Listerines,
I know there have been many threads on the Chinese conical fermenters, but I swear I saw the horse twitch a little...
There is a guy on Ebay with the username of "homebrewhousediscount" selling the 7.2 gallon ones for $235 Buy It Now with FREE SHIPPING. I just bought one because usually those things are running in the $275 range and cost anywhere from $25-75 to ship. For that price, I'll take the chance on the quality. This particular model comes with s/s threaded ball valves and the thermometer well with included thermometer. I would have rather had the tri-clamp fittings, but this will be fine for me.
Here's the link, although I imagine within a few days this will no longer be valid.
http://cgi.ebay.com/CONICAL-FERMENT...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item439d9d964c
FWIW, I have had a 8 gallon Mini-Brew plastic conical for about 3 years now and have made several batches with it, and so far it has worked well for me but I do have a couple issues with it. First is the trub collects along the sides of the cone and does not completely run down whenever I blow the cone, so when I have racked off the beer and finally open up the fermenter, there is still a good amount of trub stuck to the wall of the cone. I'm hoping that switching to smooth stainless may reduce/eliminate that, but we'll see how that works out.
Second issue with the Mini-Brew is even with the lid gasket in place (which was a PITA to get to fit...), there is still not a good enough airtight seal to allow an airlock to bubble. Not sure if that is because of too much volume of headspace between the 5-6 gallons of liquid and the 8 gallon capacity, or if it is because of the nature of everything being plastic that it just doesn't get airtight enough. I suspect the latter.
Finally, say what you want about sanitization, but I can't help but wonder if there is still some bacteria remaining in all of the nooks and crannies and probable scratches in the plastic. I have not had an obviously infected batch with it yet, however, so I don't really have a smoking gun on it. My last batch, a California Common, did have a slight sour apple/acetaldahyde taste which went away over time but which I know can be a product of infection, but I cannot say for sure if that is what caused it because there are other ways to get that too.
If anyone is interested, I will post a review of the fermenter with my first use. Heck, I may post a review of my first batch even if nobody is interested :rockin: . First batch will be a Bohemian Pilsner.
Cheers
Jeff Leslie
Akron, OH USA
I know there have been many threads on the Chinese conical fermenters, but I swear I saw the horse twitch a little...
There is a guy on Ebay with the username of "homebrewhousediscount" selling the 7.2 gallon ones for $235 Buy It Now with FREE SHIPPING. I just bought one because usually those things are running in the $275 range and cost anywhere from $25-75 to ship. For that price, I'll take the chance on the quality. This particular model comes with s/s threaded ball valves and the thermometer well with included thermometer. I would have rather had the tri-clamp fittings, but this will be fine for me.
Here's the link, although I imagine within a few days this will no longer be valid.
http://cgi.ebay.com/CONICAL-FERMENT...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item439d9d964c
FWIW, I have had a 8 gallon Mini-Brew plastic conical for about 3 years now and have made several batches with it, and so far it has worked well for me but I do have a couple issues with it. First is the trub collects along the sides of the cone and does not completely run down whenever I blow the cone, so when I have racked off the beer and finally open up the fermenter, there is still a good amount of trub stuck to the wall of the cone. I'm hoping that switching to smooth stainless may reduce/eliminate that, but we'll see how that works out.
Second issue with the Mini-Brew is even with the lid gasket in place (which was a PITA to get to fit...), there is still not a good enough airtight seal to allow an airlock to bubble. Not sure if that is because of too much volume of headspace between the 5-6 gallons of liquid and the 8 gallon capacity, or if it is because of the nature of everything being plastic that it just doesn't get airtight enough. I suspect the latter.
Finally, say what you want about sanitization, but I can't help but wonder if there is still some bacteria remaining in all of the nooks and crannies and probable scratches in the plastic. I have not had an obviously infected batch with it yet, however, so I don't really have a smoking gun on it. My last batch, a California Common, did have a slight sour apple/acetaldahyde taste which went away over time but which I know can be a product of infection, but I cannot say for sure if that is what caused it because there are other ways to get that too.
If anyone is interested, I will post a review of the fermenter with my first use. Heck, I may post a review of my first batch even if nobody is interested :rockin: . First batch will be a Bohemian Pilsner.
Cheers
Jeff Leslie
Akron, OH USA