Custom Conical Fermenter

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no worries...this is all good info. If you guys want, check out my other thread.....Second batch bombs in the bottling forum. I think i have other worries before tackling this conical project.
 
Hebrews, i skipped over a lot in this thread, so apologies if this has been mentioned, but - the 'ideal temp' for fermentation will have some variability depending on the yeast your using. Most ale yeast like to be around 62 deg., but some of the Belgian yeasts like it hotter, up around 72. And moreover, lagers will want to be down around 35 or so.

So, it really depends - you'll likely need to hit all those temps in the course of a year or so. Plan accordingly.
 
MikeP said:
Hebrews, i skipped over a lot in this thread, so apologies if this has been mentioned, but - the 'ideal temp' for fermentation will have some variability depending on the yeast your using. Most ale yeast like to be around 62 deg., but some of the Belgian yeasts like it hotter, up around 72. And moreover, lagers will want to be down around 35 or so.

So, it really depends - you'll likely need to hit all those temps in the course of a year or so. Plan accordingly.
Click to expand...
Helpful thanks...

perhaps i'll start another thread later about temp control. I'm sure a search will do me well.

You guys have all been very helpful in makin this decision. I'm stoked to move forward and learn more. for now i'm leaning twords buckets and perfecting my technique. then i'll revisit this project...i can still throw some drawings together if you guys are interested.
 
Hebrews said:
Helpful thanks...

....for now i'm leaning twords buckets and perfecting my technique. then i'll revisit this project....
Click to expand...

I think you'll be happy with that decision. There's no substitute for practical experience. Go thru the various processes and steps a few times and that knowledge gained will serve you well in the project phase.:mug:
 
i'm bringing this thread back. I've made some advancments on my conical fermentor design. as well, i just finished a 5 gallon batch of brown ale and can already see the benefits to the conical. I just need a little help finalizing the design.

I'll post a PDF of my design thus far in a little bit. I really need help with the racking tube . i know the idea is so you can rack your beer with leaving the trub in tht conical correct? I currently have two SS valves for a drain and testing spout. Any ideas. Should i just go in and look at a complete conical at the local home brew shop?
 
in previous posts we talked about temperatur control. I think i have a solution for keeping the wort at temps higher that the ambient dry bulb air temp. Ever heard of "heat trace"?

Its basically a shorted wire that generates heat to a desired temperature via a monitoring controller. See link.
http://www.thermon.com/catalog/us_pdf_files/CPD1001.pdf
http://www.thermon.com/US/commelecctrlmonitor.aspx

Now then, that makes good sense for winter, but my next question is, any ideas on Keeping the wort colder than the drybulb ambient temperature?

I was thinking a coiled coper line on the exterior of the conical hooked up to a (like previously stated) glycol or refer loop system...Could be costly, but i have to find a way.
 
Light Bulb!!!! I've Got it!!!!

I'm going to find a demo'd package drinking fountain and gut the water chiller out of it. I'll make a closed loop chilled water coil with temp sensor, controll valve and thermostat with a small pond recirc pump to chill water to a desired temperature. and use the Heat trace to heat the fermentor desired temperature in the winter.

What do you think??? Feed back please. :D i'm pretty stoked.....
 
Like i said before....The company i work for does constant Tennant improvement and remodel work. We demo tons of stuff every week. All i have to do is talk to the PM of a project i know has a drinking fountain thats designated to be domolished and they can have the field snag it for me. That Goes for the controls department and the valves and sensors as well. the only thing i'll probably have to buy is the heat trace controller and trace wire and recirc pump. But that's easy cause i have a friend who is a landscaper. I already have one of the needed S/S valves and am waiting on the second (aquired the same way i might add) finalize my design, buy a sheet of SS 16gu. and have the shop fab it up.
 
Hebrews said:
Light Bulb!!!! I've Got it!!!!

I'm going to find a demo'd package drinking fountain and gut the water chiller out of it. I'll make a closed loop chilled water coil with temp sensor, controll valve and thermostat with a small pond recirc pump to chill water to a desired temperature. and use the Heat trace to heat the fermentor desired temperature in the winter.

What do you think??? Feed back please. :D i'm pretty stoked.....
Click to expand...

I already did this with a 5 gallon office Hot / Cold water cooler system the compressor draws 109 watts. It was too small to maintain temps with a submerged inner cooler in a 1 gallon bucket transfering heat out of 11 gallon batches in a insulated fermenter in a 78 degree room. It needs to have a larger cooling capacity system like off a medium sized refrigerator. I was thinking of space and cost savings vs another refrigerator.
 
do you have specs on the chiller you used? I could compare what you used vs. what i have. At this point is a theory. just to maintain a temperature. If i use my home made wort chiller to get the wort to pitching temp and can get the wort to the target temp i can use the chiller below max capacity to keep it there rather than using it to chill it from 100+ down to the desired fermentation temp. as well, if i design the fermentor to be narrower and taller (with in reason) rather than short and fat. it'll be easier to chill and heat the center of the wort volume.
 
All I can remember it was French manufactured, the evaporator is 6 mm in diameter x 187" (15.5') long, in open air by 45 seconds it was growing frost plus a finger would stick if touched. I was thinking a 109 watts compressor draw would handle it, no the heat energy removed at the evaporator is the usable energy. You must also deduct heat from the fountain submersible pump with tubing to air losses to the coils heading inside the fermenter. The early stages of agressive fermentation would overpower this under $10 hacked up experiment.
I have a large Sears side x side fridge at the rental house in the yard, tennants were heavy smokers it's trashed stinky, I will gut out the cooling system someday and use it for internal coil cooling the Brewhemoth I have.
Can't have enough HP or cooling capacity as this will sit in a spray foamed 5 gallon bucket set in a cut down Rubber Maid trash can this should handle 17 gallons in the Brewhemoth. Mad scientist take two.
 
Good things to consider. I'll run some load calcs and see what i can come up with. So i also understand that the inside few inches of beer inside a fermentor can be around 10 degrees warmer than the outside temp? do we have calculations on the temperature fluxuations durring fermentation? i'm plannin to put a remote thermometer suspended from the center of the lid into the wort. i can see if i can take data from that sensor inorder to research those fluxuations prior to engineering the cooling capacity required to chill the wort to the target temp.
 
BrewBeemer said:
All I can remember it was French manufactured, the evaporator is 6 mm in diameter x 187" (15.5') long, in open air by 45 seconds it was growing frost plus a finger would stick if touched. I was thinking a 109 watts compressor draw would handle it, no the heat energy removed at the evaporator is the usable energy. You must also deduct heat from the fountain submersible pump with tubing to air losses to the coils heading inside the fermenter. The early stages of agressive fermentation would overpower this under $10 hacked up experiment.
I have a large Sears side x side fridge at the rental house in the yard, tennants were heavy smokers it's trashed stinky, I will gut out the cooling system someday and use it for internal coil cooling the Brewhemoth I have.
Can't have enough HP or cooling capacity as this will sit in a spray foamed 5 gallon bucket set in a cut down Rubber Maid trash can this should handle 17 gallons in the Brewhemoth. Mad scientist take two.
Click to expand...

Also, i think i'm going to run the coil on the outside of the fermentor.
 
Hebrews said:
i'm bringing this thread back. I've made some advancments on my conical fermentor design. as well, i just finished a 5 gallon batch of brown ale and can already see the benefits to the conical. I just need a little help finalizing the design.
Click to expand...

Was this with Mr. Beer or a different technique?
 
my loving darling wife got me a brew kit from the local brew shop. I can post some pics later. i have 48 bottles of brown ale that is being revealed at a family BBQ this saturday. I was fermented in a 6 gallon better bottle and bottled 3 weeks later with a FG of 1.015. It was lots of fun, but i can see where having the convenience of the Conical would be a plus. for testing, racking, storage, cleaning, bottling. There was no efficient way to harvest yeast. I couldn't really do much as far as temp control other than our house heating and cooling.

So, all that being said. i'll continue to brew that way till i can get the conical perfected, but that's the end goal, or should i say beginning goal.
 
Here's the napkin drawing of what i have so far.

2909_001_Page_1.jpg


2909_001_Page_2.jpg


2909_001_Page_3.jpg


I'll put up a n image of what i'm thinkin of in CAD in a little bit.
 
Hebrews said:
Light Bulb!!!! I've Got it!!!!

I'm going to find a demo'd package drinking fountain and gut the water chiller out of it. I'll make a closed loop chilled water coil with temp sensor, controll valve and thermostat with a small pond recirc pump to chill water to a desired temperature. and use the Heat trace to heat the fermentor desired temperature in the winter.

What do you think??? Feed back please. :D i'm pretty stoked.....
Click to expand...

Great ideas. I currently don't have any temp control for my fermenters. My basement is almost always 66 degrees anytime of year. If I do need temp control then I just ferment in carboy in my lagering fridge. I need to build a frame for my conical to fit in the fridge.
 
ok so i heard back from a seller of Heat trace and the jist i get is that its possible, just pretty pricy and perminent. I'd prefer something a little more reasonable and protable....Back to the drawing board. (at least for the heating side of things.)
 
Do you think that will be enough BTU to sustain the temp at a given set point? as well, i've never used one before, but does it heat the entire thing uniformily or is there a concentrated heat spike generated around the belt...Just throwin around thoughts.
 

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