Plastic conical prasies

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nick79brew

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Oregon
Just wanted to share my experience ive had with my minibrew conical! I love it! Today i will put brew # 7 in it. The plastic is about 1.5 inches thick and very strudy. It is easy to clean, easy to pull out trub before fermentaion.Hharvesting yeast is a breeze. No need to sanitize tubes, siphons and exta carboys for secondary. Aslo you can check gravity from the racking port. All for about $200! One down side is that the stand is a little shaky, just dont run into it while wrestling with the dog....weizen all over the damn floor! anyways i think that for the money if you are a serious brewer these are just as good as the $500 stainless steel.
www.minibrew.com
nick

On Tap: Strong Honey Gold
On Tap: Pacific Pale #2
Brewing: Hemp Nut Brown
 
I kind of like that 6.5 gallon model. Is there a easy way to keep the temperature stable. I am finding that fermenting in the mid 60s to be most helpful in making my beers better. I am using a carboy and ice bath currently and it works pretty well in my area.
 
I just received my MiniBrew 6.5 from Ebay, brand new for $89. I'm glad to hear there's another happy owner out there. One thing I picked up for mine though is a stainless steel, constant tension, t-bolt hose clamp for the rubber lid. I want to be sure of an absolute air tight seal. It's item number 8946K38 from McMaster-Carr. It fits the base of the lid perfectly (you have to completely undo the nut first).
 
I have their 8 gallon fermentor and like it a lot, but I gave up on sealing the lid after the first time I used it. I plugged both threaded holes in the top, removed the rubber seal, and began trusting the principals of open fermentation. This might not be for everyone but it has worked out just fine for me.
 
The 8 gallon and the 15 gallon both seem like they would be a nice, useful size for the money.

What is the issue with the lid? If I had one, I'd prefer not to trust to the principles of open fermentation with my three dogs and my cat in the house.
 
The lid on the 6.5 is made out of a thin, soft rubber. The fit over the rim is snug enough that it really shouldn't be an issue. I just like to be a little overcautious, maybe too much so. That's why I added the t-bolt hose clamp to mine. It's a perfect fit and for seven dollars I know for sure I have an airtight seal. As far as the 8 and 15 gal models go, they have a completely different lid. All in all, I don't think there are any issues. From what I've read in other forums, people love these fermenters.
 
I have no real understanding on the lid for the 6.5 gallon fermentor - just the larger ones above that size.

The lid on their 8 gallon+ fermentor is made out of the same material as the rest of it - only slightly thinner. It forms a really good seal without a gasket. The issue is the damn rubber gasket used to seal the lid - its near impossible to get it on and off.

From Minibrew's website concerning sealing the lid:

"We have advocated for many years that this is not necessary. The CO2 builds up inside forming a blanket of gas that protects the ferment. Bacteria will not penetrate this blanket of CO2 gas."
 
John Beere said:
"We have advocated for many years that this is not necessary. The CO2 builds up inside forming a blanket of gas that protects the ferment. Bacteria will not penetrate this blanket of CO2 gas."

IMHO that is kinda ridiculous for them to say. In general, bacteria doesn't go flying through the air. Usually it's carried by dust and everyone can agree that dust has weight and will settle. A layer of CO2 isn't going to "stop" it or even slow it from settling. If it lands on your krausen sooner or later it will get into your beer once the krausen falls...but your ABV should handle most organisms at that point.
 
yeah the first time i use my conical i thought fermentation had not begun because my airlock wasnt moving. I then figured out that the pressure was pushing co2 out the top. a heavy book on top of the lid fixed it!
 
nick79brew said:
Just wanted to share my experience ive had with my minibrew conical! I love it! Today i will put brew # 7 in it. The plastic is about 1.5 inches thick and very strudy. It is easy to clean, easy to pull out trub before fermentaion.Hharvesting yeast is a breeze. No need to sanitize tubes, siphons and exta carboys for secondary. Aslo you can check gravity from the racking port. All for about $200! One down side is that the stand is a little shaky, just dont run into it while wrestling with the dog....weizen all over the damn floor! anyways i think that for the money if you are a serious brewer these are just as good as the $500 stainless steel.
www.minibrew.com
nick

On Tap: Strong Honey Gold
On Tap: Pacific Pale #2
Brewing: Hemp Nut Brown
I just got the 15 G minibrew fermenter and am still learning some of the nuances of it. How to take the gravity out of the racking port and is it bad to take it by taking the top off and puting the hydrometer in?
 
How do the valves attach? Is it a metal valve onto a plastic thread (read: Is there a good chance I'm going to crossthread the valve when I put it back on after cleaning and ruin the plastic threads on the fermenter)?
 
I just received my MiniBrew 6.5 from Ebay, brand new for $89. I'm glad to hear there's another happy owner out there. One thing I picked up for mine though is a stainless steel, constant tension, t-bolt hose clamp for the rubber lid. I want to be sure of an absolute air tight seal. It's item number 8946K38 from McMaster-Carr. It fits the base of the lid perfectly (you have to completely undo the nut first).

How did you get it for only $89? the cheapest i see is 142.
 
I have heard the US Plastics ones can have some issues with sealing. And I would be worried about all the headspace in a 100 gallon conical that wasn't near full.

I have the miniBrew 15 gallon one. All of the metal valves attach to nylon connecting pieces that then are threaded into the conical. Yes, you can cross thread and have to be very careful when assembling it after cleaning.

I have found the easiest way to check gravity is to use a sanitized pipette to draw a sample out of the top and check it with a refractometer. I use ProMash to correct the gravity reading and once I see it's stable for a couple of days will then use the racking port to transfer to kegs/bottling bucket. I'll sometimes take a hydrometer reading at this point as well.

I don't like using the racking port for checking gravities as it's hard to clean up in the valve. I've used a spray bottle of star san to try and spray up into the racking arm, but just don't feel like it does a good enough job cleaning it.

Not a sexy as the ss conicals, but I've been very happy with mine.
 
remember people......

Pres. Bush was nice enough to give us all $800 bucks that we will see in August. THis might be where mine ends up.
 
Wait a minute. Mr Bush was nice enough to give you back $800 of your own money that he took forcibly from you in the first place. Accuracy counts.
 
After cleaning my plastic bucket, I noted that it was impossible to get the odor out, and I was able to use my sink to clean it... So, how to you get the odor of the last batch out of the plastic conical?
 
Hot PBW, rinse, Iodophor and don't worry about it. Haven't noticed any additional flavors in my beer.
 
AiredAle said:
Wait a minute. Mr Bush was nice enough to give you back $800 of your own money that he took forcibly from you in the first place. Accuracy counts.

No. Let's be accurate. Mr. Bush and Congress teamed up to give us each back a tiny portion of the taxes we all pay every year. They were even nice enough to give some of that to people who pay no taxes, thus beginning the great redistribution of wealth in America. :mad:
 
AiredAle said:
Wait a minute. Mr Bush was nice enough to give you back $800 of your own money that he took forcibly from you in the first place. Accuracy counts.

+2. :mad:

jds said:
They were even nice enough to give some of that to people who pay no taxes, thus beginning the great redistribution of wealth in America.

+2. more. Still :mad:
 
Well, this thread started off useful....

I have been looking at these fermenters as well. The only downside for me is that I like to keep a pretty tight control of temperature when I am fermenting. I keep buckets or carboys in a cube cooler filled with water and use an aquarium heater to regulate temp. I'm not sure how I would accomplish that with the conical. I also like that I can start another batch in the primary when a batch is part way through the secondary. You could still do this with the conical, but I doubt I would when it is so easy to drain the trub/yeast and let the beer condition.
 
I dont know why people are so worried about the lids!!!!! Perhaps some of you have older models. My 6.5 gal MiniBrew has a yellow, soft flexible rubber lid. It snaps quite firmly over the opening. It "grabs" tightly enough that if I see my airlock starting to creep towards a backflow, I tap the lid lightly twice, it bubbles twice, and pressure is equalized.

Explain to me how a bacteria that is falling is going to make it back UP through a lid, and then DOWN again into your beer? After all, if bucket lids work for our beer fermentation, then why shouldn't this?

As far as the $$ argument goes, just remember that your ($89, $120, $160, whatever) SHOULD include your 1" and your 1/2" S/S Ball valves and barbed fittings. The valves are worth 30 bucks alone. (If your MiniBrew doesn't include the ball valves, and instead they give you a jerryrig vinyl tubing plus hose clamp model, then you've received an old product. They were updated to use real ball valves over a year ago.)

Sure, if you really want to, you can buy a US Plastics conical, build your own stand, and fit your own fittings. Good for you. The point of the 6.5 MiniBrew is that it's ready to run out of the box with no DIY necessary.

I'm a very happy MiniBrew user. I understand the whole temperature argument, THAT makes complete sense. However, with an upright fridge with a solid wood "floor" on the shelf, problem solved. A little space intensive, but you know what's a lot MORE space intensive? A 15 gal Blichmann Fermenator.

Not that I don't still WANT one. (I'm lookin' at you, Reverend JC. Buahaha. :D )
 
jds said:
No. Let's be accurate. Mr. Bush and Congress teamed up to give us each back a tiny portion of the taxes we all pay every year. They were even nice enough to give some of that to people who pay no taxes, thus beginning the great redistribution of wealth in America. :mad:

Agreed - according to my calcs I paid 88 times the Bush refund in taxes last year. yay, 800 bucks.:(
 
Chimone said:
at 18 3/4" wide i couldnt fit two into a fridge could I?

I'm sure it depends on the fridge... BUT judging from the size of my 6.5, you might be able to place them caddy corner (see pic) and have it work. It'd be even better-suited to a walk-in closet though, with 4 or 5 of these bad boys lined up!

minibrews in fridge.gif
 
chriso said:
I'm sure it depends on the fridge... BUT judging from the size of my 6.5, you might be able to place them caddy corner (see pic) and have it work. It'd be even better-suited to a walk-in closet though, with 4 or 5 of these bad boys lined up!


yes that would be awesome, but until then..........



hopefully I can find a fridge that will work.
 
blacklab said:
Agreed - according to my calcs I paid 88 times the Bush refund in taxes last year. yay, 800 bucks.:(

Well, with your income, I doubt that you will even see much of that 800. What is it, households over $200,000 get partial or no payout?

Thanks for the donation.
 
I think you could probably fit one in a small stand up freezer. I have a large stand up freezer that I know if would fit in with room to spare.
 
Hehehehe, as a student who doesn't make enough to pay taxes, thanks for the "refund"! Hmmmm, 1 semester of books or brewing supplies? Decisions, decisions....
 
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