Boil in conical sanitization question

[jesutton3]

I'm considering buying a conical fermentor and using a heat stick to boil in the fermentor so I don't have to worry with any transfers. What I would like to know is if I go with regular fittings instead of tri clamps will they get hot enough to kill the nasties? Obviously everything would be cleaned after fermentation but I just wanted to check and see if I would need to sanitize them before the boil?

 

[samc]

You don't need to sanitize beyond the boil. However I wonder about the effects on the beer of the ring of crud that generally accompanies a full on boil in the kettle. I'd expect some taste changes compared to starting with a clean fermenter, especially in a lighter styled beer.

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

Yeah if you were going to do that I would look into a way to filter the hot break and some trub out before you start fermentation.... I guess you could no chill and dump the break the next morning? Good luck.

 

[jesutton3]

I would chill using an immersion chiller and then you could dump the hot break out through the dump port in the bottom.

As for the crud ring around the top, I was assuming that the chiller and heat stick would displace enough water that when you removed them the wort would then be below the crud line. Not to mention when the hot break is dumped it would lower the level a little lower.

 

[JKoravos]

LOL, that's a good idea. I would just chill with an immersion chiller and dump the trub from the dump port after a few hours. You don't even need to whirlpool.

 

[jawsbc]

You could still have contaminants in your valves - boiling in the fermenter may or may not get them sanitized, which would be a potential problem during the fermentation. I'd be interested to hear back how well this works out if you go ahead with it. It seems a little bit risky from a sanitation perspective in any case.

 

[JKoravos]

You could still have contaminants in your valves - boiling in the fermenter may or may not get them sanitized, which would be a potential problem during the fermentation. I'd be interested to hear back how well this works out if you go ahead with it. It seems a little bit risky from a sanitation perspective in any case.

How are you seeing it as risky? I don't see how the valves would be an issue, especially if he is cleaning and sanitizing them after the batch.

From a sanitation perspective, it's mush less risky, IMO.