JMack

Recipes 

Is a 5-gallon carboy, with a blow-off tube, large enough for a promary fermenter? Would 6-gallon be better?

Big10Seaner

Recipes 

6 gallon would be better. A 5 gallon glass primary, rigged with blowoff tube, will lose probably could lose up to a gallon I would guess. The plastic buckets most people use are actually 6 or 6.5 gallons.

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MCH

Recipes 

6 gallon would definitely be better, but a 5 gallon w/blow-off would work.

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-Dan-

Recipes 

I use 5gal carboys w/ blow-off tubs. No problems at all. You use obviously some through the blow-off but overall it's not a big problem.

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JMack

Recipes 

Whoa, those could be the fastest replies I have ever gotten in a forum.

Thanks. I'm looking at getting a starter kit, just trying to get some basic ideas of what to look for.

I'm assuming whatever kit will contain:

Primary fermenter (I definitely want a carboy for the visual aspect)
Bottling bucket
Capper
Racking cane, siphon and bottle filler
Hydrometer
Cleaning/Sanitation supplies
Tubing, fittings

Any other must haves that I should look for?

tdavisii

Recipes 

I use 6.5 and imho it is a little much

DD2000GT

Recipes 

I have always used a 5 gallon carboy because I actually LIKE to blow off some of the foam and get it out of the fermenter. I use pellet hops for the most part (convinience and storage longevity) and don't strain them from the wort usually. The blowoff helps get rid of some of this hop residue.

I will say though, sterilizing the blowoff tube once fermentation settles down is a PITA.

Dan

bearymore

Recipes 

Does anyone else use Fermcap-S? Since I started using it, I've had absolutely no problems with blow off. I started using it after having a brew blow the lid off a 6.5 gallon plastic fermenter. Does Fermcap have any drawbacks?

foppa78

Recipes 

After having several big blowouts in a row I decided to give fermcap S a try on my last batch. It is hard to come to a conclusion only after one batch but I was very impressed. I was nowhere near a blowout and the krausen never got any bigger than an inch tall. So far so good but I will use this a few more times before I swear by it.

Bobby_M

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Recipes 

Temp control is a huge factor. I just fermented 5.75 gallons of Wit in a 6 gallon better bottle and blew off maybe a cup of liquid though the entire ferment. I attribute that to a solid 68F controller setting.

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