I have been making AG brews at 10 - 12 gallons for about 8 months now. Really when I went AG I went to the larger batches at the same time. I have been splitting the batches up into two carboys or buckets and then lugging them down into the basement to my fermenting room (I brew outside). Not a big deal to haul down 5 - 6 gallons twice but I sure would not want to try and carry down all of it at once.
I have been working off and on building some large fermenters out of some old sanke kegs. I cut the tops open and drilled two holes in the top also. I am putting weldless fittings in these holes and a piece of 3/8 thick lexan over the large hole with a o-ring to seal it. I also have a bar that runs thru the handle holes with a nut welded in the center where I have a "T" bolt that pushes down on the lexan lid to hold it and seal off the hole.
My "plan" is to run a 1" pvc pipe from the side of my house and into the fermenting room. I may run it thru the wall and cap it off to keep things out of it or have it stop by the small basement window inside the house. Not sure yet. I will run a 3/8 tube from my CFC, down this pipe, thru the wall of my fermenting room and then hook the tube to one of the two weldless ports that are on top of the fermenters. The wort will flow from the CFC and right into the fermenter. I will never have to lug it down there again.
Once I have it all in there I will then use my O2 tank to oxygenate the wort and then pitch the yeast. I will use one or both of the weldless ports for airlocks or blow-off tubes as needed. When it comes time to rack to a clearing tank or keg, my idea is to drop a stainless racking cane thru one of the weldless ports and seal it off with either a short piece of hose and clamps or set it up with a compression fitting so that it's sealed. Then I will hook my CO2 tank to the other weldless port and push the beer up and out.
This seems like it will work out very well and for the most part (other then when I need to take a sample or put in the cane) the fermenter will stay sealed and the beer will not see any O2.
Now what I'm having a hard time with is how will I control the temps?
When using the smaller fermenters it was not hard at all. For the most part of the year the room it's self stay cool. Summer temps are about 65-67* and winter it's about 45 - 50*. So all winter I have had a small space heater in there and it's worked great controlling the beer temps. Seeing how it's easier to warm it up then to cool it down.
But in the next month or two it's going to warm up, this is about the same time I will be using these new fermenters for the first time. I'm thinking that the larger batches will produce more heat and just the ambient temps will not be enough to keep it cool.
Last summer I just placed the carboys or buckets in tubs filled with water and added frozen water bottles as needed for the first week. After that, it's no longer needed so I could remove them from the water bath.
I will not be able to move these new ones around once they are full.
I can not afford to buy another fridge or chest freezer to use that.
Thinking about this I was thinking I could just do a larger scale of the water bath and leave the fermenters in the tubs the whole time. Maybe add a drain valve to the tubs. Then that gives me another idea. I could do that and add in some pumps and some way of heating or cooling the water as needed. Maybe make it controlled and automated some how. But then I think about how I don't have the money for a fridge so I also don't have the money for all that other stuff.
So now I ask you all, how do you control the temps on your larger batches? Like some of you that use larger conicals.
I have been working off and on building some large fermenters out of some old sanke kegs. I cut the tops open and drilled two holes in the top also. I am putting weldless fittings in these holes and a piece of 3/8 thick lexan over the large hole with a o-ring to seal it. I also have a bar that runs thru the handle holes with a nut welded in the center where I have a "T" bolt that pushes down on the lexan lid to hold it and seal off the hole.
My "plan" is to run a 1" pvc pipe from the side of my house and into the fermenting room. I may run it thru the wall and cap it off to keep things out of it or have it stop by the small basement window inside the house. Not sure yet. I will run a 3/8 tube from my CFC, down this pipe, thru the wall of my fermenting room and then hook the tube to one of the two weldless ports that are on top of the fermenters. The wort will flow from the CFC and right into the fermenter. I will never have to lug it down there again.
Once I have it all in there I will then use my O2 tank to oxygenate the wort and then pitch the yeast. I will use one or both of the weldless ports for airlocks or blow-off tubes as needed. When it comes time to rack to a clearing tank or keg, my idea is to drop a stainless racking cane thru one of the weldless ports and seal it off with either a short piece of hose and clamps or set it up with a compression fitting so that it's sealed. Then I will hook my CO2 tank to the other weldless port and push the beer up and out.
This seems like it will work out very well and for the most part (other then when I need to take a sample or put in the cane) the fermenter will stay sealed and the beer will not see any O2.
Now what I'm having a hard time with is how will I control the temps?
When using the smaller fermenters it was not hard at all. For the most part of the year the room it's self stay cool. Summer temps are about 65-67* and winter it's about 45 - 50*. So all winter I have had a small space heater in there and it's worked great controlling the beer temps. Seeing how it's easier to warm it up then to cool it down.
But in the next month or two it's going to warm up, this is about the same time I will be using these new fermenters for the first time. I'm thinking that the larger batches will produce more heat and just the ambient temps will not be enough to keep it cool.
Last summer I just placed the carboys or buckets in tubs filled with water and added frozen water bottles as needed for the first week. After that, it's no longer needed so I could remove them from the water bath.
I will not be able to move these new ones around once they are full.
I can not afford to buy another fridge or chest freezer to use that.
Thinking about this I was thinking I could just do a larger scale of the water bath and leave the fermenters in the tubs the whole time. Maybe add a drain valve to the tubs. Then that gives me another idea. I could do that and add in some pumps and some way of heating or cooling the water as needed. Maybe make it controlled and automated some how. But then I think about how I don't have the money for a fridge so I also don't have the money for all that other stuff.
So now I ask you all, how do you control the temps on your larger batches? Like some of you that use larger conicals.
