liquid-out ball lock installed at bottom of fermenter

[quantumguy]

I've got a stainless steel fermenter with a 2" TC port on the lid and a 1.5" TC port on the side bottom. The top is just large enough for either a blow-off assembly or a gas-in ball lock with prv (the latter two both purchased from NorCal). I generally use the bottom TC for a rotating dip tube which is then attached to a TC butterfly valve. I would really like to use a floating dip tube however in order to dry-hop in my fermenter. Currently I do a closed-transfer to a dedicated keg for dry-hopping and then transfer again to a serving keg. I was thinking that perhaps I could just put a liquid-out ball lock on the 1.5" TC at the bottom of my fermenter and connect the silicone hose from my floating dip tube to that. The float would then ride at the top of the fermenting wort as usual but the outlet would be at the bottom instead of the lid. What are the downsides to this? I don't think I've ever seen this configuration.

 

[Broken Crow]

Or you could do it all with the 2"TC on your lid:
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc2xnpttee12.htm
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/npt12tokegpostliquid.htm
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/npt12tokegpostgas.htm

 

[quantumguy]

Or you could do it all with the 2"TC on your lid:
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc2xnpttee12.htm
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/npt12tokegpostliquid.htm
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/npt12tokegpostgas.htm

Ah, somehow I hadn't thought of a configuration like that. Any ideas on how to get a PRV into that situation too? I guess I could put a tee on the side input to install both the gas-in post and a PRV. A little Frankenstein-ish, but it would work. Thanks for taking the time to post those links!

 

[Broken Crow]

If you really need the PRV there's these things;
https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Gif...Sankey-Keg-Ball-Lock-Tri-Clamp-Conversion-Kit

 

[Broken Crow]

If you really wanna get frankensteinish, there's my 'FermHead':

 

[quantumguy]

If you really need the PRV there's these things;
https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Gif...Sankey-Keg-Ball-Lock-Tri-Clamp-Conversion-Kit

I thought those must exist but I hadn't come across them either from Bobby or NorCal. That might work better for me since my fermentation fridge has me a bit vertically confined

 

[Deadalus]

I think Broken Crow is on the right track with the tees and crosses but you might want to do those in TC as the NPT would be a narrow orifice to get the hops to fall in. You could put a a hop bong on the top of the tee. Not shown on the hop bong at the brewhardware link is that a prv can be placed at the top of it. If you had a tee for instance under the hop bong you could put your liquid out on it. It would be tall though. A valve between the tee and hop bong could be used, then the hop bong removed and then returned when you needed to transfer perhaps.

So just one port below but no dump port? Having just gotten my uni I am about to see how well cold crashing settles out any hops. My first batch is a dry hopped IPA.

 

[quantumguy]

I think Broken Crow is on the right track with the tees and crosses but you might want to do those in TC as the NPT would be a narrow orifice to get the hops to fall in. You could put a a hop bong on the top of the tee. Not shown on the hop bong at the brewhardware link is that a prv can be placed at the top of it. If you had a tee for instance under the hop bong you could put your liquid out on it. It would be tall though. A valve between the tee and hop bong could be used, then the hop bong removed and then returned when you needed to transfer perhaps.

So just one port below but no dump port? Having just gotten my uni I am about to see how well cold crashing settles out any hops. My first batch is a dry hopped IPA.

I would like to include a proper hop bong, but I just don't have enough room vertically. I barely have enough for a ball lock disconnect on top. I think I might go with the setup Broken Crow referenced above from Williams and use a low profile duotight ball lock disconnect for the liquid out.

My fermenter is actually a converted stainless steel moonshine still kettle (https://brewhaus.com/moonshine-stills/kettles/8-gallon-stainless-steel-moonshine-still-kettle). I like the slightly larger volume (8 gal) and it was easy enough to punch a hole for a 1.5" TC port on the bottom for a racking dip tube. It's pressurizable up to about 10 psi. It has a flat bottom too, so I can just put it on a burner with a small amount of water to steam sanitize the whole thing. A conical bottom would be nice, but it hasn't been a big issue to this point.

 

[Deadalus]

That fitting will allow you to do a floating dip tube transfer but I don't see how you are going to get the hops in without opening the fermenter? Do you already have a valve on top? If you don't, you would need to at least spund with that fitting on top. It is considered dangerous to just have something like that fitting in place during high krausen as the PRV could get clogged as well. With no valve, if you had the blow off tube on, you would need to open the fermenter to switch the fitting. I'm new to this and don't know all the configurations myself, so I could be missing something. You could flood the head space with CO2 after switching the blowoff tube but it seemed like you were being strict about keeping it closed. If you had room for a valve on top then you could move the fermenter in and out while switching fittings.

You might just benefit a lot easier with an added port but I kinda think you need to at least be able to fit a valve on top. Possibly the valve wouldn't be strictly needed if you could feed in CO2 when opening it up but I still think there might be some oxygen ingress. I'm not taking a position on that just mentioning it.

 

[quantumguy]

That fitting will allow you to do a floating dip tube transfer but I don't see how you are going to get the hops in without opening the fermenter? Do you already have a valve on top? If you don't, you would need to at least spund with that fitting on top. It is considered dangerous to just have something like that fitting in place during high krausen as the PRV could get clogged as well. With no valve, if you had the blow off tube on, you would need to open the fermenter to switch the fitting. I'm new to this and don't know all the configurations myself, so I could be missing something. You could flood the head space with CO2 after switching the blowoff tube but it seemed like you were being strict about keeping it closed. If you had room for a valve on top then you could move the fermenter in and out while switching fittings.

You might just benefit a lot easier with an added port but I kinda think you need to at least be able to fit a valve on top. Possibly the valve wouldn't be strictly needed if you could feed in CO2 when opening it up but I still think there might be some oxygen ingress. I'm not taking a position on that just mentioning it.

These are all good points. I had reconciled myself to having to open the fermenter (at least just the 2" TC opening) to dump the hops in. I would be counting on the hops being good nucleation points for dissolved CO2 in the fermented wort that would result in a natural purge of the headspace. I could also hit it a few times with CO2 from the gas post. Currently I have a blow-off setup that attaches to the 2" TC port on top that I use until fermentation is about 75% done (monitored with a Rapt Pill). Then I take that off and put my current gas post/prv TC attachment. Fermentation is still active enough to purge the headspace. I also swap it out quick and since there is very little convection, I really don't think O2 ingress is that significant.

 

[Broken Crow]

Just a thought on the vertically challenged issue; How about just doing the magnet/bag stuffed with hops into the 2"TC port and mounting ball-lock bulkheads in the neck just below the lid? It looks from the pic like the smaller upper diameter would allow space for it..

Sounds like you've already done a cool re-purposing here and I love that kind of thing...any chance you can post a pic?

 

[Deadalus]

Just a thought on the vertically challenged issue; How about just doing the magnet/bag stuffed with hops into the 2"TC port and mounting ball-lock bulkheads in the neck just below the lid? It looks from the pic like the smaller upper diameter would allow space for it..
View attachment 845123
Sounds like you've already done a cool re-purposing here and I love that kind of thing...any chance you can post a pic?

That's a great idea! That would probably work right on the top too. My unitank (Brewbuilt X2) has a prv like that in the lid. I was thinking of a TC port in the side but I didn't think having the prv there was a good idea and it would be hard to drop hop sideways! Maybe with a 45 or just tip it.

 

[quantumguy]

Just a thought on the vertically challenged issue; How about just doing the magnet/bag stuffed with hops into the 2"TC port and mounting ball-lock bulkheads in the neck just below the lid? It looks from the pic like the smaller upper diameter would allow space for it..
View attachment 845123
Sounds like you've already done a cool re-purposing here and I love that kind of thing...any chance you can post a pic?

Umm, hadn't thought of punching new holes up there. Yesterday I found that Bobby had that Sanke conversion kit on his website (brewhardware.com) for about $10 cheaper than Williams so I went ahead and pulled the trigger on that. In retrospect just punching one hole towards the top for a liquid-out ball lock would have been simpler (I could then use my existing gas-in/prv TC setup). In regards to the magnet/bag approach, I really like the idea of my hops roaming free :^) I'll assemble my typical fermenter setup this afternoon and post a pic.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

That fitting will allow you to do a floating dip tube transfer but I don't see how you are going to get the hops in without opening the fermenter? Do you already have a valve on top? If you don't, you would need to at least spund with that fitting on top. It is considered dangerous to just have something like that fitting in place during high krausen as the PRV could get clogged as well. With no valve, if you had the blow off tube on, you would need to open the fermenter to switch the fitting. I'm new to this and don't know all the configurations myself, so I could be missing something. You could flood the head space with CO2 after switching the blowoff tube but it seemed like you were being strict about keeping it closed. If you had room for a valve on top then you could move the fermenter in and out while switching fittings.

You might just benefit a lot easier with an added port but I kinda think you need to at least be able to fit a valve on top. Possibly the valve wouldn't be strictly needed if you could feed in CO2 when opening it up but I still think there might be some oxygen ingress. I'm not taking a position on that just mentioning it.

I use the tri-clamp ball lock converter on my stainless fermenter. First of all, the prv is not really necessary as the seal on the lid will only hold just a few psi before it leaks. Still glad it’s there; I can use it on a sanke keg where it would serve its intended purpose.

Also, since it has both a liquid and gas post, there’s no swapping blow-off for floating dip. Put the FDT on the liquid barb, and attach the blowoff to the gas post. After things get rolling well, I remove the blow-off, and connect a gas-to-liquid hose and start purging my eventual receiving keg. The blowoff is now reattached to the gas post on the keg.
After fermentation, I do a gravity, closed transfer to my purged keg.

I have yet to do a dry hop with this configuration, but it would be easy enough to purge two kegs, and pre-position hops in the first. Then, after hopping, do another closed transfer to the second.

One other thought; if you like the DIY build, but have a height issue, would it not be possible to come out of the lid into a street elbow and thus position the cross horizontally?

 

[Broken Crow]

One other thought; if you like the DIY build, but have a height issue, would it not be possible to come out of the lid into a street elbow and thus position the cross horizontally?

I like that..and to make it easier @Bobby_M makes these tee's welded to TC caps..I'm sure he could just as easily weld an elbow instead on request;
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc2xnpttee12.htm
...and just to over-complicate things;
Are you using whole hops or pellets? My own preference always goes to Randall type configurations... Here's my closed-transfer system for kegging;

In order to preserve CO2, I use a racking pump and gas-return line (both of which are cleaned/sanitized/purged/pressurized prior to use using a lot less CO2 than filling a keg entirely from gas. If you can put a sight-glass full of hop pellets inline with a pump, drawing from your racking tube and dumping back in the top, you could just 'liquify' and pump the pellets in...would probably work well with my 'Fermhead' going in the blow-off valve and avoiding gunking up a gas-post.
Just a thought.

 

[Deadalus]

I use the tri-clamp ball lock converter on my stainless fermenter. First of all, the prv is not really necessary as the seal on the lid will only hold just a few psi before it leaks. Still glad it’s there; I can use it on a sanke keg where it would serve its intended purpose.

Also, since it has both a liquid and gas post, there’s no swapping blow-off for floating dip. Put the FDT on the liquid barb, and attach the blowoff to the gas post. After things get rolling well, I remove the blow-off, and connect a gas-to-liquid hose and start purging my eventual receiving keg. The blowoff is now reattached to the gas post on the keg.
After fermentation, I do a gravity, closed transfer to my purged keg.

I have yet to do a dry hop with this configuration, but it would be easy enough to purge two kegs, and pre-position hops in the first. Then, after hopping, do another closed transfer to the second.

One other thought; if you like the DIY build, but have a height issue, would it not be possible to come out of the lid into a street elbow and thus position the cross horizontally?

I'm actually skeptical about the prv clogging catastrophically but some of the manufacturers make a point about having the prv on the spunding valves and having them present on the conicals. Perhaps the manufacturers are just covering their asses or trying to make an extra buck but if I am understanding you correctly are you saying the TC seals are going to leak at just a few psi? That doesn't seem to jibe with a uni being rated to 15 psi, which is what the emergency release is set to. Krausen can also be managed by increasing headspace and fermcap-s.

Right, I have fermented in cornies myself, you can use the gas post as a blowoff with the QD but there the poppet can clog. I've clogged a poppet on just the little bit of hops that has made it into a serving keg. You can take the poppet out but then it's not closed anymore. Again, the krausen can be managed. Not particularly a problem necessarily on something that's 8 gallons but cutting into the yield a little when using a corny. In a 1/2 barrel keg easy peasy.

If you are reading along, @quantumguy stated in the OP that they dry hop with two kegs using closed transfers but was looking to avoid that.

 

[apache_brew]

My vote is to avoid NPT at all costs and try and stick with as much TC and sanitary welded parts as possible. Sidewall mounted floating dip tube is no problem and should work fine. Also ideally would be to avoid high krausen by utilizing ferm cap to reduce the chance of clogging a corny keg style PRV. Even better would be to utilize a legit dedicated TC PRV in addition to it.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I'm actually skeptical about the prv clogging catastrophically but some of the manufacturers make a point about having the prv on the spunding valves and having them present on the conicals. Perhaps the manufacturers are just covering their asses or trying to make an extra buck but if I am understanding you correctly are you saying the TC seals are going to leak at just a few psi?

Oh, no; I am not saying that the TC seals will leak, but rather the lid seal on my Chapman fermenter. The Chapman is not made for pressure, but will maintain just enough to help me get a gravity transfer initiated.

Here’s my rig. I added the triclamp adapter to the bung hole in the lid and put the ball lock adapter on top. Also, I added the temp twister for temperature control. All of that’s tight, but the simple silicon seal around the outer lid rim is just held down by four clamps, and will not hold a lot of pressure.

 

[Deadalus]

Oh, no; I am not saying that the TC seals will leak, but rather the lid seal on my Chapman fermenter. The Chapman is not made for pressure, but will maintain just enough to help me get a gravity transfer initiated.

View attachment 845141

Here’s my rig. I added the triclamp adapter to the bung hole in the lid and put the ball lock adapter on top. Also, I added the temp twister for temperature control. All of that’s tight, but the simple silicon seal around the outer lid rim is just held down by four clamps, and will not hold a lot of pressure.

Ok that's plausible. I was considering getting one of those, I know that one. That's actually what I wanted to do it with the coil. You had only said stainless fermenter, thought maybe you meant a Sanke keg fermenter. Is that a weldless TC port added?

I have two fustis with big screw on caps and wide gaskets. They never seemed to seal properly. (I know the gasket only fits one way.)

 

[quantumguy]

Here is what my current setup looks like with the blowoff attachment (that pretty much takes up all my available height). Note I also installed a thermowell in the front. You can see the TC adapter with the gas-in post on the lower left that I swap in once the ferment starts to slow. Even with 2 - 2.5 gals of headspace, I've still had some ferments that have blown significant krausen out that blowoff tube. I also have a TC sample port I attach at some point (also lower left of pic) to pull off samples for gravity readings. I do like the larger blowoff tube since I'd otherwise be worried about clogging a poppet if this was just a gas-out QD. I'm still trying to decide if I end up sending back the Sanke converter adapter or punch a hole towards the top to install a liquid-out post. Oh and the dip tube at the bottom (from Spike I think) is rotatable since I use a hard teflon gasket to seal it.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Ok that's plausible. I was considering getting one of those, I know that one. That's actually what I wanted to do it with the coil. You had only said stainless fermenter, thought maybe you meant a Sanke keg fermenter. Is that a weldless TC port added?

I have two fustis with big screw on caps and wide gaskets. They never seemed to seal properly. (I know the gasket only fits one way.)

Yes, the weldless TC adapter. It almost fit in the original bung hole in the lid, but a few minutes with a fine chainsaw file, tracing around the hole got it just large enough for the TC adapter, and yet not appreciably larger to exclude going back to a original plug and bubbler if I wanted to.
I also added a thermowell since that picture was taken.

 

[Deadalus]

Here is what my current setup looks like with the blowoff attachment (that pretty much takes up all my available height). Note I also installed a thermowell in the front. You can see the TC adapter with the gas-in post on the lower left that I swap in once the ferment starts to slow. Even with 2 - 2.5 gals of headspace, I've still had some ferments that have blown significant krausen out that blowoff tube. I also have a TC sample port I attach at some point (also lower left of pic) to pull off samples for gravity readings. I do like the larger blowoff tube since I'd otherwise be worried about clogging a poppet if this was just a gas-out QD. I'm still trying to decide if I end up sending back the Sanke converter adapter or punch a hole towards the top to install a liquid-out post. Oh and the dip tube at the bottom (from Spike I think) is rotatable since I use a hard teflon gasket to seal it.

Is the teflon gasket how people get a racking arm to rotate? Seems like one has to loosen the clamp with a regular TC gasket.

I can't find the Sanke converter adapter at Brewhardware but I'm guessing it was $40? Brewhardware has this liquid ball lock post bulkhead if you haven't seen it for $14.99. I haven't used it but it has the bulkhead groove for the oring that is also on other types of their bulkheads It's a helpful feature. There's also a set of gas and liquid bulkhead posts with a floating dip tube for $39.99.

I did happen to see something that might be helpful for the limited height. It was an instrument tee. Only listed in 1.5" and 1" TC however. Picture below. A 2" TC elbow is kind of big, I have one on my dump port if you need a measurement I can get it but it may be taller than the blow off off tube. As a matter of fact I have a gas ball lock probably bulkhead. It came with a lot I bought, no gasket, similar to the brewhardware one but the post base is more like a "universal" gas post without the hex. I could measure it too but I can't imagine it not being shorter than your blowoff tube.

 

[quantumguy]

Is the teflon gasket how people get a racking arm to rotate? Seems like one has to loosen the clamp with a regular TC gasket.

I can't find the Sanke converter adapter at Brewhardware but I'm guessing it was $40? Brewhardware has this liquid ball lock post bulkhead if you haven't seen it for $14.99. I haven't used it but it has the bulkhead groove for the oring that is also on other types of their bulkheads It's a helpful feature. There's also a set of gas and liquid bulkhead posts with a floating dip tube for $39.99.

I did happen to see something that might be helpful for the limited height. It was an instrument tee. Only listed in 1.5" and 1" TC however. Picture below. A 2" TC elbow is kind of big, I have one on my dump port if you need a measurement I can get it but it may be taller than the blow off off tube. As a matter of fact I have a gas ball lock probably bulkhead. It came with a lot I bought, no gasket, similar to the brewhardware one but the post base is more like a "universal" gas post without the hex. I could measure it too but I can't imagine it not being shorter than your blowoff tube.
View attachment 845156

Yes, the teflon gasket isn't sticky like the usual silicone ones so it lets the racking arm rotate. You do have to loosen the clamp a little but it's never in any danger of actually coming off.

The Sanke ball lock conversion is here at Brewhardware, https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/sankeball.htm

It would be nice to keep everything TC by using perhaps the tee you show above, but yes the height would probably be prohibitive. I've got a brewday planned for this Saturday and the Sanke thingy will be here in time to use it for that ferment I think. I'll try it out and if it's not super convenient I'll probably punch a 1/2" hole to mount a bulkhead for a liquid-out post. That seems to be the most compact option (although I'll be out $40).

 

[Deadalus]

Ah I searched Sanke but I missed seeing it! Thanks!

I think you could use it at the top of a sight glass in the future much like apache_brew has in the pic above. I may be missing something but I am not sure the tee is necessary with this particular fitting.

@apache_brew What is the purpose of the tee in you keg fermenter setup? I think you are using the fitting for its prv where it is but couldn't you just move it to the top of the sight glass? You would need to leave the valve open and couldn't move the sight glass during the ferment to have the safety coverage of the prv. So maybe that is it. It could be used to serve with later but that's a different application.

 

[quantumguy]

Ah I searched Sanke but I missed seeing it! Thanks!

I think you could use it at the top of a sight glass in the future much like apache_brew has in the pic above. I may be missing something but I am not sure the tee is necessary with this particular fitting.

@apache_brew What is the purpose of the tee in you keg fermenter setup? I think you are using the fitting for its prv where it is but couldn't you just move it to the top of the sight glass? You would need to leave the valve open and couldn't move the sight glass during the ferment to have the safety coverage of the prv. So maybe that is it. It could be used to serve with later but that's a different application.

I could do that but I just don't have the vertical space. I believe the sight glass from apache_brew is a hop bong, so it needs to be closed off from the fermenter most of the time.

 

[Deadalus]

I could do that but I just don't have the vertical space. I believe the sight glass from apache_brew is a hop bong, so it needs to be closed off from the fermenter most of the time.

I understand you have limited space, in the far future, like if you get a different fridge.

Kegland sells the product that is called a hop bong, here's mine. I don't know if they came up with the name or not. After the valve you need a gas post and a prv. That allows the chamber to be flushed of oxygen. (I didn't know there was a sanke fitting like the one you ordered). I initially was going to build one with a sight glass as apache_brew has with a tee, but the tee would have been after the valve. The prv or the gas post could go on the top of the sight glass and one of those two off the tee. Apache_brew has the dual posts up top so CO2 can go in one post and O2 could be bled from the other post by depressing the poppet. The valve would be closed. That valve doesn't have to stay closed otherwise as the sight glass and remaining fittings should be sealed. I think it would be fine to take the tee out and put the sanke adapter on top of the sight glass. But then most of the time the valve would need to be open so that the prv is exposed to the headspace. Different ways to build stuff though and sometimes there are unknown reasons for specific combinations.

TheX2 uni has a prv valve built into the lid, it's behind the hop bong. The additional one on the hop bong is to flush the hop chamber. I also have a spunding valve from Spike. I can close the valve on the blowoff tube, remove the tube, and put the spunding valve there. That spunding valve has a prv too. The one however from Brewbuilt, shown below, is more illustrative as they use a cross in the setup. The left side has the fixed prv, and is in addition to the existing one on the lid. It's also $300 (it has the pressure gauge on it) ! I bought the Spike one normally $145 but I got it during black friday. I could have just used the one on my brew stand and bought a TC gas ball lock fitting but the Spike one is a little higher quality and a little more sanitary with the cup. Blichman has one for less money as does Brewhardware.

Back to the hop bong, only $40 plus about $10 for the prv which is not included at Brewhardware. That's just a little more than a 1.5" sight glass. After which you need the rest of the parts. I was going to do it in stainless, I have a used sight glass but I went with the hop bong. Not as shiny but sort of "old school'. I can use the gas post on it to pressure transfer as well. I think it is a good, affordably priced design. The 2" holds more but my top ports are 1.5.

 

[quantumguy]

I understand you have limited space, in the far future, like if you get a different fridge.

Kegland sells the product that is called a hop bong, here's mine. I don't know if they came up with the name or not. After the valve you need a gas post and a prv. That allows the chamber to be flushed of oxygen. (I didn't know there was a sanke fitting like the one you ordered). I initially was going to build one with a sight glass as apache_brew has with a tee, but the tee would have been after the valve. The prv or the gas post could go on the top of the sight glass and one of those two off the tee. Apache_brew has the dual posts up top so CO2 can go in one post and O2 could be bled from the other post by depressing the poppet. The valve would be closed. That valve doesn't have to stay closed otherwise as the sight glass and remaining fittings should be sealed. I think it would be fine to take the tee out and put the sanke adapter on top of the sight glass. But then most of the time the valve would need to be open so that the prv is exposed to the headspace. Different ways to build stuff though and sometimes there are unknown reasons for specific combinations.

TheX2 uni has a prv valve built into the lid, it's behind the hop bong. The additional one on the hop bong is to flush the hop chamber. I also have a spunding valve from Spike. I can close the valve on the blowoff tube, remove the tube, and put the spunding valve there. That spunding valve has a prv too. The one however from Brewbuilt, shown below, is more illustrative as they use a cross in the setup. The left side has the fixed prv, and is in addition to the existing one on the lid. It's also $300 (it has the pressure gauge on it) ! I bought the Spike one normally $145 but I got it during black friday. I could have just used the one on my brew stand and bought a TC gas ball lock fitting but the Spike one is a little higher quality and a little more sanitary with the cup. Blichman has one for less money as does Brewhardware.

Back to the hop bong, only $40 plus about $10 for the prv which is not included at Brewhardware. That's just a little more than a 1.5" sight glass. After which you need the rest of the parts. I was going to do it in stainless, I have a used sight glass but I went with the hop bong. Not as shiny but sort of "old school'. I can use the gas post on it to pressure transfer as well. I think it is a good, affordably priced design. The 2" holds more but my top ports are 1.5.
View attachment 845176
View attachment 845177

Very nice setup. I've actually been eying the Spike all-in-one spunding valve for a while. I also have a 6 gal. mega-mouth Torpedo keg (actually what I've been using as my brite tank) that I thought I might use for pressure fermenting at some point. But I guess that gets me back to the same vertical space problem. At some point perhaps I'll spring for either a larger fermentation fridge or take the plunge into a glycol chiller. If the latter, I'll probably pick up a Spike Flex+ (or maybe a conical) and go from there. A hop bong would definitely be the way to go. At least at this point I'm looking forward to just dry hopping in my fermenter instead of going through the hassle of sanitizing and purging 2 kegs and doing multiple transfers just a few days apart.

 

[apache_brew]

I could do that but I just don't have the vertical space. I believe the sight glass from apache_brew is a hop bong, so it needs to be closed off from the fermenter most of the time.

@Deadalus Correct. The hop dropper assembly only gets attached when being used, otherwise the BFV is closed & capped.

 

[quantumguy]

@Deadalus Correct. The hop dropper assembly only gets attached when being used, otherwise the BFV is closed & capped.

I wonder if instead of a TC tee, one side for the Sanke adapter and the top for a hop dropper, where the 2" TC tee would presumably be too tall, I use a TC 3-way valve instead? I think this might be a much lower profile. Of course I can just pull the fermenter out of the fridge to attach the hop bong, dump in hops, remove it, and stick it back in the fridge. I'm just not sure I can find one in a 2" TC

Actually pretty cheap off of e-Bay, only about $35. I would just have to be able to orient the handle so that the side and top can be opened without it pointing down

 

[Broken Crow]

I was just looking to see if I could find an extra hop bong end for inline use with a pump, and it looks like Kegland already thought of that;
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/hop-bong-2tc-inline-kit.html
(Sorry for the Canadian link... I can't find it in the US yet, but morebeer carries spare parts:
https://www.morebeer.com/search?search=hop+bong and you could assemble one yourself.)
If you have a diaphram pump, it would be an option to consider while space is limited..in future with a larger ferm chamber you could mount it on the top.

 

[quantumguy]

I was just looking to see if I could find an extra hop bong end for inline use with a pump, and it looks like Kegland already thought of that;
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/hop-bong-2tc-inline-kit.html
(Sorry for the Canadian link... I can't find it in the US yet, but morebeer carries spare parts:
https://www.morebeer.com/search?search=hop+bong and you could assemble one yourself.)
If you have a diaphram pump, it would be an option to consider while space is limited..in future with a larger ferm chamber you could mount it on the top.

umm, I'll have to think if dealing with an extra pump and such would be worth it

 

[quantumguy]

I was just looking to see if I could find an extra hop bong end for inline use with a pump, and it looks like Kegland already thought of that;
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/hop-bong-2tc-inline-kit.html
(Sorry for the Canadian link... I can't find it in the US yet, but morebeer carries spare parts:
https://www.morebeer.com/search?search=hop+bong and you could assemble one yourself.)
If you have a diaphram pump, it would be an option to consider while space is limited..in future with a larger ferm chamber you could mount it on the top.

how freely do your hops move through the inner workings of the ball valve that is attached to your hop bong?

 

[apache_brew]

I wonder if instead of a TC tee, one side for the Sanke adapter and the top for a hop dropper, where the 2" TC tee would presumably be too tall, I use a TC 3-way valve instead? I think this might be a much lower profile. Of course I can just pull the fermenter out of the fridge to attach the hop bong, dump in hops, remove it, and stick it back in the fridge. I'm just not sure I can find one in a 2" TC

Actually pretty cheap off of e-Bay, only about $35. I would just have to be able to orient the handle so that the side and top can be opened without it pointing down

I wouldn't like to isolate the PRV/gas post on the sankey adapter from the hop dropper by using a three way valve. keeping the sankey adapter in the system at all times is useful for venting and purging. If you have room, perhaps you can get away with installing a BFV on the top of the tank, and mount the sankey adapter to it. When it's time to drop hops, vent the tank, close the valve, pull out the fermenter and attach your hop dropper tee assembly (sankey adapter on the side) and drop your hops. When done, close the valve, remove the assembly, reattach the sankey adapter to the top of the BFV (purge/vent the space between the adapter & closed BFV), then open the BFV and put the fermenter back in your fridge, connect blow off tube to sankey adapter gas post, etc...

 

[quantumguy]

I wouldn't like to isolate the PRV/gas post on the sankey adapter from the hop dropper by using a three way valve. keeping the sankey adapter in the system at all times is useful for venting and purging. If you have room, perhaps you can get away with installing a BFV on the top of the tank, and mount the sankey adapter to it. When it's time to drop hops, vent the tank, close the valve, pull out the fermenter and attach your hop dropper tee assembly (sankey adapter on the side) and drop your hops. When done, close the valve, remove the assembly, reattach the sankey adapter to the top of the BFV (purge/vent the space between the adapter & closed BFV), then open the BFV and put the fermenter back in your fridge, connect blow off tube to sankey adapter gas post, etc...

the issue with that setup is that I need a liquid out connected to the Sanke adapter that leads into the tank to my floating dip tube. So I can't easily remove it, reinstall it on the hop dropper assembly, etc. Of course, I could get around that by punching a new hole in my tank towards the top and installing a dedicated liquid-out post. Also, part of my motivation for isolating the Sanke adapter via the 3-way valve was to prevent any hop material from finding its way into the PRV and such.

 

[quantumguy]

My vote is to avoid NPT at all costs and try and stick with as much TC and sanitary welded parts as possible. Sidewall mounted floating dip tube is no problem and should work fine. Also ideally would be to avoid high krausen by utilizing ferm cap to reduce the chance of clogging a corny keg style PRV. Even better would be to utilize a legit dedicated TC PRV in addition to it. View attachment 845139View attachment 845138

For a sidewall mounted floating dip tube or one coming off a tee, is there any issue with the silicon tube crimping shut when it makes the angled turn downwards?

 

[Broken Crow]

umm, I'll have to think if dealing with an extra pump and such would be worth it

I already had a couple pumps from aliexpress; the first one was part of a racking kit that included a SS racking cane that fit in the orange carboy caps as I was still using glass carboys at the time but wanted to do closed transfers. The second came with knockoff of Blichmann's quickcarb (big mistake, but it left with a spare pump.) If you equip it with ball lock disconnects you can save CO2 when kegging...also helpful in sanitizing in a totally closed system where using gravity is too much for a damaged spine.

how freely do your hops move through the inner workings of the ball valve that is attached to your hop bong?

I don't know... While I was still learning and exploring options for O2 exclusion, I made up a mason jar lid that I could pump through, but it was annoying to hold upside down to 'rinse' all the hop sludge through and it left me with a messy poppet that didn't want to close. That was one of the reasons I chose to make a 'Fermhead' with an unrestricted blowoff path, mainly to keep krausen out of my poppets, but also for a path for addtions. I still haven't decided all the details of how I'll do it myself, but I'm leaning heavily toward buying the regular hop bong and a simple 1.5"TC>1/2"hose barb so I can pump from the fermenter to the ball lock end of the hop bong and out the barb and back into the fermenter through the blowoff barb/ball valve.

 

[apache_brew]

the issue with that setup is that I need a liquid out connected to the Sanke adapter that leads into the tank to my floating dip tube. So I can't easily remove it, reinstall it on the hop dropper assembly, etc. Of course, I could get around that by punching a new hole in my tank towards the top and installing a dedicated liquid-out post. Also, part of my motivation for isolating the Sanke adapter via the 3-way valve was to prevent any hop material from finding its way into the PRV and such.

Your liquid out post is mounted in the 1.5" TC fitting on the side using a floating dip tube.

For a sidewall mounted floating dip tube or one coming off a tee, is there any issue with the silicon tube crimping shut when it makes the angled turn downwards?

Are you talking about the silicone dip tube hose kinking from the liquid out post as the beer level drops within the tank? I don't think this will be an issue. Test it with water first to confirm. You're just mounting a liquid out post directly to the 1.5" TC with one of these right? https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc15bll.htm

 

[quantumguy]

Your liquid out post is mounted in the 1.5" TC fitting on the side using a floating dip tube.

Are you talking about the silicone dip tube hose kinking from the liquid out post as the beer level drops within the tank? I don't think this will be an issue. Test it with water first to confirm. You're just mounting a liquid out post directly to the 1.5" TC with one of these right? https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc15bll.htm

No, I was thinking along the lines of attaching my dip tube hose to the liquid-out post on the Sanke converter adapter that is oriented 90º from vertical on a 2" TC tee attached to the top of the fermenter (as in your hop dropper assembly but I guess your dip tube hose is attached via your other port).

But yes, maybe I should stop trying to hack this and just punch another hole in my fermenter for a liquid out post.

 

[apache_brew]

No, I was thinking along the lines of attaching my dip tube hose to the liquid-out post on the Sanke converter adapter that is oriented 90º from vertical on a 2" TC tee attached to the top of the fermenter (as in your hop dropper assembly but I guess your dip tube hose is attached via your other port).

But yes, maybe I should stop trying to hack this and just punch another hole in my fermenter for a liquid out post.

Why not use the sidewall TC for a liquid out post?

 

[quantumguy]

Why not use the sidewall TC for a liquid out post?

Do you mean my existing one at the bottom where my dip tube and such is currently attached? If so, that gets me back to the original question in my post