Blichmann Boil Kettle vs. Conical Fermentor - investment choices

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twohands

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So it looks like i'm going to come into some $$$ via a work bonus, and I'm trying to decide what to upgrade.

NOTE: My dad, liking and drink a hell of a lot of my beer, has offered to buy HALF of a conical when I upgrade.

I'm trying to decide if a conical or a better brew kettle makes more sense.

My current rig - double burner turkey fryer and 10 gallon plain kettle, 10 gall mash tun (cooler) and 5 gal HLT (cooler).

I don't have temp control for my fermentor (I have a very small house) so lagering is out, and ales are "best effort".

A blichmann conical w/ triclamps is ~$880 w/ casters. My cost is ~$550 incl shipping.

A blichmann kettle + hopblocker + bigger immersion chiller ~$500 incl shipping.

Whats gonna benefit my brewery the most?

TIA,

D :mug:
 
How about an office fridge that's big enough to accomodate a carboy/bucket? You'll see your biggest increase in quality from temp control. IMHO if you don't have temp control for the conical, don't even bother with it. I'd honestly spend the money on a way to do temp control.
 
How about an office fridge that's big enough to accomodate a carboy/bucket? You'll see your biggest increase in quality from temp control. IMHO if you don't have temp control for the conical, don't even bother with it. I'd honestly spend the money on a way to do temp control.

Yeah, I know. I have a kegerator, and the house really is TINY. Like 1300 sq ft w/ a wife, 2 dogs, and two sons (3yrs and 5.5 months). I can use the kegerator in a pinch, and my office holds steady @ about ~68F.

Given that - you are voting for the boil kettle? :)
 
I looked at the Stout site. That is nice stuff for a nice price. I like the fact that they have a 1BBL SS brewery (HLT, MT, BK, CF)for under $3k. Of course it needs a lot of little parts to make it fully functional. When compared to the 1.5BBL nano system from pico-brewing for $23k, it's a steal. Of course the pico system is complete.
 
When I see the big price tags on the blichmann conicals I just scratch my head in confusion. What's the payoff? That's a lot of money for something I can do in an F'ing bucket.

Kettle all the way. A kettle and a fermentation chamber (craigslist freezer+$50 temp controller) would be even better.
 
Yeah, I know. I have a kegerator, and the house really is TINY. Like 1300 sq ft w/ a wife, 2 dogs, and two sons (3yrs and 5.5 months). I can use the kegerator in a pinch, and my office holds steady @ about ~68F.

Given that - you are voting for the boil kettle? :)

The voice of reason says save the bonus and find a bigger home.

Just saying....... :)
 
The voice of reason says save the bonus and find a bigger home.

Just saying....... :)


~$500 one way or another isn't gonna make a difference. Now the refi to change from a 30 yr to a 15 year for the same monthly payment, shaving 9 years off the payout...THAT will help w/ the bigger home :D
 
It seems to me there are a few advantages to conicals. You can dump trub, take samples without a ghost, rack to keg with no syphon and harvest yeast easily. I keep my house pretty darn cool, so I'm not too worried about temps. I'll invest in a suitable fridge next year for the garage and slap a Ranco on it. They are expensive, that's for certain. I went with the MoreBeer conical because at least some of it is made in the US and I liked the company, customer service, quality, etc. There are posts discussing pros\cons of conicals...I'm sure I started at least one. :mug:
 
+1 I have never seen his products in person, but he has great feedback on eBay and they look very well built.


I have both a blickman conical and the stout conical

IMO....buy the stout blickman's have a nicer finish but i really dig the the stouts price and the ball vales are really nice from the standpoint of cleaning

when i purchased mine i meet the owner he lives a couple miles from my house apparently he worked in the commercial brewery business for a number of years nice guy.
 
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