Help Me Decide Which New Conical To Buy

[jcav]

Hello everyone. So I have a 14 gallon Blichmann tri clover Fermenator that I have had for many years and it still serves me well to this day. It was a very nice upgrade from glass carboys at the time, However, it's time to upgrade and add another fermentor to my brewery. Fermentors have come a long way since I bought the Fermenator. I want to be able to brew a batch of beer and not wait for the fermentor to be free, so I can start a second batch very soon after, hence the additional fermentor I am looking to buy. I have the Fermenator in a large upright freezer and control fermentation temps very well with a digital controller. I am getting a glycol chiller (it will be delivered soon) and I will add a cooling coil to my Fermenator lid, so I can use it with the Fermenator and the new fermentor that I will purchase.

I kind of narrowed it down to the Spike CF-10. However, I keep looking at the brand new Blichmann Fermenator G4. I do not need the external sight level gauge that they offer. By the time I add all the extras to the Spike CF-10 it is so very close to the new G4 in price. I like the CF-10's lid with 4 ports. I like that the G4 has the prv built into the lid and I can pick up the fermentor when it is full and move it to another location. If anyone has a G4 I would like to hear what the pros and cons are. I know a ton of you have the CF-10, so I would like to know what's good and not so good with this one too.

Thanks for the help in advance.

John

 

[Golddiggie]

I have two CF10 fermenters now, with the wheels (plus the bracket under the short leg extensions) and have no issue rolling it from the brewing area to fermenting area. I wouldn't want to lift it when filled due to the amount of added weight to the thing. Especially when I put 7+ gallons into the fermenter with each batch.

I have the manifolds (from Spike) on both of these and like how I can place them where I want. NOT having them integrated into the lid is a good thing IMO.

I actually just ordered up the heating elements for the pair of fermenters since the room I ferment in is in the low 60's now. That was bringing the fermenting batch to a lower temperature than I like. I'm using a heating pad between the jacket and fermenter to keep it in my target range (70F). Once the heaters arrive, I'll add them to both jackets and not worry about it. I already have a controller for one of them. Since I don't expect to have two batches actively fermenting at the same time, that works. IF I ever get to the point where I need to run them both at the same time, I'll just get another controller for it. No biggie IMO.

For the CF10, there's a little learning curve on using the chill coil with it. Not hard to figure out, but just be aware of it. Use the fittings they offer to connect lines and it's easy to adjust. I switched from the vinyl lines (that came with the fermenters) to 3/8" ID silicone lines recently. In order to keep using the fittings to the chill coil, I cut pieces of 1/2" OD stainless tubing to bridge them. Again, easy to do if you have the cutter and tubing (both easy to get). The 3/8" ID silicone tubing is very secure to the 1/2" OD stainless tubing so I have no worries about it slipping off. I also have pieces of 3/8" OD tubing to bridge the connections (in/out from the chiller) for when the lines are not in use. That's more of a safety item with the chiller.

I'm waiting for the Brewers Hardware 15 gallon jacketed conicals to become available for my next fermenter purchase. I want to see how I like that model compared with the Spike fermenters. Curtis (at Brewers Hardware) is another stand-up guy. Which is also why I'm looking to purchase his item. I've bought a good amount of stuff from him over the past few years.

Something I would recommend with whatever conical you pickup is to do a pressure test to make sure everything seals up under a reasonable PSI level. Around 10-12psi is a good test IME. I did that to make sure I had everything correct before I filled mine for the first time (did it with both). This also makes sure you have the gas manifold assembled correctly (or leak free). I have one of those per fermenter. I didn't see the point in getting just one of those, and moving it between. It's safer, IMO/IME, to not be moving things around, or opening up the fermenter while things are in process.

Also be sure to inspect everything when it arrives. I found a couple of issues that way that were quickly resolved by Spike. Things happen, it's how the company resolves those issues that really matters.

 

[JJinMD]

Cyber Monday pricing on the CF10 (and all the other CFs), 15% off on 11/29, if that helps with the cost figuring...

 

[jcav]

Thanks both of you for input. I really appreciate it! Golddiggie thanks for the detailed info. It's very helpful to have someone who actually has the product and uses it to point out the good and the bad. I have bought many items from Brewershardware (and also Brewhardware) over the years and they both are solid companies. I am still figuring out which to buy and your comments help tremendously. JJinMD thanks for letting me know about the discount, that does help!

John