Wanted: Morebeer 7 gal heated/cooled conical v1

I'm in the market for a Morebeer 7 gallon heated and cooled jacketed fermenter - the first version is fine. I need a backup fermenter for the occasional experimental batch to complement my 12gal heated and cooled fermenter which I use for my main batches.

I'd also consider a 12gal h/c if the price was right.

Note that I'm specifically interested in the unit with the jacket and the heating and cooling elements (including the Ranco controller included with the unit).

Bump

Hey forceten,

I promise not to hijack your thread, but I am seriously considering buying a 14 gallon morebeer heated/cooled conical. How are you liking yours? Any issues? How many degrees below ambient are you getting?

Thanks!

they are 10% off at Morebeer for the month of April...

yes, mors, they are. That makes it all the more tempting. I'm really curious about how well they work from someone who uses one. Any feedback?

I was looking to get one for a few hundred. The pricing at Morebeer is weird; the 5gal batch one is only $100 less than the 10gal batch one. How bizarre is that? I know some of the elements are the same but you'd think there'd be more space in the pricing.

Veritas - they're great. They're well constructed, they're real conicals, and the temperature works well. You can heat it up quite a bit (I've never had to go more than a handful of degrees to be honest) and the cooling does about 30 degrees from ambient (warning: You have to fill the thing up as the fans are near the top of the fermenter. If you don't, you risk ice building up and having it be less effective.)

I highly recommend them -- they're the absolute best home fermentation solutions outside of a non jacketed steel fermenter inside a fridge customized with a temperature controller but those usually do not heat. What the average homebrewer doesn't realize is that temperature control is paramount and even a couple degrees can make a significant difference in the finished product. Ultimate control is important.

You won't be sorry. I want a second one because they're so good and because fermenting in corny kegs is not that good.

Issue with the morebeer 14 vs the 7.... you cannot ferment a 5 gallon batch with heating/cooling in the 14 gallon one. The peltier plates are mounted too high. So if you brew 5 gallon batches you need the 7 not the 14. With other methods of controlling temp in the conical you could always do a 5 gallon batch in a 14 gallon fermenter. That's why I went with upright freezer + stout conical.

That is definitely a negative - the batch sizes are fixed; you can't do smaller batches. Which is why I balk at paying for the 7 gal (5-6 gal batch) FV due to its cost.

If I could have an enclosure that isn't appreciably larger than the conical and did both heating and cooling (and quickly enough), I'd go that route, but I'm not aware of anyone doing the heating element.

You don't need a heating element. You use an upright freezer for the cooling and a heat wrap for the heating. It would use the same kind of temp controller (or even the exact same temp controller as the morebeer one). http://morebeer.com/view_product/16674//The_FermWrap_Heater

The downside to this route is obviously space (the size of the freezer). It is however more efficient that a peltier and you can bring the temp down as far as you want. You could even freeze it if you wanted to make an eisbock or something. As with everything in life...there are advantages and disadvantages to both

My 14.5 gallon stout conical + freezer + heat wrap + temp controller was around $1100 total. Would have been cheaper if I got a used freezer...instead I paid $400 for a new one.

FermWrap looks similar to what's in the conical. It's a heating element.

I mean, yeah, you could do that. And it's probably just as good as the jacketed conical. I wonder if the cooling happens as quickly?

What size freezer would you recommend?

You have to actually measure the inside dimensions of the freezer to make sure the conical will fit. With my 14.5 Stout conical the dimension that matters most is depth. Most of the freezers have a bit of extra space above the conical. The Kenmore 13.7 models were the best fit for it when I was looking.

What modifications to the freezer are necessary? Or do you simply run the thermoprobe into the freezer and plug the freezer into the control unit?

Also do you mean the Blichmann 14.5 Conical?

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/blichmann-fermenator-conical-fermentor-tri-clamp-fittings.html

mors said:

You have to actually measure the inside dimensions of the freezer to make sure the conical will fit. With my 14.5 Stout conical the dimension that matters most is depth. Most of the freezers have a bit of extra space above the conical. The Kenmore 13.7 models were the best fit for it when I was looking.

Click to expand...

Any chance you have a picture for us?

forceten said:

Veritas - they're great. They're well constructed, they're real conicals, and the temperature works well. You can heat it up quite a bit (I've never had to go more than a handful of degrees to be honest) and the cooling does about 30 degrees from ambient (warning: You have to fill the thing up as the fans are near the top of the fermenter. If you don't, you risk ice building up and having it be less effective.)

I highly recommend them -- they're the absolute best home fermentation solutions outside of a non jacketed steel fermenter inside a fridge customized with a temperature controller but those usually do not heat. What the average homebrewer doesn't realize is that temperature control is paramount and even a couple degrees can make a significant difference in the finished product. Ultimate control is important.

You won't be sorry. I want a second one because they're so good and because fermenting in corny kegs is not that good.

Click to expand...

Thanks! That's very helpful feedback. I brew 10 gallon batches so I'm not overly concerned about the the ice-issue, but that's good to know. If I ever do a 5 gallon batch in it, I'll just be sure my ambient temps are suitable (and not use the heating or the cooling in that case.)

I already do have a big chest freezer with a 2-stage controller and a ceramic heater to do temp control on lagers, so for those who recommend this solution, I agree that it's a great method with good temp control. The heated/cooled conical is partly for "floor real estate" management, and of course, for the bragging rights and cool factor!

Based on the feedback I've received, I did "pull the trigger" on my purchase! Now, for the waiting... then endless waiting...