30L Speidel fermenter

Last September I purchased the 30L Speidel fermenter and have now used it for 12 batches. Because I have benefitted greatly from users’ experiences on this forum I figured I should share what I have learned about this fermenter.

Summary: it works as advertised and I’m not sorry I bought it but if it disappeared tomorrow I probably would not rush out to buy another one.

Background: Over the years I have fermented in plastic buckets, glass carboys and Better Bottles. I have never used a stainless steel conical. For most of that time my preferred fermentation vessel was the 6-gallon Better Bottle. The light weight, virtual indestructibility and being able to see the fermentation were the main reasons why I prefer it.

Speidel Pros

1. Size - It’s much larger than 6-gallon Better Bottles so no worries about foaming over when adding oxygen and no need for blow-off tubes, etc. I can make 5.5 to 6.0 gallon batches and completely fill a 5 gallon secondary with minimal headspace and I get a full 5 gallons in my kegs.
   
2. Easy to clean - even the thickest kraeusen ring seems to fall off by just spraying the fermenter with water. After soaking in PBW the fermenter is spotless, without any scrubbing. But the large opening on top makes it easy to reach inside if you need to.
   
3. Built-in spigot - no cleaning/sanitizing of auto-syphons, racking canes, etc.
4. Handles - very sturdy, easy to move around.
   
5. Top cropping - the top unscrews easily and the opening is large enough for me to reach in with a stainless steel spoon and quickly harvest yeast from the kraeusen.
   
6. Well made vessel that was designed to be used as a fermenter.

Cons

1. Spigot is very close to the bottom without an adjustable pick-up tube. The amount of yeast transferred is substantial enough that I wouldn’t want it in my kegs or bottling bucket.
   
2. Spigot size - too small for 1/2 inch tubing and too large for 3/8 inch. Luckily the first time I used the fermenter I needed to transfer to a 5 gallon carboy. I was using 1/2 inch tubing and I noticed some very fine bubbles in my carboy. Closer observation showed that I was sucking air at the spigot because the tubing was not a tight enough fit. Almost aerated an entire batch of beer. 3/8 inch tubing is tight enough but it’s a pain to get on the spigot.
   
3. Spigot leaks - there is a *very* small leak in my spigot. It’s just a few drops during the 7 to 10 days I usually leave the beer in the primary if I’m transferring to a secondary. I’m not concern with the loss of beer, I am concerned about bacteria. To reduce the risk of bacteria I cover the spigot with a plastic bag that I attach with a rubber-band. I spray the spigot with Star-San before racking but I don’t believe it can reach all the places that bacteria could hide without removing the spigot from the fermenter.
   
4. Opaque - I like to watch. (Hmmm, sounds kinda perverted now that I read that.)

Many of the “Pro” features I list can also be said for a plastic bucket. If you prefer to ferment in a bucket is it worth the difference in cost? I guess that depends on your budget.

Conclusion

First and foremost the taste of my beers has not improved because I purchased this fermenter. There is no magic bullet here.

I use the Speidel fermenter for batches that I plan to transfer to a secondary or if I want to top crop the yeast. For me, this is approximately 1/2 the beers that I brew. Generally these are beers I want to dry hop or stouts and barleywines that I want to bulk condition for a month or more. For these beers I don’t mind that I will be transferring some extra yeast and the spigot does simplify the racking. For all other batches I still use a Better Bottle.

As I said in the summary, if it disappeared tomorrow I probably would not rush out to buy another one. By comparison, I purchased my first March pump around the same time I bought this fermenter and if my pump disappeared I’d buy a new one before brewing another batch.

I won't rush out to buy another one either. After fermenting about 5-6 batches in mine, I stated using the closed cap at the bottom, instead of the spigot, and using my auto siphon to rack my bottling bucket, just like I would with a better bottle. I do like the size, but I've still had to hook up a blow off tube on some batches (bee cave porter anyone???). Though standard silicone tubing works as the perfect size for blowoff on the Speidel bung (if anyone was curious).

I do like them and will continue to use them as primaries, but mostly because of the 7.9g size, over anything else....

Thanks for posting this info. I was considering buying a Speidel and appreciate real world honest feedback from an end user on HBT.

you wrote that the spigot picks up too much yeast from the bottom and that no adjustment is available, but my speidel 30L spigot is adjustable. The pickup tube is off centered so when I rotate it, it picks up the wort from a higher point , or vice versa if I rotate the other direction (which can work for removing break material). When I rotate the spigot to it's highest point, I feel that it's high enough to get a quality transfer after fermentation. Maybe this was a modification that speidel made ... not really sure though.

bctdi said:

you wrote that the spigot picks up too much yeast from the bottom and that no adjustment is available, but my speidel 30L spigot is adjustable. The pickup tube is off centered so when I rotate it, it picks up the wort from a higher point , or vice versa if I rotate the other direction (which can work for removing break material). When I rotate the spigot to it's highest point, I feel that it's high enough to get a quality transfer after fermentation. Maybe this was a modification that speidel made ... not really sure though.

Click to expand...

When did you get your Speidel?

When my conical is full, i love mine!!!! i have an 8 gal and a 15 gal. i hope to never use a carboy or a better bottle again. super easy to clean, easy to transfer from.....

CaptainBrew said:

When did you get your Speidel?

Click to expand...

About 3 months ago

bctdi said:

you wrote that the spigot picks up too much yeast from the bottom and that no adjustment is available, but my speidel 30L spigot is adjustable. The pickup tube is off centered so when I rotate it, it picks up the wort from a higher point , or vice versa if I rotate the other direction (which can work for removing break material). When I rotate the spigot to it's highest point, I feel that it's high enough to get a quality transfer after fermentation. Maybe this was a modification that speidel made ... not really sure though.

Click to expand...

My spigot is also off centered but it does not have what I would call a pickup tube, only the opening to the spigot. Just semantics?

So you use it with the spigot outlet pointing up? Interesting idea, I'll give that I try the next time I use it.

I ripped my last plastic bucket lid and already have had a doofus brewbuddy break 2 glass carboys cleaning them.

I'm about to pull the trigger on 2x 7.9gal Spiedels. Thanks for the writeup!

Anyone considered a fabrication project.... raised pickup tubes for the spigot? Sounds like you'd have some buyers.

kja said:

My spigot is also off centered but it does not have what I would call a pickup tube, only the opening to the spigot. Just semantics?

So you use it with the spigot outlet pointing up? Interesting idea, I'll give that I try the next time I use it.

Click to expand...

Exactly. With the spigot between horizontal and up with a tube hooked up gravity still does the job.

I have two and have run at least 10 batches through each. I love them. Easy to move, easy to clean; HUGE airlock. I admit I don't use the spigot. I use a simple racking cane.

I have modified the lids to accept a thermowell. I just drilled a hole and use a stopper mounted thermowell.

I use one of the orange carboy caps with mine so I can add a thermowell.

fpweeks, genius in simplicity. I too drilled for a thermowell. It never occurred to me the orange carboy caps prob fit right on the threaded stopper hole already there! How tight is it?

I bought the one that is meant for a 6 gallon threaded carboy and it almost threads right on.

kja said:

My spigot is also off centered but it does not have what I would call a pickup tube, only the opening to the spigot. Just semantics?

So you use it with the spigot outlet pointing up? Interesting idea, I'll give that I try the next time I use it.

Click to expand...

Edit: I read in the thread long after I posted the below reply and found the subject was touched on. To answer the question asked, the idea works very well with a bucket fermenter with spigot so it should work with the Speidel. Ok, go back to ignoring this post guys... No seriously.


"Captain Noobie" here, but a thought for those who might want to do a two, three or four week primary fermentation in the Speidel yet minimize yeast uptake to keg... What might be the result of resting the front of the fermenter on something say 1/2" to 1" high during fermentation thereby having much of the trub/yeast fall back from the spigot? Then, the day before racking to keg or such, very very slowly and carefully place fermenter flat thereby ending up with much of the yeast cake thicker towards the rear but thinner under the spigot?

I just joined today, so Hi! I just bought my Speidel a few weeks back, and was wondering if you couldn't just put a few paint sticks under the spigot side to raise it a touch to avoid the yeast pickup problem? I do that anyway as I'm racking either buckets or carboys, so why not let it do the entire ferment that way...

My biggest beef is (and I know I should have checked this before I bought it) is that I use a fermwrap/thermowell/Johnson controls setup to keep ferment temps within a degree through the entire process. The Speidel bung is WAY bigger than standard, so I'll have to try and drill another hole off to the side of the existing one for the thermowell. I have the bung in the freezer right now, as I've read they're easier to drill frozen. I think this is doable, but tricky, and I'm an experienced woodworker. It won't be that hard to wreck this bung! I wonder why Speidel hasn't thought of that...anyone drill one yet for this purpose?

EDIT: I did the same thing Tutsbrew did, and I'M a newbie too! Sorry about that, won't happen again. Sounds like the yeast pickup from the spigot's been solved...

I'm still confused about where to put an orange carboy cap. I have several, and if we're talking about "screwing" them on at the spigot hole, won't that leak? I bought the 7.9 gallon Speidel, and cannot see where or how an orange cap would go anywhere on the top, the only threading on mine is 5" across! Plus I would be concerned that a temp reading you'd get on the very bottom of the thing might not be the temp you'd get 1/3rd of the way from the top...I have thought about drilling a larger hole to the SIDE of the bung on that flat part of the orange plastic lid and use a stopper with a hole, but I guess I'd rather wreck the bung than the lid.

I use the orange carboy cap on the threads on the top cap....the port where you put the airlock normally. Then I use a homemade thermowell and a blowoff tube. Works great.

My new 7.9 gallon one must be different than yours , fp, because the only threaded anything on the top is a 5" diameter hole. The only other opening in the lid at all is the smooth bung port. I think that's what I'll drill a hole into, the red bung...it's plenty frozen now! I'll report back w/ success or failure!

I think I'll just slink off somewhere else now! I flipped the cap over for the 1st time (I just opened the box a day ago!) and there's the threads!!! I still don't have the "threaded" orange carboy caps (but now I see how they would work) so I think there's plenty of room to drill a small hole aside the red bung opening and just use a standard single-hole bung for my thermowell. Problem solved, thanks fp!

This week I brewed up a medium gravity wheat, aerated the hell out of it and pitched a stirplate starter of wyeast 1010 into 6 gallons inside my spiedel. There was close to a foot of headspace so I figured I'm good to go.

Fermented at 62 degrees and this friken yeast took off. Krausen like I've never seen before. 48 hrs later I check the ferm chamber and this badboy had spooged all up in the Spiedel airlock. Goo all running down the sides but it never clogged. Just kept on chugging. If that was a carboy or bucket without a blowoff of adequate side, I would have had a disaster on my hands. Love the Germans...

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I love my 2 30L's. I've got a blonde just about chilled right now which will be going in one very shortly and the other is 3 days into a ferment now. I'm going to get 2 more. The heck with carboys, tired of them. I'll just use them as special purpose now, mainly cider and scoby ginger beer secondaries.

I have another question on the threaded cap. The ONLY one I could find was on More Beer. Any ideas who else has these? More Beer has them backordered because they said the plastic on the batch they had was faulty...Midwest doesn't carry them and I've checked a few others...

That's where I got mine. More beer.

Thanks fpweeks, guess I'll wait it out, can't find them anywhere else.

I might have an extra one. Plus I just got two new brehemoths, so i won't use my Spiedel much anymore. IF you're interested.

http://morebeer.com/products/rubber-carboy-blow-hood-orange-wblue-caps-65-gallon-threaded-neck.html

they are in stock.....both warehouses. The non threaded are out of stock.

I'll have to try using the spigot turned upside down next time, what a great idea. For me, what I love most, is the ample head space and the wider opening on top which lends to great "open" fermenting for my English and Belgian ales.

fp, that's weird. I've called them a few times in the last few days, and was told they were having a "porosity problem" with the caps and it would be WEEKS before they got the right ones in. I called today and it turns out they just don't have the thermowells in stock, so the one that are packaged together aren't available, the caps alone are. Bad info on the phone. Anyway, if you happened to have one with a thermowell I'd be glad to buy it. If not, I'll wait a week I guess...thanks for all your great info!

I have a spare cap, but i think i want to keep my thermowell. I used a scrap of 3/8" stainless tubing and a compression cap. Way cheaper than buying one. My ranco probe fits just fine, but my love probe does not........

Well that's a damned clever idea, with the tubing! Very McGuyverish of you... I might try that...

http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Long-Thermowell_p_131.html

I can't really take credit for it.

fpweeks said:

I have a spare cap, but i think i want to keep my thermowell. I used a scrap of 3/8" stainless tubing and a compression cap. Way cheaper than buying one. My ranco probe fits just fine, but my love probe does not........

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Geesh... I don't wanna know.

That's what she said?

can someone with a 30L fermenter please measure it for me (w/o airlock)? HxWxD, i can't find the specs anywhere! thanks!

Here under: "suggested applications".
http://morebeer.com/products/speidel-plastic-fermenter-30l-79-gal.html?a_aid=homebrewing

And here, under "dimensions":

http://www.homebrewing.com/speidel.php

Stealthcruiser said:

Here under: "suggested applications".
http://morebeer.com/products/speidel-plastic-fermenter-30l-79-gal.html?a_aid=homebrewing

And here, under "dimensions":

http://www.homebrewing.com/speidel.php

Click to expand...

you're a champ! thanks!!

Anyone add a ball lock gas port on the lid? If so, what items are needed to do this?


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morebeer just released a chrome spigot - awaiting info on whether is are threads inside or some way to connect a pickup tube.



I have my first batch in a 7.9G one ready to transfer in a few days and was wondering how to avoid trub/yeast in my keg.

I am also interested to know about hooking up a co2 port!

I cold crash a week then go from the Spiedel right to corny keg. First pour post carbing might have some sedimemt but not much. You could always fine with gelatin once in the keg for an extra level of clarity.

In a nutshell I've not had issues with trub and using the Spiedel spigot.

I'll have the fermentor tilted back a bit - as long as that yeast cake is below the spigot opening I think I am golden. I plan to crash starting tomorrow morning and transfer midweek.

Overall VERY happy with this fermentor.