A trip to Wally World and $20 is certainly more my speed. I'm spending a considerable amount on this obsession errr... hobby as it is. My wife has been very supportive up to this point but's she's beginning to get that look on her face...
FastFerment conical fermenter??????
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A trip to Wally World and $20 is certainly more my speed. I'm spending a considerable amount on this obsession errr... hobby as it is. My wife has been very supportive up to this point but's she's beginning to get that look on her face...
cantrell00
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It really depends on how much O2 you release per second... If you turn the valve wide open, 2-3 batches. If you throttle it back to 25% output - you can get many more obviously...
As for using the aquarium pump - they will certainly work but you must run them considerably longer to get the same % of oxygen into the wort..
The compressed O2 is sterilized as well. An assumption on my part but would seem logical when you consider how they separate O2 from nitrogen & argon when recovering it from the atmosphere.
Yeah the O2 only need a minute or two and the aquarium pump between 30-45 minutes, but I usually start it up while transferring and just let it go while I do my clean-up so doesn't really add any time to my brew days.
cantrell00
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Could anyone see a problem in waiting longer, like possibly 24 hours, before draining the trub and adding the yeast? Also, would you want to hold off on oxygenating until right before you add the yeast?
Could anyone see a problem in waiting longer, like possibly 24 hours, before draining the trub and adding the yeast? Also, would you want to hold off on oxygenating until right before you add the yeast?
Good information on the use of the fermenter.
I just received mine yesterday. Unboxed this evening and it is well built but they need to work on the finish around the top. Mine had a ridge around the inside of the opening that was a much as 1/8" above what should be the seal surface. The mold separation line also extended on to the seal surface. I understand why people have had issues with leaking.
So I got to work on it and used a utility knife to trim everything flush but you could still catch a fingernail on it. I took some emery cloth and started working on the areas and was able to smooth things out. I attached the valve and thermal well, plugged the hole in the lid by putting a wood dowel in the grommet hole and filled it with water. No leaks even with the unit mostly upside down and the valve open.
Too bad I won't have a chance to ferment anything in it for a few weeks.
I hope they start selling replacement parts such as the thicker seal.
I just received mine yesterday. Unboxed this evening and it is well built but they need to work on the finish around the top. Mine had a ridge around the inside of the opening that was a much as 1/8" above what should be the seal surface. The mold separation line also extended on to the seal surface. I understand why people have had issues with leaking.
So I got to work on it and used a utility knife to trim everything flush but you could still catch a fingernail on it. I took some emery cloth and started working on the areas and was able to smooth things out. I attached the valve and thermal well, plugged the hole in the lid by putting a wood dowel in the grommet hole and filled it with water. No leaks even with the unit mostly upside down and the valve open.
Too bad I won't have a chance to ferment anything in it for a few weeks.
I hope they start selling replacement parts such as the thicker seal.
Yeah it does take some work to prepare it and it sounds like you've done that. Were you able to get your top to seal without teflon tape?
I've had a batch fermenting since Sunday and so far so good. But for me, the jury is still out on how effective the collection ball will be in removing trub and ending up with very little sediment to deal with prior to bottling. Collecting yeast may be a bonus down the road but my primary reason for buying this thing is to better deal with sediment removal and avoid racking. Racking suck...
Yes it sealed fine after making sure the mating surface was smooth.
Next up:
- stand to fit my fermentation fridge.
- Right angle fitting for a blow off tube for fridge clearance. Going to increase the size of the hole in the lid. Fit a spare SS bulkhead fitting and el I have to gain 2-3 inches clearance.
Someday I might build a fermentation chamber but for now I don't think have the head room to have a ball in place and and airlock in place. I usually just attach a tube and leave it in a container of sanitizer until I rack out of the primary anyway.
I think you could do this as long as your sanitation was excellent, and you were keeping it fairly cool. When I had mine sitting for a while it was at 50f. That said, I have had batches that sat for 5 days before I decided the yeast were just dead and then repitched and things ended up fine.
Definitely wait until pitching time to aerate. You don't want to give any fuel to any wild yeast that got in there.
I had a batch from national hombrewers day sit 24 hrs and the first educated palate that tried it called it out exactly. Your mileage may vary.
gotbags-10
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Anybody think there is a way to add gasket material to this some how? Was planning on using mine this weekend and noticed my seal is off too
Right now the "work around" is to use teflon tape on the top threads as well. Long term, I definitely want a thicker gasket to deal with the "out of flat" top.
blaster_54738
Well-Known Member
Simple long term fix is to take light sand paper and sand the top to make it flat. I did it, took maybe a minute and it sealed perfectly, airlock started bubbling like crazy
Yours must have been much closer to flat then mine. Look at the photo posted above by Jeliii. See the gap he has, mine was larger then that on both sides.
I did tape a sheet of sand paper to the table saw top and ran the fermenter back and forth for as long as I could stand it. If I sanded mine flat, I would end up sanding off some of the threads on the two high sides.
Glad you were able to make yours work!
Mine, I need a thick freakin gasket. One that will compress on the high sides and fill the gaps on the low sides when it's tightened down.
cantrell00
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Would some type of self adhered weather stripping work? maybe the foam?
I admit - far from sanitary..
gotbags-10
Well-Known Member
I was looking into a sheet of 1/4" food grade gasket and just using the original gasket as a template
I'm thinking maybe a medium density rubber or silicon.
Whatever the material is they used in the supplied gasket might work for a while if it were about 3 times as thick. Thought it may not stand up to the wear and tear of tightening and loosening the of the top very long.
The RastRack/FastFerment folks said they would look at providing a replacement but who knows how long that will take. It sounds like they are still trying to ramp up their accessories store/delivery.
I had to use 80 grit paper in a sanding block, about 15 min on each side, and there was still a little gap left. Probably got 75% of it.
That material would certainly do the trick. 1/4" is pretty darn thick. 3/16" would be plenty thick. 1/8" might even work depending on how compressible the material is.
MaddBaggins
cervisiam vitae
Finally got around to fabing up the stands. The short stand is good for filling and stuff. The tall stand is good for transferring to a keg. I can just lift the 6gal filled fermenter into the tall stand with no collection ball and no step stool. The carrier just transfers to whichever stand I move the fermenter to.
Nothing fancy, just some circles of 1/4" plate I cut at work and some rebar I had in the yard at home.
I painted them Krylon satin Hunter Green.
It's filled with water and no leaks. I'm brewing a pale next week. I'll give it a go then. What I don't like is the air that bubbles up when you install a collection ball and open the valve. I may skip the collection ball and just dump trub into a pitcher and then dump yeast into a mason jar.
Nothing fancy, just some circles of 1/4" plate I cut at work and some rebar I had in the yard at home.
I painted them Krylon satin Hunter Green.
It's filled with water and no leaks. I'm brewing a pale next week. I'll give it a go then. What I don't like is the air that bubbles up when you install a collection ball and open the valve. I may skip the collection ball and just dump trub into a pitcher and then dump yeast into a mason jar.
Cleaned up the threads, taped the threads going to the union and it's bubbling away, no tape on the lid.
Chamber needs finishing but I needed to give it a whorl:rockin:
No complants so far,
Chamber needs finishing but I needed to give it a whorl:rockin:
No complants so far,
Nice!
The tall one looks a little tippy but I'm sure when the fermenter is full the weight will make it much more stable.
I like the carry handles too.
You should start your own line...
Well I went too wally world and picked up an aeration pump with 2 outputs, 8' of tubing and two diffuser stones. I cut the tubing in half so now i have 2 4' pieces.
Dropped both stones into the wort and went off to clean up. After About 10 minutes I happen to turn around to see this...
I think it's aerated. What do you think??
redwing_al
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I do have had issues with the clogging of the opening the collection ball. Not sure how to solve for it. However, I have allowed a lot more trub in than I proably should. Next batch will strained before going into FastFermenter. to solve the little issuse I did have, I sanititised a butter knife, removed the ball and stuck it up in the hole to free up trub. Once it started to 'poop out' on it's own, I closed the valve, readded the ball and opened valve. the sediment then went to the ball... I'll do one more ball recycle and then let it sit for another week.
If the FF guys have any suggestions, I hope that they're reading this thread. The clogging of the ball opening will be a problem...
Sorry should have warned you that it might foam up, but then I never had it get that bad since I only use 1 stone.
Used the brackets to make a stand to fit the ferm-fridge.
Airlock might fit but will need a right angle for a blow-off tube.
That's an awesome little stand!
gotbags-10
Well-Known Member
Used the brackets to make a stand to fit the ferm-fridge.
Airlock might fit but will need a right angle for a blow-off tube.
Very nice. What kind of fridge is that?
LOL... NP. I was glad to see it work that well. I just HOPE the foam is a sign the oxygen is being absorbed.
Used the brackets to make a stand to fit the ferm-fridge.
Airlock might fit but will need a right angle for a blow-off tube.
What fridge do you have? I need something like that for my Fast Ferment conical!
gotbags-10
Well-Known Member
Used the brackets to make a stand to fit the ferm-fridge.
Airlock might fit but will need a right angle for a blow-off tube.
Very nice. What kind of fridge is that?
MaddBaggins
cervisiam vitae
Thanks! Two things: I wish I had made the carry ring a little bigger. It feels slightly top heavy with 6 gallons in it. Also, I could have made the tall stand about 5" shorter.
The tall one is more stable than it looks also, it will be in the ferm closet. No chance of anyone accidentally bumping it in there. I shook it a bit and it stands strong.
Sent from my magic box, using only my thumbs.
My ideal setup, 4 half height fridges each w a conical and temp controller... If only....
Primary: Maibock, Helles (first partigyle batch)
Secondary: Mojave Red, Irish Stout
On tap: Orange Belgian IPA, Turbo IIPA
Bottled: Dwarven Gold Ale, La Fin Du Mond clone, Hefeweizen
Primary: Maibock, Helles (first partigyle batch)
Secondary: Mojave Red, Irish Stout
On tap: Orange Belgian IPA, Turbo IIPA
Bottled: Dwarven Gold Ale, La Fin Du Mond clone, Hefeweizen
How about 2 of these? Each chamber can hold 2 conicals. And if you use the space inside the compact frig, a 6 gal carboy too...
Yep that would work, and brew belts on both to manage individual temps.
Primary: Maibock, Helles (first partigyle batch)
Secondary: Mojave Red, Irish Stout
On tap: Orange Belgian IPA, Turbo IIPA
Bottled: Dwarven Gold Ale, La Fin Du Mond clone, Hefeweizen
Primary: Maibock, Helles (first partigyle batch)
Secondary: Mojave Red, Irish Stout
On tap: Orange Belgian IPA, Turbo IIPA
Bottled: Dwarven Gold Ale, La Fin Du Mond clone, Hefeweizen
