In addition to the black powder coated bracket there is a stainless TC bracket that comes with their 20 gal brite tank ftss. (I don’t own a uni. Just a chronical and 2 brite tanks) I’m not at home but here is a pic from their website.
Doubling Down: SS Brewtech Conical + FTSS + Glycol Power Pack
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In addition to the black powder coated bracket there is a stainless TC bracket that comes with their 20 gal brite tank ftss. (I don’t own a uni. Just a chronical and 2 brite tanks) I’m not at home but here is a pic from their website.
Another picture
I think I picked up the filter at more beer. Tried using it jumping from keg to keg when I was just using the Ss brew buckets but then I had more bs to clean and just put it up on the shelf and forgot about it. That was until I got the unitanks and then saw the 1.5 liquid out tc fitting. Sure makes filtering a lot easier. To answer your question I had a constant flow the entire transfer. And this is with a 4 or 5 oz dry hop addition to the tank at day 7 and 10. Having said that I only was able to get 1/2 of the hops out with the final dump pre cold crash to 30 deg. I would think a normal dry hop addition would. One out the butterfly no problem s Pliney clone is a whole nother beast.
On to your second question about The FTSs shelf. When you ordered the heating and cooling it should have come in the black box with the controller and other items. I would contact Ss if it did not. Fits fine on my 7 gallon unitanks...and this means I got to ‘normal, tc clamps that came with the tanks as a ,bonus’.
On a side note I still don’t know if I am dumping correctly. I dump after two hours from going from the kettle to the tank to get rid of any cold break that got sucked in then pitch yeast. Then I dump half a pint two days later. Then when primary fermentation just about stops dump another half pint or so of a semi solid yeast looking material. This I trash and then dump again until a less solid whiter yeast co es out. This doe st look quite as solid coming out of the 1” barb. The last time I dump is to get rid of the hops a day prior to kegging post cold crash.
I found the last dump hard to manage because I closed off the blowoff after 7 days of primary fermentation...thus raising the in tank pursuer to 10psi. I of course released most of this down to 2psi before doing the final dump. While most hops came out some were stuck as I found out when I went to clean the tank.
Should I be opening the butterfly all of the way? Right now I am cracking it so I don’t loose too much liquid goodness?
Should I have a length of 1” hose to ‘slow down’ the dump?
I tried different orientations of the bottom butterfly. One opened vertically while the other that is fermenting now horizontally. Do y’all think this makes a difference when dumping?
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I have a lager carbed and ready to move to keg, so I think I'll try pushing this beer through a 1 um filter to see if that clears anything. Will be the first time I have used a filter, and like you, have had one sitting on my shelf for ages.
I'll reach out to Ss to see if I was supposed to have gotten a controller bracket for my two uni tanks. There was no bracket included with either one, so I'll check today.
I do three dumps: Day 2 after all break has settled out. Mid-fermentation for a yeast harvest collection dump, then after crashing before carbing. I usually dump a pint at a time for a total of 3 pints which I include in my loss volume calculations before I brew.
I place my dump valve directly on the tank, then the elbow and other accessories after that. I crack gently so I don't make a mess, and use a gallon pitcher (tilted at 45 degrees) as a catch basin. I tried using a short hose but I found that makes a bigger mess. If there is pressure on your tank in the last dump, go slowly as this shoots trub out with gusto.
Please let us know what ss says about the controller tray.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I just submitted a support ticket to Ss Jake asking if a controller mounting bracket should have been included with my FTSs heat/cool system on both my 7G and 14G Uni tanks. Neither tank had a controller bracket included, so I asked him if this was a shipping oversight, or if this is not an included item.
I'll post back when he answers.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
Got this answer from Ss Jake. Neither of my 2 Uni Tanks have the bracket, so apparently this is a new offering which may be included with Uni Tanks in the near future. I plan to buy 2 of the brackets when they are available.
Hey Morrey!
Now with FTSs, when ordered in conjunction with BME brite, they will come with a 1.5"tc Controller mount that is pre-packaged with the unit. This change just recently occurred and hope to be offering with any new FTSs/FTSs2 kit for all of our tanks that have 1.5"tc thermowells. We also are going to be selling them individually here shortly, we are expecting that stock to arrive here Mid to Late February.
Cheers,
Jake
Hey Morrey!
Now with FTSs, when ordered in conjunction with BME brite, they will come with a 1.5"tc Controller mount that is pre-packaged with the unit. This change just recently occurred and hope to be offering with any new FTSs/FTSs2 kit for all of our tanks that have 1.5"tc thermowells. We also are going to be selling them individually here shortly, we are expecting that stock to arrive here Mid to Late February.
Cheers,
Jake
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I was hoping since I have spent 4K with them, he would say sure, let me send you a couple. Not the case.
Yeah, I was planning on buying a second one but I'm still upset about the arbitrary 100 dollar price hike they did. They should retro send these out for people who supported their new product first.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I totally agree. I bought both my 14G and 7G as pre-orders and waited for them both. I hate to cut off my nose despite my face, so I'll be cool with this. But for a part that probably costs them only a couple of bucks, that's a fair price for lots of goodwill.
So I have a caring question for everyone. Only used my uniting once in the fall and have been on brewing hiatus since. Looking to brew this weekend but when I did use the tank I had some issues.
So I tried naturally caring towards the tail end of fermentation and then also pumping in some CO2. I think I had it set to like 15 psi. The beer itself ended up undercharged but with TONS of foam. I would barely get any beer off the tap it would just be all foam. Never had this issue prior so has to bet something to do with how the uniting carbed it or maybe occurred during transfer??
So how are people caring the beer in the unitank? or are you still just doing it in the keg?
Also Morrey - thanks for the info on that ball jar adapter. Ordered one today, along with leg extensions and a couple 64oz and 1 gallon jars. Do you worry about o2 getting added to the uniting when emptying? I am thinking with a 1 gallon I would only need to empty once or not at all so might eliminate that issue. I do hoppy beers so usually have 1-1.5 gallons of tub per 5 gallon batch.
So I tried naturally caring towards the tail end of fermentation and then also pumping in some CO2. I think I had it set to like 15 psi. The beer itself ended up undercharged but with TONS of foam. I would barely get any beer off the tap it would just be all foam. Never had this issue prior so has to bet something to do with how the uniting carbed it or maybe occurred during transfer??
So how are people caring the beer in the unitank? or are you still just doing it in the keg?
Also Morrey - thanks for the info on that ball jar adapter. Ordered one today, along with leg extensions and a couple 64oz and 1 gallon jars. Do you worry about o2 getting added to the uniting when emptying? I am thinking with a 1 gallon I would only need to empty once or not at all so might eliminate that issue. I do hoppy beers so usually have 1-1.5 gallons of tub per 5 gallon batch.
To be fair they are fantastic with stuff like this. They redesigned their tiny sight glass with better fittings and sent one out retroactively to every person who purchased one. (including me)
Will have to see what price they will put it out to and whether or not they have the stock to do it. If it's anything like the regular in terms of cost this should be given. I wonder if my unitank I just ordered will have one...
Morrey
Well-Known Member
Carbing can be problematic, but quite simple if done carefully: I'll explain my process and others may want to add more....
Close to the end of fermentation I close off the BO ball valve so the beer will self-carbonate a bit before adjusting final carbonation. I look for about 5 psi from this phase, and then I cold crash with my glycol chiller. I don't remember if you have bought a chiller or not...if not, how are you controlling temps? Cold crashing creates a suction, so this slight positive pressure helps keep the tank equalized.
After crashing to 35F I do a final yeast/trub clearing dump, and by then, most of that positive pressure has been reduced to near zero psi. Next I use my carb stone set at 12 psi and let it go a full day. Now you'll note the pressure gauge reads (most likely) right around 12 psi.
THIS IS IMPORTANT: Before racking to keg, bleed off MOST of the head space pressure with your BO valve. Have your keg sanitized and purged (if you do that) and bleed your headspace pressure down to around 5 psi. If your beer is properly carbed, reducing this headspace psi wont hurt a thing. Next I set my CO2 gauge to 5 psi into the BO tube and start pushing beer from the tank into keg. I use a spunding valve set at 2 psi (relieving pressure) to give me counter pressure so the beer wont foam up in the keg. If you don't have a spunding valve, you can open the pressure relief valve on the keg lid to allow flow. Go ONLY about 2-3 psi if you don't have a spunding valve so you don't over foam this beer.
My guess is you had a combination of overcarbed beer and pushing the beer into keg with too much pressure. Try reducing these variables with numbers I shared and have found to work for the Uni tank, and I think you'll be successful.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I have found that several "short" dumps work best for me. I do a short dump at 2 days into the beer, and this gets lots of break materials and trub cleared out.
Mid-fermentation I do a yeast harvest dump (maybe day 7 or 8) since there is lots of nice, clean yeast available by then. I save this yeast in a Mason jar with the TC yeast adaptor from NorCal for later use. (Pictured)
My last dump is a clearing dump after I have cold crashed, and you'll find the cold temps help the suspended matter to flocculate making clearing easier.
Each of my 3 dumps is around 1 pint each, so I account for this loss in my beginning volumes.
With this TC Ball Jar Adaptor in place as shown, there is no opportunity for O2 to enter the tank. All good there.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
In my post #727, you'll see where Jake noted they hope to be including said bracket with tanks w/1.5" thermowells soon. Looks like this is in the works and not a done deal yet. However, I bet Jake may send you one if you don't end up getting it w/ the Uni since you are on the bubble with the timing so to speak. I've had mine long before he mentioned anything about the bracket being included so I am planning to buy. My guess is the bracket will come in around $10.
This in no way taints my regard for Ss or their equipment. I am a huge fan.
Michael was always my support guy and was always so helpful can speak volumes about them and it's why I keep having to stay sober when I'm on their website, very very positive experience and I impulse buy things. Still kinda wanna get a bucket but I think a 7G uni and 14g BME is enough for me
And yes yes I saw that post what made me think about it in the first place.
" With this TC Ball Jar Adaptor in place as shown, there is no opportunity for O2 to enter the tank. All good there. "
Morrey - When you open the butterfly valve I believe the o2 from the mason jar is released into the fermenter and replaced with trub. This is why I was thinking about 1-2 larger dumps. So that I would not be adding in that 02 until I connect the 2nd jar.
Also I assume you leave the valve open when its connected correct? Any danger of pressure exploding the glass jar? I assume want to do this during the non pressure stage of fermentation?
I have a fermentasaurs and it has a collection ball but they are really small so its kind of a pain. Using mason jars really increases the usefulness and will make this a lot more user friendly.
Morrey - When you open the butterfly valve I believe the o2 from the mason jar is released into the fermenter and replaced with trub. This is why I was thinking about 1-2 larger dumps. So that I would not be adding in that 02 until I connect the 2nd jar.
Also I assume you leave the valve open when its connected correct? Any danger of pressure exploding the glass jar? I assume want to do this during the non pressure stage of fermentation?
I have a fermentasaurs and it has a collection ball but they are really small so its kind of a pain. Using mason jars really increases the usefulness and will make this a lot more user friendly.
I have a feeling its something to do with too much pressure. Honestly since I began bewing about a year ago, the step that ALWAYS trips me up and I find extremely frustrating is the transfer. I have ruined a few batches during this process.
So it sounds like you are releasing all the pressure from the fermenter, then adding it back to 2-3 psi then transferring? Doesn't that kill all the great hop smell that has built up in the tank just purging it all out into the air?
Since I am just getting back into this, I think I might not carb in the tank yet. Just to get my feet wet again. Try and get a few good batches under my belt, then try and work in the carbing process. So i will just add a couple psi of pressure during transfer.
Still no chiller. Dont really need one at the moment its about 56 degrees in my basement so just will be using the fts heater for the first few batches. Will probably get one sometime this spring however. Just a large expense to swallow.
Tozzi
Active Member
Just make sure the difference in pressure isn't too high (2 PSI sounds about right), and don't rush it.
The beer line's inner diameter shouldn't be too large and the pressure in both vessels should be near equal. Cold temperature helps a lot, too. You shouldn't see any bubbles forming inside the beer hose. If you do, increase the pressure on both sides.
Decreasing it is a common mistake.
Use a spunding valve on the receiving keg, if possible.
Again on CIP:
I've just cleaned my 1/2 BBL Chronical and again, if it doesn't work for you, there's something wrong with your setup. I'm confident it will work for my Unitank the same way.
I'll take some pictures some time next week, when my first brew with it is going to be ready to be kegged.
I'm using the large (3") CIP ball assembly and it works like a charm, involving no work at all.
Plus, you won't expose the inner surface to any potentially damaging mechanical stress, like scratches from abrasive brushes, sponges etc., thus keeping it in pristine and perfectly sanitary condition.
You're going to use a comparatively large volume of water, however, so if unlike me, you happen to live in a place where it's not raining all the time and fresh water is scarce, you'll want to stay away from this and go the traditional way using a sponge.
It takes about 20-60 litres, but you could probably do more than one vessel with that at a time.
For the smaller (7 gal) vessels this probably won't make any sense; it will be easier to just fill them with a cleaning solution and let them soak overnight and/or go the sponge route.
The key here is the hose that connects the pump with the CIP ball assembly.
Its inner diameter has to be at least 3/4", else you'll not be able to achieve enough pressure.
10 minutes @ 120˚F with the recommended amount of PBW will leave the fermenter squeaky clean, chiller coils and lid included.
I then do 5 minutes with cold water, then add the appropriate amount of SaniClean (just for peace of mind) and let it run another 5-10 minutes.
Done.
You'll still have to clean the TC gaskets separately; I just soak them in the remaining SaniClean solution and reassemble everything the next day, ready for another brew...
The beer line's inner diameter shouldn't be too large and the pressure in both vessels should be near equal. Cold temperature helps a lot, too. You shouldn't see any bubbles forming inside the beer hose. If you do, increase the pressure on both sides.
Decreasing it is a common mistake.
Use a spunding valve on the receiving keg, if possible.
Again on CIP:
I've just cleaned my 1/2 BBL Chronical and again, if it doesn't work for you, there's something wrong with your setup. I'm confident it will work for my Unitank the same way.
I'll take some pictures some time next week, when my first brew with it is going to be ready to be kegged.
I'm using the large (3") CIP ball assembly and it works like a charm, involving no work at all.
Plus, you won't expose the inner surface to any potentially damaging mechanical stress, like scratches from abrasive brushes, sponges etc., thus keeping it in pristine and perfectly sanitary condition.
You're going to use a comparatively large volume of water, however, so if unlike me, you happen to live in a place where it's not raining all the time and fresh water is scarce, you'll want to stay away from this and go the traditional way using a sponge.
It takes about 20-60 litres, but you could probably do more than one vessel with that at a time.
For the smaller (7 gal) vessels this probably won't make any sense; it will be easier to just fill them with a cleaning solution and let them soak overnight and/or go the sponge route.
The key here is the hose that connects the pump with the CIP ball assembly.
Its inner diameter has to be at least 3/4", else you'll not be able to achieve enough pressure.
10 minutes @ 120˚F with the recommended amount of PBW will leave the fermenter squeaky clean, chiller coils and lid included.
I then do 5 minutes with cold water, then add the appropriate amount of SaniClean (just for peace of mind) and let it run another 5-10 minutes.
Done.
You'll still have to clean the TC gaskets separately; I just soak them in the remaining SaniClean solution and reassemble everything the next day, ready for another brew...
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I get my jar connected to the TC jar adaptor, then push CO2 into the jar to help displace some of the O2 in the jar. I know this is not 100% purged, but helps to keep O2 exposure to a minimum.
When I do a yeast harvest mid-fermentation, I attach the jar and open the dump valve fully watching for leaks. I'll leave it an hour or so knowing the solids will displace the liquids to some degree. You really don't want any pressure in tank with this glass jar affixed, but at the mid-fermentation stage I am harvesting, I have the BO valve open anyway. Yes, the Mason jar is the way to go for sure.
Carbing in the Uni is a benefit yet it is not a necessity. I was timid about that at first so I did my first two carbs in the keg after transfer which gave me some security with the way I had always done it before. Take it slowly and your confidence will build. Once you get the hang of the tank and the way things work, all will be smooth sailing. Takes a few batches (as you mentioned) to build respect and understanding of this process.
Yeah, I noted Michael sort of disappeared from the scene and I looked up the staff on the Ss BT website. Michael is no longer listed and he seems to have been replaced by Jake. One thing I can say is both are very proactive and knowledgeable. I have asked them questions about their personal brewing processes (in regards to their personal Ss product usage experiences) and have gotten enlightening feedback. This indicates to me they not only know how to "sell" their products, they know how to use them in depth.
I have 2 7G Ss brewbuckets with FTSs2 on both, and they are just sitting in the corner (timeout for the kids) needing to be used. I plan to buy one more 7G Uni as soon as Jake emails me back that the controller bracket is included in the FTSs2 kit. These Uni tanks have spoiled me completely and makes old style fermenters obsolete in my humble opinion. This is just me as I remember not so fondly lowering and lifting plastic fermenter pails into a chest freezer. What a PITA.
"Carbing in the Uni is a benefit yet it is not a necessity. I was timid about that at first so I did my first two carbs in the keg after transfer which gave me some security with the way I had always done it before. Take it slowly and your confidence will build. Once you get the hang of the tank and the way things work, all will be smooth sailing. Takes a few batches (as you mentioned) to build respect and understanding of this process."
Yeah I would love to carb in it. Just at the moment, think its a place for more issues. I tend to have a LOT of transfer issues anyway. My poppets are always getting clogged. I always have issues with hop matter clogging things up. Its just a very frustrating process. Sometime I have to just take the damn ball valves off and do it the old way which introduces o2 but sometimes it seems to be the only way that works.
Yeah I would love to carb in it. Just at the moment, think its a place for more issues. I tend to have a LOT of transfer issues anyway. My poppets are always getting clogged. I always have issues with hop matter clogging things up. Its just a very frustrating process. Sometime I have to just take the damn ball valves off and do it the old way which introduces o2 but sometimes it seems to be the only way that works.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
I feel your pain. I make lots of hoppy beers including a house favorite that is double dry hopped and contains minced Thai lemongrass. I have gotten very particular reducing vegetal matter, and use hop spiders with Wilserbags in the boil and whirlpool, plus I use cylindrical mesh strainer tubes for dry hopping in the tank. This coupled with trub dumps in the tank give me clean beer. If you are concerned that you are not getting full hop utilization by containing hops as indicated, it is easy to add a bit more hops to make up for the lowered utilization. Personally, however, I have never felt this was much of a concern.
augiedoggy
Well-Known Member
I use one of these too. I normally will open the valves shortly after filling the conical and just use it to collect yeast and once I remove it I dont replace it (since that would add o2) but since I use two 90degree 1.5" tc elbows to offset mine I did have an instance once where the elbows became plugged and like a fool I shut the butterfly valve to emty jar but got sidetracked till 2 days later when I noticed the pressure in the jar had cause the jar/seal to fail and krausen was leaking out down the sides of the jar.. I could have had the jar easily explode this way.
It would be nice if there was a plastic version of the mason jar that could be used that could withstand more pressure. I have a fermentasaurus and it has plastic collection balls and they can handle pressure with no worries of explosion.
augiedoggy
Well-Known Member
to be fair, if I hadnt closed the butterfly valve I dont think there would have been a risk.
I personally would not use this with a 3/4' ball valve as its already too restrictive... if a person is considering buying one of these for $30 spend the extra $30 on a 38mm full flow butterfly valve.
there are plastic versions of these jars BTW.. think blue cheese and mayonnaise jars..
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Huuum I was just throwing ounces of dry hops in. Do you have a link to these dry hoppers you are using? Maybe this is why my Pliney clone looks like a neipa, as does the sculpin that is getting kegged tomorrow. No huge chunkies or hop matter in the pliney because of the filter I used during the transfer....just hazy. Maybe I am just expecting too much clarity too soon, especially with a super hoppy beer? Come to think of it usually the only time this beer gets clear the keg kicks. I do use a Ss hop basket in the boil, but thought that with the uni one could just dump in any hop additions and then dump them out again before cold crashing.
Speaking of cold crashing it would appear the coldest I can go is 34.5 F. Do I have to mess with the glycol chiller setpoint to make it go colder inside the uni. Also how long are y’all crashing before going to keg?
Morrey
Well-Known Member
http://arborfab.com/115-Dry-Hopper-for-Corny-Keg_p_66.html
There are other mesh hop tubes available on eBay and Amazon, but the quality can be questionable as many are made overseas. I have used US made Arbor Fab for many home brew products, and have nothing but high praise for them. These hop tubes help contain hop trub/vegetal matter while infusing the beer. I cant imagine dry hopping w/o these tubes. I also have several lengths of these up to 18" when I go super hoppy in my 14G tank.
I set my chiller at 28F for the glycol mix and have never felt the need to go below 35F with the beer in the Uni tank. I usually drop (crash) temps for 2 days so most of the remaining yeast and trub will drop out of suspension. I do a final dump, then carb and transfer to keg.
There is no real time limitation you need to "limit" the time you are at 35F in the tank as you are simply lagering or conditioning your beer at this stage. The reason I don't leave long in the Uni is I want to move it on to keg so I can prepare the Uni for the next batch. If you have no push to use the tank again, you can leave it in the tank to lager.
As always, my process is my own way of thinking, and by no means is it the only way Uni tanks can be utilized. Many others have great or possibly better ideas than mine which makes HBT a great forum to get lots of varying ideas.
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That's because Michael was not totally honest about his relationship to the company. He was posting here as a shill and not telling anyone he was actually an owner. That was disappointing on the ethics side of it and frankly unnecessary as I think SS Brewtech actually makes nice stuff.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
Wow, glad you posted this. Enlightened.
Just ordered my Glycol Chiller! Wow thats a lot of money, lol. Hopefully no more equipment this year. Next year will go Electric.
For those with a glycol chiller, what kind of glycol do you get? Is this good? And how much do you need to chill a single unitank?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GI2CIQS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
For those with a glycol chiller, what kind of glycol do you get? Is this good? And how much do you need to chill a single unitank?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GI2CIQS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
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That’s what I have. Works great. Just add 2 gallons of distilled water in the reservoir.
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So I only need 1 gallon of that?
Yes. But that being said I did buy 2 just incase I ever need to add more. I have had it 4 months and haven’t had to yet.
May want to consider serving directly from a Brite Tank since I see you’ve ordered a chiller. That way you can scrap your keg refrigerator (and kegs) and use the glycol chiller for both fermentation and conditioning/serving. I use these connections to serve.
1.5 tc that has a liquid out post on it...this then runs either to the filter (think I’m about done with it AGAIN lol) then back to the liquid out post of the keg I am filling. Thus filling from the bottom to the top.
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc15blg.htm
Just kegged my pineapple sculpin this morning and brewed a Ron Mexico clone today. Tell ya what...kegging, then cleaning, then tearing down the tc fittings, putting them back together....and brewing all on one day is not so much fun. Think the cold side bit is gonna be on one day and then the brewing another.
@byounger
How are your pours from the tank? I see you have a flow control perlick on there I assume that helps compensate for not having a length of serving line. Also how are you dealing with condensation from the tank and or glycol lines. Even with the neoprene and pipe insulation mine sweats a lot especially when the dewpoint is high. Even the top of my glycol tank beads up with water. Maybe is due to the fact mine are on the covered patio?
How are your pours from the tank? I see you have a flow control perlick on there I assume that helps compensate for not having a length of serving line. Also how are you dealing with condensation from the tank and or glycol lines. Even with the neoprene and pipe insulation mine sweats a lot especially when the dewpoint is high. Even the top of my glycol tank beads up with water. Maybe is due to the fact mine are on the covered patio?
Tozzi
Active Member
This looks really nice and I've been searching for a connection like this one, like forever.
Could you provide me with a link where you got this TC to tap fitting from?
Man, you guys are really fortunate. It is a major PITA (and mostly in vain) to try and find seemingly basic stuff like this in Europe.
Flow control is an absolute must. My first taps weren’t... that lasted 2 pours. It was like drinking from a firehose.
There is slight condensation when I am not conditioning the basement (I live in Georgia so when the heat or air conditioning are not running ambient moisture builds down there). If I bump the air conditioning the problem goes away. If you zoom in on the pic you can see slight condensation.
