and have a chopstick or something ready to stick under the band to pull it back a bit from the bottle.

This helps keep my kombucha brew at a consistent 79° since before I bought it it was only getting up to barely 67° and it was prolonging the time of my first fermentation. I tried other things to get the ambient temperature up, but nothing was working as I live in the northwest and it’s getting cooler, it wasn’t even keeping up to the temperature in my house until I got this. I’m using it around a 1 gallon jug and it’s been working perfect for me. I recommended if you’re wanting to grow consistent great kombucha.

So far I'm liking this as a kombucha heating belt. I have made several batches with it, and each one has been perfect. It keeps the temperature consistently at 77 to 78 degrees. I keep it in a cool room, so I feel that it has worked well. The cord on this belt is long enough to give options as to where you can place the kombucha, and this is very helpful. It has no means to hold the belt up if you want to have it midway up on the jar, however, and it would be improved if a Velcro attachment came on it. Since it really is best if the heat source is not at the bottom, I use a rubber band to hold the belt up. More of a nuisance, but it works. Overall I am pleased with this and it is a less expensive alternative to the other kombucha warmers that I have found.

The wrap does not extend very far and did not fit the jug I brew in. Making it more adjustable would be easy. I used some chord wrapped around to make it functional. The thermometer strips are not very precise and the controls are really cheap and hard the gauge. You have to keep an eye on it. I ordered other thermometer strips and they register a few degrees different. Sometimes 1 sometimes 2. The strip sometimes feels a bit alarmingly warm, but it doesn't wrap all the way around, so I guess it's stronger heat in some places and less in others evening out to something sort of in the range my kombucha wants. I would prefer something I could trust a bit more, but this has got me through the winter when our house is generally between 60 and 67 degrees.

So far the wrap is able to keep my 1 gallon glass jars and the kombucha warm about 75 to 80° and the wrap is able to wrap around in the front of 21 gallon glass jars. It is working.