Dome or no Dome? That is the question.

[jddevinn]

It really is quite easy to make and requires way less attention than ice water. I have no other complaints as far as product quality. The customer service certainly was not the most responsive I have ever dealt with.



My whole setup is very similar to yours including the Kal clone.
I still might go that route when I add more fermenters. When I finish my basement this coming summer I will reevaluate.

I have had surprisingly little issues with condensation. It is most likely due to how super arid it gets in Colorado during the winter. Insulation is the next small project when I get the time. There is even very little buildup on the the evaporator coil lines where they enter/leave the cooler.

Nice! My damn pressure gauge sweats puddles of water down here in NC :/ I tried to run without insulation for one day and it was a mess.

Do you think the neoprene sleeve I have on my conical would fit the one you have? They look similar except the legs. I may have talked to SSBrew when I ordered the first conical and got them to let me buy the sleeves without buying the whole cooling kit if I purchased enough for all the conicals I was planning on at once..... and now that they released the new conical version the sleeves are included with the conicals. So I have (4) extras...... If you think one would fit and want it I'll send it to you.

 

[iijakii]

Damn JD, that's a kick-ass brew room you have... jealous.

I'll throw a picture of my glycol'd conicals into the mix:

I just have 1.5" layflat wrapped around the outside, then insulated with offbrand reflectix stuff. It works great. I can easily ice up the conicals if I want. I also have heat-tape underneath the hose, and that lets me keep them in my garage and maintain higher temps with ease.

The only problem is as I was saying early, I don't have a thermowell and on the heat cycle I run into stratification issues. The temp probe is towards the bottom, while the cooling and heat tape are at the top. With cooling cycle it works perfect, but since heat rises I can run into pretty big temp swings between top and bottom if fermentation isn't active and mixing it. Still debating on buying thermowells for the lid or not. I've kinda figured out to just put it a few degrees lower than what I want and it works well, but I dislike how uneven that is. The cooling works perfect though.

Anyways, love not having any coils inside, just thought you might want to consider too since you are trying to get all sanitary.

 

[jddevinn]

I have the 14 gallon Bru Gear conical. The measurements of the top is 13.75" ID and 14 3/8" OD due to the rolled lip. Not a super exact measurement using a tape measure across the top.

Using the same method I saw slightly less than 14" ID and 14-1/4"OD on the SSbrewtech 14 gallon. With the size of the gasket I would say you are probably (but not 100%) safe switching lids.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

I have severe brew envy now with you guys... Problem is i have too many hobbies... I can't have all nice stuff especially when i dump a ton of $$ into my skeet shooting and reloading.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

Using the same method I saw slightly less than 14" ID and 14-1/4"OD on the SSbrewtech 14 gallon. With the size of the gasket I would say you are probably (but not 100%) safe switching lids.

Thanks for checking. Both of you really. This is super helpful. I just got my Spiedel Fermenter in... Its cool, but the top is a ***** to get off and put back on. Also leaves about 1 gallon of so of liquid below the spigot... The conical is looking like more and more the best route to go.

 

[Brad2287]

Thanks for checking. Both of you really. This is super helpful. I just got my Spiedel Fermenter in... Its cool, but the top is a ***** to get off and put back on. Also leaves about 1 gallon of so of liquid below the spigot... The conical is looking like more and more the best route to go.

No problem at all. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

Nice! My damn pressure gauge sweats puddles of water down here in NC :/ I tried to run without insulation for one day and it was a mess.

Do you think the neoprene sleeve I have on my conical would fit the one you have? They look similar except the legs. I may have talked to SSBrew when I ordered the first conical and got them to let me buy the sleeves without buying the whole cooling kit if I purchased enough for all the conicals I was planning on at once..... and now that they released the new conical version the sleeves are included with the conicals. So I have (4) extras...... If you think one would fit and want it I'll send it to you.

Thanks, I just might have to take you up on this. It very well may work. I think the legs would be a relatively easy modification if the other dimensions are approximately the same. PM incoming.