Anyone using a FastFermenter?

CornyKegs 728
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His term of "secondary fermenting" is way off and for most beers "racking" is NOT needed for a home brewer. Conicals are nice but hard to clean. Give me a plastic bucket any day. Just let my ales sit for 3-4 weeks and then bottle.
 
i have one ordered, but it hasn't shipped yet. latest email said sometime in september.
i don't mind using a bucket, it's easy to clean, it's light, stores easily. my glass carboy is heavy, takes up lots of space when not in use, isn't fun to clean (did i mention that already), is very breakable.....but it's transparent, makes it fun. hopefully this thing has enough beneficial features that make me not regret getting it. it'll store up on the wall w/ the included wall mount. hopefully get the trub drained/removed before transferring for bottling. and it should be easy to clean.
i'll let you know once it arrives
 
I liked the idea of these but handling them full seems awkward. I'm interested in some hands on reviews.
 
I like the idea as well, but how would you control fermentation temps? You would have to cool the whole room. I can't afford to keep my house in Florida in the low 60's. Forget about lagering.
 
For controlling fermentation temp you can buy their short stand for it. That way it will sit upright in the fridge.

I want one but I'm not exactly sure what I would gain by using one. It a really cool tool thought.
 
Yea, It does look cool. I wonder how long it would last. I currently am using buckets and so far its fine with me.
 
since I do small batches I can fit 5 two gallon buckets in my fermenting freezer. I think you'd need an upright fridge/freezer for that thing. That would most likely limit you to one ferment at a time.
 
ChefRex said:
Put it in a fermentation chamber....???




Waiting on mine.
Click to expand...


Seems logical, but the idea is to hang this on a wall. Seems the convenience aspect goes out the window unless you build a large, almost walk in ferm. Chamber.

Even in my basement that usually is no warmer than 68, this jus wouldn't quite work for me. I don't have room for a large chamber big enough for this to hang and use it like it's designed.

I think it's a great concept for those with the right set up though.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I have one of the first versions (before they were bought out and modified). Couple of thoughts;

-Handling a full one is awkward. What I found works best is I actually put the whole thing in a bucket and handle the bucket.

-I had a little difficulty getting the trub/yeast to fall into the ball but that should be rectified with the improvements to the new version.

-Cleaning was a little easier than a carboy but more difficult than a bucket. Again, improvements should make this even easier.

-Harvesting yeast is really nice but you do need to be conscious of when you are using the bulb. Applied too late in the process and you risk oxidizing your beer (air in the bulb needs to go somewhere). This is especially true since that I found in order to get all the yeast out of the cone and into the bulb I needed to empty the bulb multiple times. I think the new bulb is suppose to be bigger. I personally just made sure to purge the bulb with CO2 whenever I was dumping yeast and reapplying it.

-Racking is a breeze with this thing. If mounted on the wall no siphoning at all, just open a valve and let it flow. One issue is that sometimes a little yeast/trub clings to the sides of cone and racking can dislodge it and there is no way to avoid it falling into your keg. Since I cold crash and gelatin all my beers it isn't really an issue. But if you don't do that or are bottling just know you have a little less control over what ends up in your bucket/keg vs careful siphoning.

-Trying to temp control them w/o a chamber is a challenge. In the summer I reserve the FastFermenter for farmhouse style saisons. In the winter it is cold enough in my garage where a heat-lamp pointed at it with a temp controller is enough to maintain the same consistent temps I get in my dual-controlled chamber.

If you want the advantages of a conical without the expense these are a nice option, but they do require a little bit of planning and forethought to use and have some unique challenges. I personally haven't replaced any of my fermenters with these things but I do use them in conjunction with the rest of my equipment. The biggest advantage to me is the ability to dump trub/hop debris that makes it into the fermenter from the kettle and the ease of yeast harvesting.

I like it enough where I have a second one (one of the new versions) on the way. But I won't be retiring my buckets and carboys anytime soon.

*edit: One other thing that I will add is that if you do have one of these guys wall mounted, blow off tube every time, otherwise you end up cleaning Black IPA off the ceiling.

1898234_10202140053837963_1923105158_n.jpg
 
I just ordered two of the new ones. They are supposed to ship in September. My thought was to make a rack topped with a piece of plywood with two round holes in it to fit in my fermentation chamber (modified upright refrigerator). Then I would move each to a wall mount to rack to a keg when it is ready. Now I am hearing that they are hard to handle when they are full. Would it be possible to make or modify a handle that would hook to the pegs on the wall mount to make that lifting easier? Any thoughts?
 
I think for your plan you should be fine. You should be able to use the pegs as handles. When trying to fill the fermenter from the kettle or trying to get it up on the wall (which is admittedly mounted high in my case) is when I run into issues.
 
I just discovered that two of these will go a bit over the capacity of my fermentation fridge. Damn! Maybe its time to upgrade the fridge but for the moment I have decided only to buy one. However, I am really pleased with the service from FastRack who immediately agreed to cancel one of my orders. They are very responsive to questions and requests. Great to do business with.
 
I wonder if you can jam one of these into a 6.5 gallon bucket and cut a big hole out of the bottom side and bottom for access to the bottom port? Nice cheap stand and can maybe help carry the thing?
 
Weezy said:
I wonder if you can jam one of these into a 6.5 gallon bucket and cut a big hole out of the bottom side and bottom for access to the bottom port? Nice cheap stand and can maybe help carry the thing?
Click to expand...

The website shows a rack with a 10 inch ring at the top that is 15 inches off the ground and accommodates the valve and ball. The total height is 36" including the ball and the trap.

I think a bucket that had handles on either side and that would support the thing at the right diameter for the height would do the job but not one with a wire loop handle typical of brewing buckets. I like the general idea though. On the other hand, a ring of 3/4" ply with a 10" hole suspended above a 16" diameter plywood base by 4 2x4 support struts would probably work fine.

The dimensions of the whole unit appear to be 16.5" diameter and 36" high.
 
Hi, just reading this after having zero success on my first batch getting the trub to fall into the ball.. I mean the first ball filled with Tub, but there is significantly more in there that is stuck to the wall of the conical. I think Im going to have to siphon from the top since I dont want the trub to wash into my keg! this is really disappointing...


So, how exactly did you get the tub to fall into the ball? Did you need to screen before you racked into the FastFermenter?

I sure hate to siphon this batch.. :mad:

opiate82 said:
I have one of the first versions (before they were bought out and modified). Couple of thoughts;

-Handling a full one is awkward. What I found works best is I actually put the whole thing in a bucket and handle the bucket.

-I had a little difficulty getting the trub/yeast to fall into the ball but that should be rectified with the improvements to the new version.

-Cleaning was a little easier than a carboy but more difficult than a bucket. Again, improvements should make this even easier.

-Harvesting yeast is really nice but you do need to be conscious of when you are using the bulb. Applied too late in the process and you risk oxidizing your beer (air in the bulb needs to go somewhere). This is especially true since that I found in order to get all the yeast out of the cone and into the bulb I needed to empty the bulb multiple times. I think the new bulb is suppose to be bigger. I personally just made sure to purge the bulb with CO2 whenever I was dumping yeast and reapplying it.

-Racking is a breeze with this thing. If mounted on the wall no siphoning at all, just open a valve and let it flow. One issue is that sometimes a little yeast/trub clings to the sides of cone and racking can dislodge it and there is no way to avoid it falling into your keg. Since I cold crash and gelatin all my beers it isn't really an issue. But if you don't do that or are bottling just know you have a little less control over what ends up in your bucket/keg vs careful siphoning.

-Trying to temp control them w/o a chamber is a challenge. In the summer I reserve the FastFermenter for farmhouse style saisons. In the winter it is cold enough in my garage where a heat-lamp pointed at it with a temp controller is enough to maintain the same consistent temps I get in my dual-controlled chamber.

If you want the advantages of a conical without the expense these are a nice option, but they do require a little bit of planning and forethought to use and have some unique challenges. I personally haven't replaced any of my fermenters with these things but I do use them in conjunction with the rest of my equipment. The biggest advantage to me is the ability to dump trub/hop debris that makes it into the fermenter from the kettle and the ease of yeast harvesting.

I like it enough where I have a second one (one of the new versions) on the way. But I won't be retiring my buckets and carboys anytime soon.

*edit: One other thing that I will add is that if you do have one of these guys wall mounted, blow off tube every time, otherwise you end up cleaning Black IPA off the ceiling.

View attachment 220422
Click to expand...
 
Wow that sucks man! In my mind that was one of my thoughts about it and how it would get all the trub in the collection ball.
 
I got mine late last week. While assembling it I noticed that the thermowell doesn't have ID threads. Anyone else have that problem? Makes it difficult to use it. I emailed them bit haven't heard back yet.
On the Traub issue, how about swirling it some to make it fall off the walls? I do that on my glass carboys all the time because it sticks to vertical walls too.
Mike
 
Hi Guys,

Thanks for the comments. Sorry to hear about the one first batch that didn't work out the best. For making sure everything falls into the collection ball and siphon is not needed you might need to purge the collection ball a few times. Depending on how much trub you have for what you are brewing. In one of the other threads a member posts this regarding a similar situation..


hey everyone, I originally posted the note far below and thought of deleting it based on my recent check up on my brew. I stand corrected on my original post! ALL of the trub fell into my collection ball! Yes, ALL of it... so much so, I had enough beer in the ball to take a Final Gravity reading without even having to access the main tank...

here was the thing... I did have a LOT of trub that I put into the fermenter, thinking "its going to fall out anyway"... well, I had so much that obviously the ball could not collect it all. so when I finally started to purge and replace my collection ball (3x), I was 'thinking' that the trub on the side walls would never make it into the collection ball.. well, guess what? tonight I checked and as I said, all the trub fell out... nothing but clear, clear mothers milk in that thing!

going to dry hop her tomorrow and report back when she's kegged!

anyway, my first post is below... I just didn't want anyone to be too concerned if the trub didn't apper to fall out, it will... however, if you have a lot of sediment and yeast cake, pull some out after fermentation stops for a few days...

good luck!


================
as far as dumping the collection ball goes, I'm not certain all the trub will come out.. a best practice may be to try to get as much clear wort as you can with as little trub as you can so that you can be certain that the trub will fall out... Right now I have a lot of Trub stuck to the sides of the conical which will never make it out and into the collection ball... If this isn't something I can find a way to remedy in the next few batches, i would be very disappointed since I bought two of them..

I wont be quick to judge yet though... it's a new product and it's the people who's idea in this community who will perfect the process. I cant wait until more people post tips and tricks on this product!
__________________
Eagle & Schmitt Brewing
Keg 1: Golden Lawnmower Ale
Keg 2: Spiked Chocolate Cherry Stout
Keg 3: OFF
Keg 4: Al's Too-Harded IPA

Fermenting: Don't Wheaty, Be Hoppy V.2

Next Up: Brown Ale
 

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