Yeah, I meant gauge. So you recommend the regular stainless dry macmaster gauges? Why go with the 60 PSI? Why wouldn't a 30 be better and offer more precision? Same goes with the adj. pressure relief valve? How bout doing 30 on both? Also, is that one robust enough to boil too?
I'd like to know how little headspace you've been able to achieve doing this. I have a converted sanke fermenter with a 4" triclamp top with ball lock disconnects like a corny. I am hoping that with this method I can get as close to a 15 gal ferment as possible.
Sorry if you've answered these already. I've read the whole thread, but my head hurts!
Yeah, I meant gauge. So you recommend the regular stainless dry macmaster gauges? Why go with the 60 PSI? Why wouldn't a 30 be better and offer more precision? Same goes with the adj. pressure relief valve? How bout doing 30 on both? Also, is that one robust enough to boil too?
No, I recommend the liquid filled (but... get the all stainless ones for outside rust issues). I chose a 60 because a 30 isn't high enough for when you take your temperature and pressure higher for carbonation. At cooler temperatures 30 would work just fine, since the pressure would be lower. But... at 70*F 30 psi isn't a lot. My guage was unusable at carbonation temperatures and I didn't even put it back on until I was crash cooling. 30 will work, but you'll need to guess more. As for the relief valve I had... it only went to 20 psi. I needed at least +30 psi, and the next one up was the newest one I bought. I want to be able to control my pressure at whatever temperature I may be at.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SankePankey
I'd like to know how little headspace you've been able to achieve doing this. I have a converted sanke fermenter with a 4" triclamp top with ball lock disconnects like a corny. I am hoping that with this method I can get as close to a 15 gal ferment as possible.
I have still only done 12.5 gallons due to my kegging procedures, but I feel it is possible to do 15 gallons with Fermcap.
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Just traded stuff for a half barrel keg, so I ordered parts to build my spunding mechanism. I'll post pics when I get it setup. I'm going to run an air line from the tap to a tee with the valve and gauge so I can monitor it outside of the lagerator. On the beer out side I'm going to add a picnic tap so I can draw gravity samples to see how the ferment is progressing, and to give me an easy way to harvest the yeast after racking.
Looking forward to doing 10 gallon batches of two week light American lager.
FWIW, I've been using this adjustable RV posted earlier itt and it's been working fine. The graduations on the outside are not even close to accurate but the valve itself works fine. I'm just using it for carbing.
I'm sure you mentioned it earlier Wortmonger but how much carb are you getting with ales at room temp? Sorry if I posted this earlier but here is a thread on ProBrewer about capping/spunding and they led me to believe I shouldn't go above 15 psi and that I should only shoot for ~1 volume CO2 with ales. I usually get close to full carb with lagers though. EDIT: I also like the idea of using the RV to 'regulate' the closed-transfer rate mentioned at the end.
__________________ Early brewers were primarily women, mostly because it was deemed a woman's job. Mesopotamian men, of some 3,800 years ago, were obviously complete assclowns and had yet to realize the pleasure of brewing beer.- Beer Advocate
Last edited by SpanishCastleAle; 02-16-2010 at 05:35 PM.
spanish castle,
that's the same RV that i'm using (maybe you got it from my post?) and also find it to work just right. I agree though, the graduations are off a bit and it takes some experimenting every time to get the pressure just right. It would be nice if there existed a set pressure relief valve with a setting of like 5psi or so. That would eliminate ever altering it.
__________________
*Bayou Brewhouse, established 2009*
Yep, got it from your post. I ordered them one day before leaving for work and they were on my doorstep the next day! Grainger and McMaster always seem to ship amazingly quick (they've saved my ass at work more than a few times).
I used a silver Sharpie to mark the black handle (just generic marks) and that makes it a little easier to dial it in.
__________________ Early brewers were primarily women, mostly because it was deemed a woman's job. Mesopotamian men, of some 3,800 years ago, were obviously complete assclowns and had yet to realize the pleasure of brewing beer.- Beer Advocate
Really wish they made a digital adjustable pressure relief valve like the digital pressure regulator I just bought. Man that would make everything a hell of a lot easier wouldn't it.
Spanish, I let my ales ramp up to room temp when there are just a couple of points shy from finish. I do this completely sealed, since I haven't attached the new stuff I bought for spunding and I can't control above 20 psi release. I get full carbonation, and sometimes a little more than wanted. I don't worry since the yeast has already done the majority of the work and think of it as if it were already done and I was just bottling it. When I crash I set my wanted release pressure again, then I don't worry about anything until the transfer. Sometimes I don't try to adjust pressure at all until I am transfered and at a specific temperature to control it better. There are so many variables, but the main point is that those last couple of gravity points don't off-flavor and work great for carbonation.
__________________ "Beer... Nutritious and Delicious!"
I have a 1/4 bbl keg, and I'm estimating that I need to cut 1/2" off the spear instead of the 3/4" stated by OP. AFAIK, it shouldn't be 1/2 of the 3/4" bc the width of the keg changes according to depth at the bottom of the keg. Does anyone have an idea if this is reasonable?
I've pieced my spunding valve together and I'm excited to brew up my first batch under pressure. I do have a question regarding setting pressures for releases. Did any of you do any bench testing on your pressure gauge and relief valve setup? I'm thinking it would be great to preset my initial pressure relief setting before I start fermenting.
I just connected my pressure relief system to my CO2 regulator, and adjusted it based on the output gauge reading.
One other thing to think about, if you haven't already designed it into the system, is that you should place a "trap" between keg connection and the regulator. I'm using a 20oz soda bottle. I have a flare fitting installed in the cap, which connects to a piece of tubing inside the bottle, and extends approx. half the length of the bottle. The adjustable regulator is connected to a manifold that I've placed in the upper portion of the bottle. The idea being that if krausen gets into the hose, it will need to fill the bottle before getting high enough to foul the regulator.
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On the beer out side I'm going to add a picnic tap so I can draw gravity samples to see how the ferment is progressing, and to give me an easy way to harvest the yeast after racking.
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