FastFerment conical fermenter??????

Yakima 728
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Hey Wawster, thanks for the update. My seals are arriving today so I should be trying them out this weekend.

As far as priming, you might want to rethink using a bottling bucket as that would promote oxidization; something the FF helps to greatly reduce.
 
Wawster said:
I didn't attempt to stir in the priming sugar. I wussed out and used fizz drops. After it was all said and done I was glad I did. I bottled directly from the FF, and although the cream ale was good and clear, there was a bit of sediment clinging to the sides of the conical. If I had stirred in the priming sugar, it would have suspended all of that remaining sediment, and really clouded up the beer. It would have settled in the bottles, of course, but I wonder if it would have affected the taste any. In any case, next time I'll use the bottling bucket to save the expense of the fizz drops....

Waw
Click to expand...

First off, congrats on the first batch in the FF and I see you didn't waste any time going for #2! ;)

If you're concerned about sediment in your bottles/beer, a bottling bucket with a priming sugar solution sitting in the bottom is the way to go for the reasons you discovered. But when you do so, just make sure the end of your tubing is sitting on the bottom of the bucket and don't open the ball valve wide open. Just crack it open enough so the beer fills the tubing but flows slowly into the bucket and doesn't cause splashing in the bucket. Also, so it doesn't create a vortex inside the FF due to the conical shape.

:mug:
 
Thanks guys! Good advice!
Whenever I siphoned from the carboys into the bottling bucket in the past, I always had the tube of the siphon in the bottom of the bucket curled around, so it didn' splash, and caused a slight stirring effect to help mix the primer. I could do the same from the FF.and crack the valve like jbb3 mentioned.

One other note. I had bought a 1/2" spring loaded bottling tube to go on the 1/2" tube that came with the FF (yeah, I know it was a blow-off tube, but WTF...LOL). When I used it to bottle, I kinda didn't like it. It was actually too big, and the beer flowed through into the bottles way too fast. With the 3/8" bottling tube, it was easy to see when the beer was getting to the top of the bottle inside, so I could stop. With the 1/2" it was actually harder to judge when to stop, so I had a number of overflows before I could stop - caused a bit of a mess. So if someone is thinking to bottle from the FF, make sure to crack the valve like jbb3 mentions to slow down the flow. It could be just a learning curve, but no one likes their beer all over the floor!:mug:
 
Does anyone know if Fast Ferment is planning to switch to the new seal on their new fermenters? I'd think that correcting a known defect in their product would be a high priority.
 
To those wondering about what to do when replacing the collection ball after emptying the yeast. I fill it with some cheap commercial beer. The beer is sterile and inert and you're not running the risk of adding any airborne contamination.
 
I checked with the folks who make the FastFerment conical and they said that all of their newly manufactured conicals have the new and improved top gasket. They are also now planing the top of the fermenter for an exact fit.
 
I hope this isn't highjacking a thread, if so, i apologize
I am picking up a fastferment this week, and i do the "no chill" method in a 23 liter aquatainer, which i let sit over night, and pitch the next morning.

My question is, if I pour it into the fastferment the next day, and let it sit for 6 or 7 hours to collect trub/break material first, then dump, then pitch yeast, would that be too long of wait to pitch yeast, basically 30 or so hours from putting in aquatainer to pitching yeast.

Thank
Barney
 
Menhir said:
I checked with the folks who make the FastFerment conical and they said that all of their newly manufactured conicals have the new and improved top gasket. They are also now planing the top of the fermenter for an exact fit.
Click to expand...


Curious about this. Received my 1st FF last week. When screwing the top lid on, seems the bottom lip of the lid touches the big portion of the fermenter....before the top of the lid seats the gasket? Felt that way at least. Can I trust that it's making a seal?
 
msbrewblog said:
Curious about this. Received my 1st FF last week. When screwing the top lid on, seems the bottom lip of the lid touches the big portion of the fermenter....before the top of the lid seats the gasket? Felt that way at least. Can I trust that it's making a seal?
Click to expand...

You can test it. Put on an airlock, open the valve (without the ball attached) and gently blow air into the fermenter. If the slightest amount of air makes the airlock bubble then you have a good seal. If its not sealing you might try contacting the manufacturer like I did. They responded promptly to my inquiry.

Just want to let folks know that I don't own one of these fermenters, but am planning on buying two of them in about a month. I checked with the manufacturers to make sure that the air seal problems had been corrected in their newly produced fermenters.
 
msbrewblog said:
Curious about this. Received my 1st FF last week. When screwing the top lid on, seems the bottom lip of the lid touches the big portion of the fermenter....before the top of the lid seats the gasket? Felt that way at least. Can I trust that it's making a seal?
Click to expand...

The only fool proof way I have been able to seal the lid is to wrap painters tape around the edge where the lid meets the to part of the fermenter.

Not elegant by any means but certainly effective.
 
barneyfife said:
I hope this isn't highjacking a thread, if so, i apologize
I am picking up a fastferment this week, and i do the "no chill" method in a 23 liter aquatainer, which i let sit over night, and pitch the next morning.

My question is, if I pour it into the fastferment the next day, and let it sit for 6 or 7 hours to collect trub/break material first, then dump, then pitch yeast, would that be too long of wait to pitch yeast, basically 30 or so hours from putting in aquatainer to pitching yeast.

Thank
Barney
Click to expand...

I think this is highly dependent on your sanitation practices. If everything is sanitary then you can probably get away with it. I have done a bunch of the no-chill method, and the time that is important is the time from opening the no-chill container to pitching. I have left the wort in the bottle sealed up for almost a week before without any apparent issue. I also kept it cold (40 or so) which may have helped.

I did find that if I racked the wort out of the no-chill container (I use WinPak containers from USPlastics) then I could leave all the trub and crap behind and pitch immediately. In fact, one nice thing with the no-chill method I found was that I could sit on the wort until I had the starter ready to go, then unseal it and pitch as soon as it was in the fermentor. It saved me at least once when the yeast starter failed (bad smack pack) and I had to redo it a couple days later when the LHBS opened back up.

So, in short, I guess I'm trying to say that a 7hr wait wouldn't bother me at all as long as I was clean.
 
This is going in my "complete piece of ****" list. I've been fermenting without trouble for three weeks. Was going to take it of the yeast today. Twisted the ball lock, then unscrewed the bottom. To my horror my beautiful brew leaked from the ball lock. Leaked. And leaked. And when I tried to screw the bottom back on,it kept leaking anyway. Yes, the large rubber washer was in place. I think the ball lock failed. ****ing piece of ****.
 
rockydog101 said:
This is going in my "complete piece of ****" list. I've been fermenting without trouble for three weeks. Was going to take it of the yeast today. Twisted the ball lock, then unscrewed the bottom. To my horror my beautiful brew leaked from the ball lock. Leaked. And leaked. And when I tried to screw the bottom back on,it kept leaking anyway. Yes, the large rubber washer was in place. I think the ball lock failed. ****ing piece of ****.
Click to expand...

Try taking the handle off and using the tool on it to tighten the inner part of the valve.
You can take it apart the same way for cleaning.

20150415_071717.jpg
20150415_071735.jpg
20150415_071747.jpg
 
Thanks mr Kelly.

I knew about tightening it. Didn't know that you could use the handle to do that though.
 
DustyBrew said:
That is BEAUTIFUL!! How does the handle come off?
Click to expand...

Just a little pull, just tried it but my handle dosen't fit, nothing a little filing won't fix.
Any one have a source for the proper sized o ring? Kegged an IPA tonight and now I cant find it:mad: Hopefully it shows up I was planing to refill this weekend;)
 
Picked up my new conical today April 16, and just got it hanging on the wall with pbw in it.
The thermowell seems to me to be a weak point. After reinstalling 3 times with lots of teflon tape each time, it still leaked. Was really nervous tightening it up, because of the plastic threads. After taking it apart yet again, there were ridges of plastic on the outside of the thermowell orifice, which wasnt allowing the thermowell to tighten properly. After sanding down the ridges, and cranking down yet again, finally got it to seal
Seems to be a quality control issue. It is one of the older ones, because doesnt have the newer silicone gasket. Will hopefully put a brew in it by midweek to check seal on top lid. Have already sanded the top down to get rid of the ridges. So, everyone, check the thermowell orifice on the outside for smoothness,before inserting thermowell. Removing and tightening this thermowell I think might be an issue for some people. Was wincing every time I tightened it "just a little more".


Barney

Update:April 17

Left it overnight, and checked this morning "SOB", it is still weeping very slightly. Tried tightening as much as i dare, no go. (I was a commercial transport mechanic for 35 years, so I know how **** like this works). So, I am thinking, what this needs is some kind of gasket/O ring on the thermowell. so I stretched a keg post rubber "O" ring over the themowell, and tightened it in, (i didnt use teflon tape, cause just wanted to see if the O ring would help some). 2 hours later, still good.

So I am thinking that what kind of fix might help this,is, there maybe should be some type of "land" where a rubber O ring would sit nicely in the orifice, and then the thermowell tightened down on it. I am sure it would prevent any type of leak from happening. The instructions say to "remove thermowell every 6 months to clean". I aint gonna go through this **** every time I wanna clean it.

If the rubber O ring continues to hold, I am not going to remove it to add teflon tape. That SOB is gonna stay in there.
Will update tomorrow to confirm if still holding.
I bought 2 fermenters, and have not tested the other one yet, but the thermowell orifice looks much cleaner than the one I am having problems with.

I really like the idea of this, so I am gonna make this work one way or another.

Barney

Update:April 18

Thermowell still holding with keg post O ring
Installed the second fermenter yesterday, and didnt even bother trying the teflon tape on the thermowell and just put another keg post O ring on, and it is still holding 24 hrs later. Happy with the way things worked out, not just gotta get some brew in it.
The first fermenter's lid sealed fine, the second one I had to do a little sanding to get it to seal.

Barney
 
msbrewblog said:
Curious about this. Received my 1st FF last week. When screwing the top lid on, seems the bottom lip of the lid touches the big portion of the fermenter....before the top of the lid seats the gasket? Felt that way at least. Can I trust that it's making a seal?
Click to expand...

I tested this. Assembled for first time, put some water in to test the lower...all good there, screwed the top lid & gasket on snug, and blew into the airlock hole and with hands around the bottom lip of the lid, I could feel the air coming out. :(

Any pics of this new gasket around? so I can compare to what I have.
 
The new ones are silicone and 3mm thick, looks like, well clear/opaque silicone that's dried. The old ones are much thinner and look like white foam rubber kinda like what pool noodles are made of but maybe 1mm thick. There is a pic of the new one somewhere either in this thread or one of the other FastFerment threads.
 
Man, I was one of those who got their FF on the HBT $99 special. I didn't get no stinking gasket with mine. Hmm.... maybe I ought contact them and see if they'll ship me out one. :)
 
Hello. I just purchased a fast ferment and also have an issue with air leak from the top. The kid bottomed out and air still gets out, it did come with the older thin gasket. I check the website and they don't sell the newer gaskets anymore, only thru retail store now. They sent me 2 newer gaskets once I expalined the situation. Good customer service.
 
I guess the painters tape around the edge of the cap was not nearly elegant enough for most, huh?

LOL
 
I'm frustrated with this thing but wanting to make it work. So I have the "new" seal on my new FF, but it leaks air from under the top lid when screwed down....just not making good contact with the gasket when tight (even though I sanded it smooth)...leaks all around.

This evening I brew a 10 gal batch and split it 5 to FF and 5 to carboy. The FF lid gasket is noticeably very loose when I position it inside the lid but I proceed not thinking about it. I pour the wort into the FF, lay the lid on top while I prep to pitch yeast. When I lift the lid again the gasket falls into the wort in the FF. SMDH
 
msbrewblog said:
I'm frustrated with this thing but wanting to make it work. So I have the "new" seal on my new FF, but it leaks air from under the top lid when screwed down....just not making good contact with the gasket when tight (even though I sanded it smooth)...leaks all around.

This evening I brew a 10 gal batch and split it 5 to FF and 5 to carboy. The FF lid gasket is noticeably very loose when I position it inside the lid but I proceed not thinking about it. I pour the wort into the FF, lay the lid on top while I prep to pitch yeast. When I lift the lid again the gasket falls into the wort in the FF. SMDH
Click to expand...

That's not good...

I'm wondering if you put the new thicker gasket in the top first then put the old thinner gasket on top of it, if the old gasket will help hold the two in the top together??
 
I still think you guys are over thinking this. I use it without the gasket. It is not needed. Stop relying on bubbles to confirm fermentation and start using your hydrometers. Have you ever made grape bottle wine. You add 1 cup of granulated sugar, the loosely replace the cap. 2 weeks later, whino wine. All you have to do is avoid things from getting in. The gasket does not matter, because of how much thread something would have to speak by. If you put the ff in a cleanish place and do not move it much, thee is almost no way to get a contamination.
 
I certainly agree with you ku5e on the fermenting aspect. I've had leaky ale pale lids with no ill affect. However I do want a good seal when I cold crash song I don't get O2 suck back into the fermenter. You wouldn't think it would be that hard for them to get this thing to seal.
 
gotbags-10 said:
I certainly agree with you ku5e on the fermenting aspect. I've had leaky ale pale lids with no ill affect. However I do want a good seal when I cold crash song I don't get O2 suck back into the fermenter. You wouldn't think it would be that hard for them to get this thing to seal.
Click to expand...

If you don't get air sucked back into your fermenter when you cold crash your fermenter will collapse.
 
I think the top of the fermentor needs to be lapped on a flat surface with some sandpaper. Sanding it with your hands can leave it much more uneven.
 
Homercidal said:
I think the top of the fermentor needs to be lapped on a flat surface with some sandpaper. Sanding it with your hands can leave it much more uneven.
Click to expand...

Yep. That seems to work for some. I did that as well by taping sandpaper to my table saw top which is pretty close to dead flat. And it made it better but the FF top was so "out of flat" that I didn't want to take off so much material that it would have screwed up the beginning of the threads and made it more difficult to get the top started.

For the record, I solved my air leak issue by tracing the stock gasket on a foam sheet and cutting it out. I now double up the DIY foam sheet gasket and the stock gasket on top and that does the trick.

What irks me, is when folks come on and defend a flaw in the product. Myself along with many others on here push FF to make changes and improvements in the product. Then others come on and make light of it. If you don't think FF folks pay any attention to these posts, just scan throw the pages of this thread.

A product flaw is a product flaw. If it doesn't bother you, great! Go make some "grape bottle wine" or something and let those who want and expect a product to perform as it should push for the needed improvements.

Cheers!

:mug:
 

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