Spike Conical- observations and best practices

[sheikyerbouti]

I figured I'd get a thread started dedicated to folks using the conical.

I recently received my CF10 and similar to my other Spike products, quality is fantastic. Currently fermenting a NE IPA with around 9 oz dry hops. It is cold up here, so I am using a ferm wrap, taped on and controlling it with a Inkbird unit. I put the gas manifold on 4 days into fermentation and although the gauge is not registering any pressure, I do get some pressure when I release the PRV. Not sure if the gauge requires calibration.

 

[Rhyanmeade]

I just got around to unboxing my CF10.

 

[sheikyerbouti]

I just got around to unboxing my CF10, and noticed how scratch the lip of the top of the conical was, not to mention the scratching around the ports, inside and out. I'm worried about the seal around the top. One of the main reasons I went with this was it did have the ability to do pressurized fermentation.

At this point I don't think I'm too impressed. Am I being overly critical about the scratching?

Pics 2-3 look bad. Contact them and they will make it right. I've had a couple of instances where mistakes were made and they are super quick to fix and stand by their products.

 

[Rhyanmeade]

I'll contact them. Just wasn't sure if this was normal and I was being picky.

 

[jdr01]

I have the CF15. Love it and it fits in my upright freezer. I had a couple minor issues that they addressed very quickly. I have yet to use the temperature control coil but might on the next batch. I also have the gas manifold. I made the mistake of letting pressure build naturally to over 10 psi. I think I put the manifold on too early. That made hopp additions messy. I kept the pressure to about three PSI the next time and that worked well.

 

[philly224]

I have the CF15. Love it and it fits in my upright freezer. I had a couple minor issues that they addressed very quickly. I have yet to use the temperature control coil but might on the next batch. I also have the gas manifold. I made the mistake of letting pressure build naturally to over 10 psi. I think I put the manifold on too early. That made hopp additions messy. I kept the pressure to about three PSI the next time and that worked well.

How did you keep it to 3psi? I've been using a blow off but that sounds nice.

 

[Carlscan26]

Pics 2-3 look bad. Contact them and they will make it right. I've had a couple of instances where mistakes were made and they are super quick to fix and stand by their products.

What issues did you run into? Mine arrived upside down, with a damaged box and every one of my concerns was dismissed. I’m still waiting to hear back about a replacement gasket as the one I received had been pinched and I am concerned about it being damaged. Im going to try to carbonate with it this weekend and hopefully it’ll hold.

They could care less that their logo was smeared or that the volume etchings were inconsistent. Nor did they seem to care that one of the valves, the stop plate was loose. I am willing to let the cosmetic stuff slide but the valve issue was a major disappointment. I’ve never experienced this issue with other valves and they played it off like it wasn’t an issue.

I have not experienced the amazing customer service that others have raved about.

 

[spittybug]

They lost my business with the forever slipping ship date of the new conicals...... I went with a 14+ gal plastic conical and absolutely love it at a small fraction of the price.

 

[wishingiwasfishing]

I have a couple of Spike brew kettles and couldn't be happier. I was also happy with the customer service provided. I would hope to see that all of your issues are resolved after contacting Spike directly. While I'm not ready to buy a conical right now, I will certainly be watching this thread and hope that your issues are resolved.

 

[Rhyanmeade]

I sent an email to them today.

 

[Boise1024]

Mine arrived in perfect shape, no scratching. First brew in I noticed a pinhole leak at a weld in the lid, I was slowly loosing pressure. Got solved quickly, without issue.

So far I'm 3 brews in, all under pressure and with an inkbird controlled aquarium pump in a water/ice bath to cool it. It works for now but I will build a custom glycol system some time soon to be able to lager and crash cool. I also got a 1.5 tc to 1/4 mfl adapter to do a closed pressurized transfer to kegs.

So far the first two beers were outstanding, I don't know if it's the pressure or the low oxygen transfer or some trickery of my brain, but they taste exceptionnal.

A few things of note : I got a 2" tc to 1/2 barb adapter for the bottom port. Don't ever try to open that without some form of restriction on there while under pressure. Even with the adapter the dump is violent !

Also, be careful with the sample port. It can easily get semi-clogged, and if you continue to unscrew it when it gets unclogged you will be hard pressed to close it fast enough before there is beer everywhere.

I'm having a lot of fun using the cf10 and am currently exploring the effects of fermenting underpressure with different yeasts. Right now I have had great success with wy1728 and wlp001, I have a dunkelweizen with wlp300 fermenting right now. All in all a great product.

 

[Dcpcooks]

I sent an email to them today. Of course I don't expect to hear anything til Tuesday. My biggest problem right now is how scratched up the surface is, inside and out. Then the lid lip being scratched makes me worry. Gasket seems to be ok.

All you other guys that have these, how scratched, dull, and dirty were the surfaces when you got them? Yes I understand they need washed out first, but some of this is going to take hours with a buffer to shine up.
View attachment 558585View attachment 558586

I can’t imagine they want to ship in that condition. That’s pretty bad. The external scratches won’t impact anything but the interior stuff is just plain bad business. I’d be amazed if they don’t ship you a new one with some swag to boot.

I would begin the conversation by asking for a replacement or a refund.

 

[philly224]

Mine didn't have any scratches when it arrived and I've had 0 issues. Love it so far! I'm patiently waiting for their temperature control kit to come out before I pull the trigger on the coil lid.

Pressurized transfers in it are awesome and it can hold pressure no issues. Once I get a glycol of aquarium chiller I'll get the carb stone too.

 

[Rhyanmeade]

philly224 - that temp control unit was one of the reasons I went with Spike, and was excited for its release too. I also bought pretty much all of the accessories with it (minus the coil).

 

[philly224]

Yeah that doesn't look great. I'm sure they are going to make it right though!

 

[sheikyerbouti]

What issues did you run into? Mine arrived upside down, with a damaged box and every one of my concerns was dismissed. I’m still waiting to hear back about a replacement gasket as the one I received had been pinched and I am concerned about it being damaged. Im going to try to carbonate with it this weekend and hopefully it’ll hold.

They could care less that their logo was smeared or that the volume etchings were inconsistent. Nor did they seem to care that one of the valves, the stop plate was loose. I am willing to let the cosmetic stuff slide but the valve issue was a major disappointment. I’ve never experienced this issue with other valves and they played it off like it wasn’t an issue.

I have not experienced the amazing customer service that others have raved about.

Bent HERMS coil, missing QD, bad weld on the conical lid. They fixed every issue extremely quickly, sending out replacements first along with return tags.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

Our tech support team has been made aware and should be in contact on Monday. Sorry about the troubles!

 

[Rhyanmeade]

Our tech support team has been made aware and should be in contact on Monday. Sorry about the troubles!

Thanks SpikeBrewing! Appreciate it!!

 

[Carlscan26]

I can’t imagine they want to ship in that condition. That’s pretty bad. The external scratches won’t impact anything but the interior stuff is just plain bad business. I’d be amazed if they don’t ship you a new one with some swag to boot.

I would begin the conversation by asking for a replacement or a refund.

I think the part around the opening below the logo is due to them manufacturing the shell in China where I suspect they also do the etching. Then when they weld the ports stateside, there’s something going on that’s affecting the logo.

Here’s how mine looks:

I care less about the logo - it’s more that I didn’t like the dismissive response I received. Maybe the rep thought he was being funny. I spent over $800 for the conical and accessories. I got a discount on a similarly priced dishwasher because the insulation on the back was torn - a little duct tape and its 100% functional and I don’t ever see it. That logo everyone sees.

The conical is holding pressure so I guess my seal is fine. It’s an impressively thick seal and the top goes on much easier than with the original flat topped style with two seals.

I didn’t have any issues with scratching or the welds. In fact they’re some of the cleanest welds I’ve ever seen.

Overall it is a quality product. I am disappointed in the responses I got to the cosmetic damage, and the valve gate being loose.

 

[Neens_]

I’ve asked before, the etching is done in China. That almost looks like something was rubbing against it in shipping. I have a feeling it left the warehouse looking nice and the damage happened while in FedEx’s custody. I’ve seen bargain cave items with less of a cosmetic flaw before.

My customer service experience with spike was great. FedEx delivered the package to the wrong address and tried to give me the run around. Spike sent out another one and handled everything on there end so I didn’t have to bother.

 

[Rhyanmeade]

I was just contacted by Spike. I'll give them kudo's to the quick reply.

 

[SpikeBrewing]

Full message from tech support:

Sorry about the issue! Thank you for emailing us, it is definitely not typical for a product to go out looking like this! The markings on your conical look to be dried cleaning solution which can be easily removed with a damp cloth and a little Bar Keepers Friends. My guess is that the unit was QC'd just after cleaning so the markings had not appeared yet. I'm very sorry about that. We can send along a $50 gift card for the error if that works for you?

Thank you,
Irene

 

[philly224]

I was just contacted by Spike. I'll give them kudo's to the quick reply, but...

"The markings on your conical look to be dried cleaning solution which can be easily removed with a damp cloth and a little Bar Keepers Friends. My guess is that the unit was QC'd just after cleaning so the markings had not appeared yet."

Which photos did send and did you try that and respond ?

 

[Rhyanmeade]

They did respond, which I do appreciate. We'll see what happens.

 

[Neens_]

I don’t think one light cleaning with bar keepers will do much but if you want to be carful I wouldn’t put a ton of pressure if you want to keep the logo intact.

 

[wishingiwasfishing]

I can’t imagine they want to ship in that condition. That’s pretty bad. The external scratches won’t impact anything but the interior stuff is just plain bad business. I’d be amazed if they don’t ship you a new one with some swag to boot.

I would begin the conversation by asking for a replacement or a refund.

Agree. Scratches on the outside are one thing, imperfections on the inside a completely different animal

 

[jdr01]

Sorry for the delay. I kept the pressure at 3psi after the fermenting was done and through cold crash. I should have been more specific. Next brew I will use a blow off tube until it starts to slow down. I will then exchange the tube for the manifold. The manifold will have the original 15 psi prv with the addition of a spunding valve.

 

[crooow]

Basically the same photo's posted here. I replied that I am going to go ahead and put the unit together and pressure test it, since I'm concerned with the scratching around the top lip. If it passes then I guess I take what I can get and move on. I'm also concerned about what Bar Keeper's Friend is going to do to the printed logo. But at least they did respond, which I do appreciate. We'll see what happens.

I'm deciding between SS and Spike conicals, so I'm following this thread closely. Scratches on the inside (or even the outside) of the conical would be completely unacceptable to me given how expensive these things are.

 

[philly224]

View attachment 558961 Sorry for the delay. I kept the pressure at 3psi after the fermenting was done and through cold crash. I should have been more specific. Next brew I will use a blow off tube until it starts to slow down. I will then exchange the tube for the manifold. The manifold will have the original 15 psi prv with the addition of a spunding valve.

Cool thanks! Is forgoing the blow off tube completely and just using the spunding valve from the start a bad idea?

 

[jdr01]

Don't know. Sounds like it would work fine. If it was close to max volume would the spunding valve clog?

 

[Shrimp]

I'm deciding between SS and Spike conicals, so I'm following this thread closely. Scratches on the inside (or even the outside) of the conical would be completely unacceptable to me given how expensive these things are.

Agreed, but just as a push the other way, look at the Ss weld quality on the Unitank. Most of the pics I've seen are not worthy of a $1k+ piece of equipment.

I would hope that Spike fixes the issue here. The cosmetic things on the outside aren't a big deal, but I'd be pretty disappointed to open up a CF whatever and think someone let their kid play with an angle grinder on it. Also, what's the deal on the third pic above? https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/attachments/20180217_114717-jpg.558668/

 

[Boise1024]

I use the stock PRV from the start. The pressure keeps the kraeusen down, even with 11-12gal in the fermenter. However in my more recent wlp300 batch the fermentation got so vigourous that some kraeusen went into the prv. Didn't seem to affect it's operation, just made a mess (was dripping on fermenter, not spraying everywhere). I'll need to look into cleaning it after fermentation is complete.

 

[philly224]

I use the stock PRV from the start. The pressure keeps the kraeusen down, even with 11-12gal in the fermenter. However in my more recent wlp300 batch the fermentation got so vigourous that some kraeusen went into the prv. Didn't seem to affect it's operation, just made a mess (was dripping on fermenter, not spraying everywhere). I'll need to look into cleaning it after fermentation is complete.

So you let it get up to 15 psi and then rely on the prv to let off any extra pressure?

 

[Dcpcooks]

I don’t think one light cleaning with bar keepers will do much but if you want to be carful I wouldn’t put a ton of pressure if you want to keep the logo intact.

Bar keepers friend will pull that etching off relatively fast. I would use it on anything etched.

 

[Rhyanmeade]

Those are what the welds from the legs and the handles look like on the inside of the tank.

 

[Boise1024]

That's right. The PRV will usually start releasing pressure at 12psi. During very vigorous fermentation it will go up to about 15 psi, you can hear the constant hiss of co2 escaping.

 

[jdr01]

If dry hopping, the pressure would have to be eliminated before opening the vessel. It did not workout so good for me. Hop vomit all over the freezer. I could not tweek the PRV to bleed slowly enough.

 

[Boise1024]

The only IPA I did I added the dry hop charge with the yeast, and then a second dry hop in the keg. I would guess that because the beer is carbonated while fermenting, any addition (hop, herbs, coconut, cocoa nibs, ...) would create a gigantic explosion of froth from the co2 coming out of solution. You can clearly see how much the beer is carbonated when taking a sample, there is quite a lot of froth and you need to wait for the co2 to escape before using the hydrometer.

 

[philly224]

If dry hopping, the pressure would have to be eliminated before opening the vessel. It did not workout so good for me. Hop vomit all over the freezer. I could not tweek the PRV to bleed slowly enough.

Did it come out of the prv when you bled it or something?

 

[Shrimp]

Those are what the welds from the legs and the handles look like on the inside of the tank.

Can anyone else post pics of the same place on theirs? Is this a normal specimen or did Rhyanmeade just get one that wasn't so great?

It might just be the way the lighting is, but it looks like a great place for crap to get stuck.