Choosing A Conical Fermenter

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MaxOut

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I recently purchased a couple conical fermenters and searched endlessly before making my decision. I searched forums as well as manufacturer’s sites. Home Brew Talk has a ton of information that helped me make my decision but it is scattered about. My intention in starting this thread is to compile a thread full of information on conical fermenters for home brewers as well as reviews from actual owners who can share the features, options, opinions and specific information regarding any customizing. A thread like this would be useful for anyone considering the purchase of a conical fermenter and I hope it becomes a sticky. :D I encourage anyone who has a conical fermenter or has any experience with them to please share your information here. Before I review the conical’s I purchased and how I ended up choosing them I would like to compile a short list of links to manufacturer sites and some threads here on Home Brew Talk. I’m sure there is a lot more out there and need your help to review, share and compile info on them here.

Stainless Steel Conical Suppliers – (Click For Link)

Blichmann Engineering
http://www.blichmannengineering.com/fermentor/fermentor.html
Brewhemoth
http://brewhemoth.com/
Glacier Tanks
http://www.glaciertanks.com/Products-Conical_Fermenters.html
More Beer
http://morebeer.com/search/103503
Stout Tanks and Kettles
http://conical-fermenter.com/products/conicals/
Wine Country (I Know they make them but do not have them on site)
http://winecountrystainless.com/index.html

Plastic Conical Suppliers-

Mini Brew
http://www.minibrew.com/
OneDerBrew
http://www.onederbrew.com/

Do It Your Self Conical’s-

Stainless-

Toledo Metal Spinning
http://www.toledometalspinning.com/metal-spinning-products/hoppers

Plastic-

Plasti-Mart
http://www.plastic-mart.com/category/19/cone-bottom-tanks?gclid=CMbXwZ6C27MCFQSg4AodYDEAJw
The Tank Depot
http://www.tank-depot.com/browse.aspx?id=49
US Plastic Corp
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.aspx?catid=513&gclid=CPy-tuiC27MCFQ-f4AodDCAAaQ
Spraysmarter
http://www.spraysmarter.com/liquid-application/ace-roto-mold-white-inductor-tank-2.html
 
Excellent post so far with all the links right here and easy to navigate. This will help me (and I'm sure countless others) get all the info I need much quicker than searching myself, so I can make the right buying decision.

Thanks for posting brother!

John
 
Well I’ll kick it off with my review and reasons for choosing Glacier Tanks conical’s.
I’ve only been brewing for a short time but brewing has become one of my most enjoyable hobbies and has quickly grown out of control. I started with 6 gallon batches and have grown to 1BBL over the course of a year. I started fermenting in buckets and like them for their ease of cleaning, large opening, size and cost. But once I nailed down a few recipes and started brewing 1BBL size brews sanitizing 6 buckets, separating yeast into 6 buckets, secondary in 6 buckets etc…you get the point it became a pain. I started looking into larger fermenters and started reading up on conical fermenters and their advantages. After a lot of research I nailed down what I wanted and set off to find a conical that ft my needs. Many argue that a conical does not make better beer than buckets or carboys but two advantages I see right off the bat is that your beer will have no air or light exposure post fermentation if you do pressure transfers to kegs. I only keg and do not bottle so there are even more advantages to my style of brewing.
Here is a list of requirements I set based on my research-
-Stainless Steel – Easy to clean, less risk of infection, better thermal properties than plastic and last forever (plus they look cool).
-All Tri-Clover Fittings – Ease of cleaning, sanitary and compatibility of hardware.
-Rotating Racking Arm – Ease of racking clear beer.
-Large Opening In Top - For ease of access when cleaning and room for adding ferrules.
-Rated at a Minimum Of 15PSI – Pressurized fermentation and pressurized transfers, force carbonation, and serve double duty as a brite tank.
-Minimum 25 Gallon Capacity – Plus an additional 25% head space.
-Fit In Existing Fermentation Chamber
-Compatible with CIP – Ease of cleaning
Well based on my steep list of requirements almost all options were eliminated except the Glacier Tanks conical. The Brewhemoth was the only other home brew conical I found rated for 15PSI but I did not like the small opening and only has a max capacity of 27 gallons including headspace.
This is my scenario that persuaded my requirements-
When I brew big it’s mainly Lagers and I did allot of reading on how big breweries use pressurized fermentation to expedite the maturation process and also save money on CO2. I wanted to experiment with this. I also liked the idea of transferring to a secondary conical to use as a brite tank and Lager in.
This is my ultimate goal –
After boil run wort through filter, plate chiller, HERMS, Inline oxygenation system with sight glass straight into primary fermenter. Knock out and ferment to 75%. Close blow off and raise pressure to 15PSI over 14 days, raise temp for D rest if needed and maintain until a few points from final gravity. Transfer to secondary conical cold crash and carbonate to final desired CO2 level through 6” CO2 Stone mounted in thermometer port. At this point I will be able to serve directly from conical (brite tank) or transfer to kegs and serve from kegerator.

Here is a couple shots of the Glacier Tanks conicals I purchased. The first one is the Primary and the second one is set up as a secondary with relief valve. I am still gathering fittings and the configurations will change to accomplish my ultimate goal.

I wil add more pictures and descriptions as time allows.

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I currently have one of the 15 gal hdpe conicals....but am in the market for a second. I have been considering the brehemoth, so I'm subscribed
 
Wow those r a nice set of conicals, i will hopefully be purchasing some 1bbl conicals in the not too far future and those look like exactly what im looking for, thanks for all the info.
 
Awesome post Max!
If you dont mind me asking what did the conical cost you? How long did it take to get?

Thanks
 
BeerguyNC61 said:
Awesome post Max!
If you dont mind me asking what did the conical cost you? How long did it take to get?

Thanks

They were $1095.00 each on sale with standard fittings plus shipping. I added stainless pressure relief valve, T's, 3/4" ball valves on blow off, 2" 90's on dump, CIP, pressure gauges and larger 1 1/2" Tri clamp on lid to accept CIP. All in all with shipping to east coast was around $3200.00 for both. Shipping was steep at $460.00 They had them in stock and I had them in 1 week. They got a little dinged up in shipping but they are working on getting that resolved through the carrier. Mike @ Glacier Tanks has been very helpful and customer service has been top notch.
 
hnnnnnnnnnngggg those are beautiful!

We just started to ferment our 30g batches in sanke kegs for the same reason. Moving, cleaning, and transferring 6 carboys per batch is not fun.
 
ktraver97ss said:
hnnnnnnnnnngggg those are beautiful!

We just started to ferment our 30g batches in sanke kegs for the same reason. Moving, cleaning, and transferring 6 carboys per batch is not fun.

No fun at all..I will still use the buckets for 6-12 gallon brews in my smaller fermentation chamber. I just pulled a sample from my first batch fermenting in the conical and starting to realize how nice it is to use a conical. Nothing to sanitize except the valve. Right into the flask with the hydrometer. No air exposure. Doing mainly lagers it will be nice to dump yeast and secondary right in the same conical.
 
I currently have one of the 15 gal hdpe conicals....but am in the market for a second. I have been considering the brehemoth, so I'm subscribed

Please share your conical with us! Also please review the Brewhemoth if you decide to get one. Thanks!
 
It's basically the plastic/hdpe 15 gallon conical from the link above. I outfitted it with a 1-1/2" tri clamp butterfly dump valve, a 1/2 racking port and a tri clamp fitting in the lid to use a spray ball so I can CIP. I plan on adding a stainless coil I picked up off this site to heat and cool.

For now it's mounted in a table/cabinet that is my fermentation chamber.

Here's some pics

Oh yeah, I also have a 1-1/2" triclamp site glass that I use as a yeast catcher, and to see what's going on! It's got 10 gals if simcoe pale ale fermenting away right now.

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Nice action shot! Like how you hooked it up. I'm thinking about a coil in mine too. Not sure how I'm gonna make it work yet. How are you planning to install the coil on your fermenter?
 
They were $1095.00 each on sale with standard fittings plus shipping. I added stainless pressure relief valve, T's, 3/4" ball valves on blow off, 2" 90's on dump, CIP, pressure gauges and larger 1 1/2" Tri clamp on lid to accept CIP. All in all with shipping to east coast was around $3200.00 for both. Shipping was steep at $460.00 They had them in stock and I had them in 1 week. They got a little dinged up in shipping but they are working on getting that resolved through the carrier. Mike @ Glacier Tanks has been very helpful and customer service has been top notch.

I will agree that those fermenters are the epitome of all home brewers wet dreams. They put Blichmann running for shame. The only problem is that I got two Blichmann 15 gal conicals for far less than half the cost of your two Glaciers. Maybe I'm in the wrong thread. If this is the Landed Gentry Thread, Please excuse me....
 
sudbuster said:
I will agree that those fermenters are the epitomee of all home brewers wet dreams. They put Blichmann running for shame. The only problem is that I got two Blichmann 15 gal conicals for far less than half the cost of your two Glaciers. Maybe I'm in the wrong thread. If this is the Landed Gentry Thread, Please excuse me....

Please share your Blichmann conicals and your opinion of conicals in general would be great! I would love to see them and how you have them set up.

I agree the Glacier Tanks (31gallon) are a little pricey but a comparable 27 gallon Blichmann with Tri- clamps is the same price.

See here -

http://www.homebrewing.org/Blichmann-27-Gal-Conical-Fermenter-with-Tri-Clamp-Fittings-_p_1844.html
 
MaxOut said:
Nice action shot! Like how you hooked it up. I'm thinking about a coil in mine too. Not sure how I'm gonna make it work yet. How are you planning to install the coil on your fermenter?

My plan with the coil is to mount it through the lid, so it can be easily pulled out if need be. I use a spray ball to clean in place which I suspect will easily clean the coil....but just in case.....

The table was built with the plan if adding a second.

I'm really happy with the sight glass yeast catcher....
 
Hey max out!!


I was just looking at your photos. Where did you get your fridge that you keep your primary conical tank in? I am wanting to do a similar setup as you. I use the brew magic so I was think of just using their fermenter as a secondary.

Option on sabco fermenter anyone?
 
aarontombe said:
Hey max out!!

I was just looking at your photos. Where did you get your fridge that you keep your primary conical tank in? I am wanting to do a similar setup as you. I use the brew magic so I was think of just using their fermenter as a secondary.

Option on sabco fermenter anyone?

I got it on Craigslist used. It's a Hobart similar to the Q1.
 
MaxOut - one of the pros for blichmann conicals is that the 7 gallon can reasonably fit in a lagering fridge. A lot of the other options out there are cheaper (there is a nice Ebay option for less than $300) but they are too tall. It needs to be under 30 inches to reasonably fit in a fridge. Then the MoreBeer chilled version is like $2k. That is just nuts.
 
jgaepi said:
MaxOut - one of the pros for blichmann conicals is that the 7 gallon can reasonably fit in a lagering fridge. A lot of the other options out there are cheaper (there is a nice Ebay option for less than $300) but they are too tall. It needs to be under 30 inches to reasonably fit in a fridge. Then the MoreBeer chilled version is like $2k. That is just nuts.

Good point on the size issue. Agreed the MoreBeer ones are pricey but pretty unique. I'm not impressed with the fan cooling system mainly because I brew lagers. So the MoreBeer ones were not an option for me.
 
Also, would you guys recommend getting a conical used / Sabco fermenter used? Best place to start looking aside from the 'market place' on this website.
 
aarontombe said:
So you are fermenting your ales in a fridge?

Yes, I use the same fermentation chambers and just adjust the fermentation schedule for the beer. I do not heat or air condition the space where my fermenters are located so temp extremes are require a conditioned chamber.
 
MaxOut said:
Yes, I use the same fermentation chambers and just adjust the fermentation schedule for the beer. I do not heat or air condition the space where my fermenters are located so temp extremes are require a conditioned chamber.

How big is your primary fermenter that you put in your fridge? Would you go with the same fermenter or are you thinking about others now?
 
They were $1095.00 each on sale with standard fittings plus shipping. I added stainless pressure relief valve, T's, 3/4" ball valves on blow off, 2" 90's on dump, CIP, pressure gauges and larger 1 1/2" Tri clamp on lid to accept CIP. All in all with shipping to east coast was around $3200.00 for both. Shipping was steep at $460.00 They had them in stock and I had them in 1 week. They got a little dinged up in shipping but they are working on getting that resolved through the carrier. Mike @ Glacier Tanks has been very helpful and customer service has been top notch.

Hello Good Sir,

I too have been doing this little more than a year and I have been in the market for a conical. Nice tip on the glacier tanks since I wanted the option of fermenting under pressure, but i want approximately 1bbl capacity.

Please tell me more about your conicals.

Did you get the 25 gallon or the 50 gallon?

What are the rough dimensions of the conical and your fridge?

Is there any prayer of getting their 50 gallon conical in a stand up freezer?

Thanks,

Tucker
 
ouamco said:
Hello Good Sir,

I too have been doing this little more than a year and I have been in the market for a conical. Nice tip on the glacier tanks since I wanted the option of fermenting under pressure, but i want approximately 1bbl capacity.

Please tell me more about your conicals.

Did you get the 25 gallon or the 50 gallon?

What are the rough dimensions of the conical and your fridge?

Is there any prayer of getting their 50 gallon conical in a stand up freezer?

Thanks,

Tucker

I have the 25 gallon ones that actually hold 31 gallons. The 50 gallon ones are nice but they will not fit in most freezers/refrigerators and why I decided to get two 25's. the refrigerator I have is the Hobart Q1 and is 22 cubic feet.
 
aarontombe said:
And plastic Fermenters... waste of money?

Why do you say that? While not in cylidro-conicals I've fermented in plastic for years. Is there something specific to plastic conicals that makes you say that?
 
I bought the 7.3 with triclamps and thermowell. I love it! Had it for two years now.....my only complaint is I should have bought a larger size. Thats also my recommendation Buy larger than you think you'll use, because it doesn't cost that much more for a larger size. I looking at either two 27 gallon, or 40 gallon...hmmm...
 
Beer_Maker said:
Why do you say that? While not in cylidro-conicals I've fermented in plastic for years. Is there something specific to plastic conicals that makes you say that?

I've used and still use plastic buckets and never had any problems. With larger plastic conicals they have more crevices for stuff to hide in the threaded connections so the risk of infection is higher. Care when cleaning is the key to plastic making sure you do not scratch them or miss cleaning the crevices. Total disassembly of the valves and connectors are recommended and why many choose stainless with tri-clamps as you can use caustic cleaners and CIP effectively. Allot of my choices were based on simplifying my processes and amount of work required to keep everything clean.
 
patthebrewer said:
I bought the 7.3 with triclamps and thermowell. I love it! Had it for two years now.....my only complaint is I should have bought a larger size. Thats also my recommendation Buy larger than you think you'll use, because it doesn't cost that much more for a larger size. I looking at either two 27 gallon, or 40 gallon...hmmm...

Good advice! You can still do small batches in a larger fermenter without ill effects.
 
Maxout may I ask you to give us hard measurements on the conical I have a True double door cooler and it is 23 1/2" wide at the door 25" deep .I'm in the market for a large conical for 1bbl batches as well .I have a boil kettle from Glacier and it is top quality Thanks
 
BierGuy said:
Maxout may I ask you to give us hard measurements on the conical I have a True double door cooler and it is 23 1/2" wide at the door 25" deep .I'm in the market for a large conical for 1bbl batches as well .I have a boil kettle from Glacier and it is top quality Thanks

How much vertical space do you have?
 
6" more and you could put a stout 42g in there with blow off. I can't tell from my phone, but I think a Blichmann 42g might fit
 
Maxout may I ask you to give us hard measurements on the conical I have a True double door cooler and it is 23 1/2" wide at the door 25" deep .I'm in the market for a large conical for 1bbl batches as well .I have a boil kettle from Glacier and it is top quality Thanks

The actual assembled fermenter dimensions are 21" W X 25" D X 52" H

All dimensions rounded up to nearest inch.

The height is to the top of the handles on the lid. My blow off assembly is another 8" higher but you could put a 90 degree fitting right off the lid to keep a lower profile. The feet are adjustable and could be removed all together gaining another 2" overhead clearance. Keep in mind you will need to access the top to pitch the yeast. The depth includes the thermometer installed and front racking assembly to the end of valve.
 
Glacier Tanks are having new lids made for me to my specifications with a 4" tri-clamp ferrule in the center and a 1.5" tri-clamp ferrule offset. The 1.5" opening will be used for blow assembly etc. and 4" opening will be used for pitching yeast, dry hopping, inspection, and to add an immersion chiller. You could have the tanks modified to your specs if needed. :)
 
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