Flotit

[McMullan]

I have used both the CaskWidge and the floatit2.0 in fermenters, the caskwidge (the exact red one on the image) does work to some extent, it always clogged on heavy dryhopped beers (loose pellets), whereas the floatit doesn't.

I regularly dry-hop with 200-400gr of pellets without issues with the floatit without any clogging, with the caskwidge I had to unclog it regularly with c02 during transfer.

That’s interesting. I haven’t ever experienced a blockage using a CaskWidge float, but I don’t dry hop that much. I’m curious, though, how the CaskWidge filter you used got blocked and the flotit filter doesn’t. I would have thought the same principles apply to both filters under the same conditions. In fact, looking at the flotit filters, I’d expect it to be more likely to block under those conditions, due to the design of the ‘prefilter’. I’m sure there’s some perfectly logical marketing spiel to explain the difference, but it doesn’t change the fact I can buy about 5 CaskWidge floats for the price of 1 flotit and they work like a charm for me. They can even cope with being pressure cooked for sterilisation. I think they’re fantastic value compared with the flotit.

 

[conlun]

That’s interesting. I haven’t ever experienced a blockage using a CaskWidge float, but I don’t dry hop that much. I’m curious, though, how the CaskWidge filter you used got blocked and the flotit filter doesn’t. I would have thought the same principles apply to both filters under the same conditions. In fact, looking at the flotit filters, I’d expect it to be more likely to block under those conditions, due to the design of the ‘prefilter’. I’m sure there’s some perfectly logical marketing spiel to explain the difference, but it doesn’t change the fact I can buy about 5 CaskWidge floats for the price of 1 flotit and they work like a charm for me. They can even cope with being pressure cooked for sterilisation. I think they’re fantastic value compared with the flotit.

I have no idea why that is, I was just conveying my experience. I agree about floatit being pricy and if you are not dryp-hopping heavy, the caskwidge are a fantastic device at a great pricepoint, but for my fermenters I just got fed up trying to unclog them, whereas I dont have the same issues with floatit. I still have some caskwidges connected to other fermenters where I tend not to dry hop.

 

[Broken Crow]

That’s interesting. I haven’t ever experienced a blockage using a CaskWidge float, but I don’t dry hop that much. I’m curious, though, how the CaskWidge filter you used got blocked and the flotit filter doesn’t. I would have thought the same principles apply to both filters under the same conditions. In fact, looking at the flotit filters, I’d expect it to be more likely to block under those conditions, due to the design of the ‘prefilter’. I’m sure there’s some perfectly logical marketing spiel to explain the difference, but it doesn’t change the fact I can buy about 5 CaskWidge floats for the price of 1 flotit and they work like a charm for me. They can even cope with being pressure cooked for sterilisation. I think they’re fantastic value compared with the flotit.

I envy your location! In Canada, it seems the only way I can buy a cask wedge is from the UK, and after exchange, shipping and taxes, it ends up costing 3-5 times the cost of a Flotit off ebay.ca.
I have been keeping my eye out for a more local vendor but no luck so far.

 

[McMullan]

I envy your location! In Canada, it seems the only way I can buy a cask wedge is from the UK, and after exchange, shipping and taxes, it ends up costing 3-5 times the cost of a Flotit off ebay.ca.
I have been keeping my eye out for a more local vendor but no luck so far.

It does seem like international purchases for private individuals are getting prohibitively expensive, especially shipping rates. It’s not consistent with a big drop in shipping costs due to less demand globally, apparently. It’s a shame when there aren’t any reputable resellers locally too. I don’t know if this is any better.

Edit: You only need the float for a sankey keg. A lighter silicone tube works better, ime.

 

[Broken Crow]

It does seem like international purchases for private individuals are getting prohibitively expensive, especially shipping rates. It’s not consistent with a big drop in shipping costs due to less demand globally, apparently. It’s a shame when there aren’t any reputable resellers locally too. I don’t know if this is any better.

Edit: You only need the float for a sankey keg. A lighter silicone tube works better, ime.

Thanks for trying.. I just went through the shopping cart: $48.74 for the float alone! ...and then I'll likely get duty charges on delivery.
I've bookmarked it anyway in case I ever decide it's worth that much to me, and I just may as it really does look ideal.

 

[szap]

I am a big fan of the flotit. I dry hop in my keg and have never had a problem with gunk passing through the float and I have poured some of the clearest beer I've ever made. Why I like this over the ball float from different sources is that the hose that was supplied with the others didn't fit in the post hole. Also, I found the hose to be almost impossible to slip over the dip tube. I always had to heat it. So the hose had to be inside the keg with the dip tube inserted before installing which I found almost impossible to do and quit using them. The flotit comes with a hose sized to fit down the post hole so it can already be attached to the post before installing. I have not tried any of the other floating dip tubes mentioned and am happy enough with the flotit that I probably never will. One other thing, the customer service from the inventor/seller is excellent.

 

[Kornssj]

Has anyone tried this on a Fermzilla All Rounder? Does it work the same as a corney keg?

The one that came with my Fermzilla does not work very well.

 

[Whisky River]

I have recently started kegging and doing closed transfers from FV to keg. After reading many reviews and watching many videos I settled on the process and equipment detailed in this HBT post including the FlotIT. So far I have flawlessly transferred 3 batches with this process (FlotIT on the FV side and a SS pickup tube on the keg side). Clear beer moved to keg, yeast and trub and gnat wings remained in FV. I crashed each keg for 2-3 days then force carbed with 10 PSI CO2 for a few weeks. The first half pint from each keg was yeasty and thus poured off, and since then just clear and satisfying beer. Remember, the kegs have the SS pickup tube and only the FV had the FlotIT at transfer.

My upcoming experiment is to prime a keg with sugar instead of CO2. I figure this will give the beer another few weeks to condition and improve flavor at ferm temp. But since I expect a fair amount of sludge at the bottome of the keg due to priming with sugar, I will put a FlotIT in the keg instead of the SS pickup tube. Given my observation of the FlotIT's behavior at the bottom of the FV during closed transfer, I expect it to perform well in a sugar-primed keg.

I was amused by some of the "...it's over-engineered..." comments. You only know when something is over-engineered if it works flawlessly, as designed for the purpose, every time. There are 3 things I want over-engineered: Diapers, brakes, and floating dip tubes.

But alas, my only experience with floating dip tubes is the FlotIT. At this point I have no reason to try a different one.

Ok I’ll go out on the limb here, maybe I’m the only one who’s ever had a problem with the floatit but for me it’s an overly complex and unreliable piece of kit.

Zippy123, I couldn’t disagree more. “You only know when something is over-engineered if it works flawlessly, as designed for the purpose, every time. “ I believe something is over engineered when the needless complexity adds unnecessary failure points to a design that could be more reliable.

My regular floating dip tubes work just fine every time because, well there’s nothing to go wrong. They are just pieces of tube with floats, no moving parts or complex connections, and almost nothing to fail. The problem with the floatit is that the benefit it offers, if there is one, isn’t greater than the damage that occurs if/when it fails inside your purged sealed keg which you now NEED to open to fix the problem.

I’ve had the floatit fail in a number of different ways, including having the silicone tube fall off the provided stainless dip tube just from the weight of the unit pulling on it when you stand an empty keg upright. Fortunately I caught that one before I purged and filled the keg but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t cost me good beer on other occasions.

Separately there’s this air bubble issue…..

 

[JohnDBrewer]

While mine will have its maiden voyage this weekend, I plan on cleaning it like I clean all of my other silicone tubing and other parts when needed. PBW / Oxy soak and hot rinse.

I've used my kegs through a half dozen or more cycles. Just rinse my keg, put it on my diy keg cleaner - hot pbw, then sanitizer. Was installing a couple of new floating dip tubes on the rest of my keg fleet, and happened to have some old ones next to them. The difference in the hoses made me ask the question. Old hoses just did look good on the inside.

 

[wdavis2003]

Has anyone tried this on a Fermzilla All Rounder? Does it work the same as a corney keg?

The one that came with my Fermzilla does not work very well.

I use the Flotit 2.0 with my All Rounder. Works the same as corny keg. It's been well worth the purchase.

Someone ask how they clean it.. well for me, while I'm cleaning the all rounder with hot pbw solution, I make sure I get all the gunk off then I apply some pressure and push it through the diptube. Then I do the same with the sanitizer solution.

 

[Kornssj]

I use the Flotit 2.0 with my All Rounder. Works the same as corny keg. It's been well worth the purchase.

Someone ask how they clean it.. well for me, while I'm cleaning the all rounder with hot pbw solution, I make sure I get all the gunk off then I apply some pressure and push it through the diptube. Then I do the same with the sanitizer solution.

For sure, I'm gonna purchase this and give it a go!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I believe something is over engineered when the needless complexity adds unnecessary failure points to a design that could be more reliable.

Sounds like someone used to drive a Mercedes.

 

[Zippy123]

Ok I’ll go out on the limb here, maybe I’m the only one who’s ever had a problem with the floatit but for me it’s an overly complex and unreliable piece of kit.

Zippy123, I couldn’t disagree more. “You only know when something is over-engineered if it works flawlessly, as designed for the purpose, every time. “ I believe something is over engineered when the needless complexity adds unnecessary failure points to a design that could be more reliable.

My regular floating dip tubes work just fine every time because, well there’s nothing to go wrong. They are just pieces of tube with floats, no moving parts or complex connections, and almost nothing to fail. The problem with the floatit is that the benefit it offers, if there is one, isn’t greater than the damage that occurs if/when it fails inside your purged sealed keg which you now NEED to open to fix the problem.

I’ve had the floatit fail in a number of different ways, including having the silicone tube fall off the provided stainless dip tube just from the weight of the unit pulling on it when you stand an empty keg upright. Fortunately I caught that one before I purged and filled the keg but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t cost me good beer on other occasions.

Separately there’s this air bubble issue…..

Yeah we might respectfully disagree on a few points here! Working from the bottom up...

I've not see the air bubble issue, I'll try that in a small glass container to see if I can reproduce it. However if the keg was purged with CO2, presumably that would be a CO2 bubble not an air bubble.

I've had the silicone tube from a carbonation stone slip off the gas side. Lost the benefit of the carbonation stone but otherwise no ill effects. However I do not have enough keg cycles with the Flotit to have it slip off the tube. If it happens it will be obvious, and annoying! It seems that pushing the silicone tubing further up the supplied Flotit tube, past the tapered end and onto the full diameter of the tube might prevent it slipping off. I don't "quick carbonate" by rocking or shaking so that motion won't be a factor for me. But thanks for the heads-up. I'll pay attention for rattling in the keg before I start the closed transfer from the FV.

If your floating dip tube works fine for you, then keep at it! I am not sure where the "moving parts" or "complex connections" are in the Flotit. Yes there are more bits-and-bobs but as yet none have failed me. I have taken the Flotit apart and put it back together again numerous times without any trouble at all. Again perhaps I don't have enough keg cycles to have an issue.

Regarding over-engineered or not, I have read and watched many many reviews of the ball-type floating dip tubes. With few exceptions they indicate loading with washers is necessary to keep from sucking gas instead of beer. I suppose once you've dialed-in the number of washers necessary then you're done with the DIY fix. But I would say that a product requiring modification (the same modification!) by hundreds/thousands of homebrewers to make it work is under-engineered. Perhaps you don't have that problem with the brand of ball dip tube you have, but according to the internet-space it's a widespread issue.

If I have problems with the Flotit I'll be sure to post. In the meantime, I am grateful that we have product options and a safe place to share our opinions. Happy brewing!

 

[Malticulous]

Has anyone tried this on a Fermzilla All Rounder? Does it work the same as a corney keg?

The one that came with my Fermzilla does not work very well.

It's amazing watching it leave nothing but yeast in there.

 

[DevilsCups]

Sounds like someone used to drive a Mercedes.

I used to work for Mercedes. All the techs drove Hondas and Toyotas lmao.

Just popped my FLOTit into my fermenter yesterday for the first time. We'll see how it performs in a short while. I'll likely be dry-hopping with 4-5oz or so.

 

[balrog]

With few exceptions they indicate loading with washers is necessary to keep from sucking gas instead of beer. I suppose once you've dialed-in the number of washers necessary then you're done with the DIY fix. But I would say that a product requiring modification (the same modification!) by hundreds/thousands of homebrewers to make it work is under-engineered. Perhaps you don't have that problem with the brand of ball dip tube you have, but according to the internet-space it's a widespread issue.

Interesting.
I have tried several FDT devices and never had to add weights to any.

 

[mac_1103]

I have tried several FDT devices and never had to add weights to any.

I suspect that lots of people read about the issue and simple fix on the internet and just do it as a preventive measure instead of waiting to see if they have a problem. I know that's what I did; after all it's just a freakin' washer. Hence, "a product requiring modification (the same modification!) by hundreds/thousands of homebrewers" whether it actually requires the modification or not.

 

[micraftbeer]

Taking in everyone's legitimate firsthand experience, here's how it seems to sum up:

1. If you use your floating dip tube to dispense from a keg, you can probably get away without a filter on your inlet as long as you let any floaties settle a bit before you start dispensing.

1a. You probably need to add a weight to a filterless floating dip to ensure the end stays below beer level the whole time but YMMV.

2. If you do use your floating dip tube in the presence of a lot of loose dry hops, and you want to use a screen to keep the hops out of your transfer, the more surface area of screen you have, the more hops you can filter out. If you use a smaller amount of dry hops, a smaller screen might work for you. If you use a large amount of dry hops, the more screen surface area the better.

 

[Yesfan]

So when they claim you can connect everything from outside, they don't count the part where you have to reach into the keg to get the tube. I could not understand what they were talking about.

I'm not afraid to let a carbon steel coathanger get wet for a few seconds, and I have all sorts of stainless tongs.

The ad copy says, "No-hand-in-keg design - all connections are made outside." It certainly sounds like the issue is getting your hand in beer, because otherwise, there IS no issue. It's not exactly difficult to put silicone tubing on a gas tube a couple of inches inside a keg. Nobody has hands too big to get into a hole that size. Another part says, "No arm in keg." Why would you have to put your arm in a keg to attach or remove beer tubing? It's right by the top.

I don't see any copy about the HOOKit tool. If it's for grabbing tubing just inside a dry keg, it makes no sense at all. It's like selling a tool to get your car keys out of your pocket.



No argument here. If I had known how easy BIAB was, I would never have bought a Braumeister.

I have the Flotit and Torpedo Buoys on my kegs. Reaching in to pull out some tubing to attach the filter is easier than blindly attaching the tubing to the dip tube inside of the keg. The Flotit is definitely easier because of this. All the parts are sanitized, along with my hands, since I have to reach into the bucket of Starsan to piece together the tubing to the filter and dip tube.

Another option is to attach the filter first, then fish the tubing up through the liquid post, attach the diptube, then lower everything into place and attached the liquid post. I agree about the HOOKit tool. I have one and kept it as maybe there's another use for it somewhere. The silicone covered gas tubes are pretty useless to me.

 

[Yesfan]

Has anyone tried this on a Fermzilla All Rounder? Does it work the same as a corney keg?

The one that came with my Fermzilla does not work very well.

No, not yet. I'm thinking about getting one for my All Rounder. The one that came with it has a stink I can't wash out. There's also the Torpedo Buoys if you want to save a little bit of money. I have an extra one I may try first with a heavy hopped beer. If there's no clogging problems, I'll just buy an extra Buoy to replace it.

 

[odie]

the "issue" with the weights is this...and it will be this for ANY floating dip tube design.

The hose is silicone. It always wants to return to "straight". So sorta "memory effect". no matter how you bend it, it wants to unbend.

The hose is in a big "U" shape in the keg, going down from the short dip tube and then bends back up to the float.

What is happening is that since the hose wants to go back straight, it pushes the float outward up against the keg wall as well as the end of the hose at the pick up is also up against the keg wall as the silicone hose is attempting to straighten itself out. silicone has a natural clingy or sticky quality...so it sorta grabs onto the side of the keg.

Sometimes as the beer level drops, the hose holds onto the keg with just enough friction that when the beer drops below the pick up CO2 gets pulled into the hose. this then causes the whole hose to float up and become a floating mess, full of air and often presents great difficulty in getting the CO2 back out and beer back in.

Shaking the keg up and back and forth does not help either. That causes foam which further lifts the pickup out of the beer.

The only 2 ways to fix it are to invert the keg, let all the CO2 bleed up and out and beer trickle back in OR to open the keg, get your hands inside and fix it. Neither options are appealing.

So, by placing a small weight (SS nut or washer) over either the pickup end or in the middle of the hose, you help the hose maintain that "U" shape in the keg and keep the pickup sliding down the keg side with the beer level.

 

[DevilsCups]

Update on my fermentation keg FLOTit. 4oz of dry-hops, zero problems at all. Worked fantastic.

 

[Kornssj]

First time using this yesterday and it is quite an amazing device, especially for an all rounder which is what I used. The price point was a bit high, i think around 29USD on Amazon, so I saved some chump change for a week to lighten the blow. To be honest, at this price point for what the device does, I'd say it's worth it to cut through the hassle. Setup and cleanup are incredibly easy. Yes it's over engineered but that is a good thing as it reduces fail points and saves you from having to open your tank which increases the probability of introducing air.

The device got shook around a bit when it was in the fermenter and I was sure it was going to fail when I saw it floating sideways, but when I applied pressure during my closed loop transfer, the device corrected itself and all was fine. I do hear people are getting their device clogged but I didnt experience that at all and if that occurred, I would probably increase the PSI to something stupid high to clear the jam. Has anyone ran through this issue in the past?

Forgive my temp probe being taped to the side like an ape. I'm still trying to work with the lid to accept a thermowell.

 

[szap]

the "issue" with the weights is this...and it will be this for ANY floating dip tube design.

The hose is silicone. It always wants to return to "straight". So sorta "memory effect". no matter how you bend it, it wants to unbend.

The hose is in a big "U" shape in the keg, going down from the short dip tube and then bends back up to the float.

What is happening is that since the hose wants to go back straight, it pushes the float outward up against the keg wall as well as the end of the hose at the pick up is also up against the keg wall as the silicone hose is attempting to straighten itself out. silicone has a natural clingy or sticky quality...so it sorta grabs onto the side of the keg.

Sometimes as the beer level drops, the hose holds onto the keg with just enough friction that when the beer drops below the pick up CO2 gets pulled into the hose. this then causes the whole hose to float up and become a floating mess, full of air and often presents great difficulty in getting the CO2 back out and beer back in.

Shaking the keg up and back and forth does not help either. That causes foam which further lifts the pickup out of the beer.

The only 2 ways to fix it are to invert the keg, let all the CO2 bleed up and out and beer trickle back in OR to open the keg, get your hands inside and fix it. Neither options are appealing.

So, by placing a small weight (SS nut or washer) over either the pickup end or in the middle of the hose, you help the hose maintain that "U" shape in the keg and keep the pickup sliding down the keg side with the beer level.

Just read this post. Is this something you have experienced with the flotit because I have used it a couple dozen kegs and never experienced what you talk about.

 

[hilljack13]

I have 4 kegs, 4 FlOtit 2.0. Haven't had an issue yet. I am new to kegging so could I be wrong? Maybe. Would I try another product? No. It works and I like the ease of use.

 

[IslandLizard]

the "issue" with the weights is this...and it will be this for ANY floating dip tube design.

Just read this post. Is this something you have experienced with the flotit because I have used it a couple dozen kegs and never experienced what you talk about.

From what I've read in the review by HomebrewFinds, the FLOTit 2.0 incorporates some major improvements over the original FLOTit. Then there are a few other designs/brands of floating dip tubes around.

So please indicate which floating dip tube model you're referring to. Or to clarify, perhaps post a picture of it.

 

[Yesfan]

From what I've read in the review by HomebrewFinds, the FLOTit 2.0 incorporates some major improvements over the original FLOTit. Then there are a few other designs/brands of floating dip tubes around.

So please indicate which floating dip tube model you're referring to. Or to clarify, perhaps post a picture of it.

Great point.

The 2.0 has the tube off center in the float, so that helps keep the inlet in the wert. That's the one I have.

 

[mrcastellino]

To confirm, is everyone able to transfer beer with the floatit 2.0 in a keg with loose dry hops, without having to cold crash the hops to the bottom first??

 

[conlun]

To confirm, is everyone able to transfer beer with the floatit 2.0 in a keg with loose dry hops, without having to cold crash the hops to the bottom first??

Yes, I do that all of the time, I’ve had upwards to ~400gr of loose pellets in a 23liter, and there is no issues to fully transfer to a keg.

 

[mrcastellino]

Yes, I do that all of the time, I’ve had upwards to ~400gr of loose pellets in a 23liter, and there is no issues to fully transfer to a keg.

Perfect!! Where has thing been all my brewing life?!?!