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Trubadour · 07-13-2009, 05:34 PM

I was at one of my local brew club's member's houses yesterday and discovered using corny kegs as primary fermenters. I've been holding off brewing for a couple of weeks b/c my fermentation chamber is full (only holds 3 buckets / carboys).

This guy's cold storage can hold 18 corny kegs (upright freezer + refrigerator) and all of them are being used as primaries or for lagering. My fridge will hold 6 cornies. Back to brewing!!! Great use for cornies that won't hold pressure or just currently unused ones.

I had thought about using cornies as secondaries, but I don't secondary much. Never crossed my mind to primary in them.

Anyways, just wanted to share.

McKBrew · 07-13-2009, 05:36 PM

There are a few related links. If done right it can be successful. I'm personally not big on the idea as you will have to adjust batch sizes to account for blow-off.

chefmike · 07-13-2009, 05:41 PM

Are you just pulling the dip tubes, leaving the one post off and putting and air lock in?

Or removing the pressure release valve? Are you using a foam supressant? or just blowing off excess?

I have been considering for the same reasons as you... space in my fermentation chiller.

McKBrew · 07-13-2009, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chefmike

Are you just pulling the dip tubes, leaving the one post off and putting and air lock in?

Or removing the pressure release valve? Are you using a foam supressant? or just blowing off excess?

I have been considering for the same reasons as you... space in my fermentation chiller.

One of the more recent articles of BYO (or maybe Zymurgy) has a write-up. There are also a few detailed threads here I think.

Trubadour · 07-13-2009, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chefmike

Are you just pulling the dip tubes, leaving the one post off and putting and air lock in?

Or removing the pressure release valve? Are you using a foam supressant? or just blowing off excess?

I have been considering for the same reasons as you... space in my fermentation chiller.

After reading some of the other threads, I think a foam suppresant is a good idea, but I don't have any now. I did pull the out dip tube and pressure release valve, and have a hose that fits in the pressure hole. However, since this batch was up to the brim of the keg, and I don't have any foam suppresant, I went ahead and kegged a batch, racked one of my primaries to a corny, and freed up the space in the chamber for this batch.

I'm going to try out the primary corny for my next batch.

**petep1980** · 07-13-2009, 08:20 PM

I plan to do it for lager which should be easier since the slower, less active fermentation.

AQsucka · 08-11-2011, 12:06 AM

Are there any good how to's out there for using corny kegs to primary ferment and then transfer to a serving keg (which is also a Corny)?

**1Mainebrew** · 08-13-2011, 05:24 AM

Yeah, AHA has a video on it on their website

LakewoodBrew · 08-13-2011, 05:28 AM

i've done it a few times but, really it's not that practical unless you have cornies to dedicate to it. sankes work a lot better.

samc · 08-13-2011, 06:13 AM

10 or 15 gallon Cornies do a great job with fermenting. 5'ers were a pain because of size constraints as I usually do 6 gallons into the fermenter. Cornies are easier to clean over Sankes for me as I can see into them better and actually scrub inside if needed.