$269 - Stainless Conical Fermenter!

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(ships in mid january) in the sub title but not in the description, looks like a recipe for bad feedback, esp. looking at the "need it by xx/xx/xx" estimated shipping.
 
I dunno, he's got the feedback to back it up, seems to have sold a fair few of them. They look absolutely IDENTICAL to the Stout Tanks conicals, even down to the Chinese letters on the ball valve handles. I'm guessing they're from the same supplier. If he had 14.5 gallon ones, I'd be seriously interested. (Actually not really, since Stout Tanks will have them in January too, and the ones with the large side arms are too wide for my fermentation chamber...)
 
This may be of some interest:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/thoughts-12-5gal-ss-conical-fermenter-193803/

I had a similar question. This is from the same supplier only with a different size fermenter. The guy from stout tanks and kettles says that the SS gauge is much smaller and that the thermowell is attached using weldless fittings (ie: non sanitary).

I say that if he decides to provide these low-priced fermenters without (or with properly welded thermowell) it would be one heck of a good deal!

Hope this helps!
 
I may be just trying to convince myself that I didn't just blow $269, but his feedback is solid. If there were major contamination issues, I would have thought people would have ranted by now.. While it may not be the most superior product out there, I don't think / hope it was a wasted purchase!

As soon as I take possession, I will post a detailed review + pics.

http://myworld.ebay.com/homebrewhousediscount
 
I'm not questioning his feedback, but listing items that don't ship for a month, but only having that stated in the title and not the description, along with ebay's built in ship date calculators, could make some unhappy bidders. I want the short 14g conical from stout.
 
They are not quite the same as Stout's, but very, very similar. My buddy bought this one and I bought Stout's. The similarities are so small, I can't recall most. The one that is striking, however, is if you get one with a thermometer. The guy on Ebay used a weldless set up. Stout welds a thermowell.
 
I have two of those conicals. The two conicals allow me to split a 10 gallon batch and try two different yeasts and two different hops. They have allowed me to hone some recipes.
 
I bought one. He's shipping after the 1st.

Unless I'm wrong here is the actual builder...

http://www.bikudo.com/product_search/details/231533/stainless_steel_conical_fermenter.html
Interesting. Went to the company's site here: http://www.hz-kehao.com/en/

Seems that the one sold on ebay is listed as "Old 2008 design." Their new "2010 design" is actually bloody nice:

20104149223243686.jpg


Triclover lid, plus a smaller triclover port on the top for dry hopping, etc. This conical, is the business. And how can you argue with "We have agencies of home brew vessels in USA. So you don’t need worry about the ocean shipping and customs clearance. Just contact us."

I wonder if there are any enterprising HBTers out there interested in getting a group buy of these going...
 
Interesting. Went to the company's site here: http://www.hz-kehao.com/en/

Seems that the one sold on ebay is listed as "Old 2008 design." Their new "2010 design" is actually bloody nice:

20104149223243686.jpg


Triclover lid, plus a smaller triclover port on the top for dry hopping, etc. This conical, is the business. And how can you argue with "We have agencies of home brew vessels in USA. So you don’t need worry about the ocean shipping and customs clearance. Just contact us."

I wonder if there are any enterprising HBTers out there interested in getting a group buy of these going...

That is nice. Under $400 I'd buy one for sure.
 
Ok, so I picked up my conical fermenter and all in all, I am happy with it. It is not the highest quality, but for 1/3 tp 1/2 the price of others, I can overlook some of it's shortcomings..

Here are are a few pictures:

1) This is a picture of the hardware that came with it. All tri-clamps w/food grade silicone and 1 peice ball vavles. Came with 1 (1/2'') barb.

2) Decent enough Thermometer and thermowell, all stainless (no brass), with a silicone o-ring on the inside

3) 2 tri-clamp sanitary welds - bottom dump and racking

4) Inside view of bottom weld - no visible pitting

5) This is the most disappointing aspect of the conical - you can see that the inside weld for the racking valve is not sanitary. I am tempted to sand it down more, but don't know how thin the actual weld is.

On a brew day, I fill it past the thermowell with hot water and sanitize using 1-step or PBW.

Summary:

Pros: Great price, decent hardware, functional design, resulting in a good conical. A plus is that the conical itself is not connected to the stand, which makes for easy cleaning.

Cons: Overall thickness of the SS is thin and the welds are sub-optimal.

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