Spike Conical- observations and best practices

[itsnotrequired]

The Spike *can* be cleaned-in-place, but you'll have to remove the three ports--sampling valve, temp probe, racking valve-- to be able to get at the gunk that accumulates in them on the inside. I pull mine off and soak them in a small 2-gallon tub w/ PBW, while I'm cleaning the rest of it. I replace them with TC caps and then set it to cleaning using a CIP ball. But initially, I spray the fermenter out and drain the gunk out of the bottom, and that would be tough if it were sitting in a freezer.

i'm gun-shy of that fermenter tipping over so i have it strapped to a wall (i have a glycol setup). near my sink, but not right at it. when time to clean, i open the bottom valve and dump as much as i can. then i do a once-through pass of clean, cold water through the cip ball (hot would be better but figure good enough). this gets most of the crud out of there. then i recirc with a hot pbw solution for a half hour or so. outlet drains into a bucket with a sump pump, pumps back up through the ball. then i do a once-through with clean, hot water, again through the ball. that hot water gets collected and then i disassemble all the tc pieces, placing in the bucket of hot rinse water with a little more pbw. cip ball gets most everything out of there but once in a while, i need to use a sponge to grab the last bits. rinse the tc parts, place on towel to dry, call 'er a day.

 

[Nate R]

Hey all. Kinda new(ish) to this brewing thing.
I got a CF5 which I love. I found a scratch and dent upright freezer cheap that I was using as a fermentation chamber. My problem was with the Inkbird temp control, the freezer was too cold- it would drop well below the set point. Do other people have this problem? Is the solution to use a heat source? I fear that just over-works the compressor. Is this where a "PID" comes into play? No idea what a PID is.

I had taken a break from brewing for a bit, but saved up for the temp coil option from Spike. So far i LOVE the thing- best thing is I get to look at the conical every day! I am lagering at 50 and simply using an ice chest with frozen gallon water jugs I swap out every 12 hours- using the upright freezer to freeze them (and keep hops, meat, etc. in- it's actually very handy to have a spare freezer!).

Cold-crashing in the freezer was very easy- I am not sure how cold I can get the CF5 to with just an ice water bath- I am assuming maybe 40 or so? I read about a "brine" on here- I assume just salt water to aid in cooling like making ice cream? Does the brine hurt the pump or the stainless coils? (I though salt could pit stainless). Now with the freezer in use that is not really an option any more, plus I do not want to carry the CF5 full from the house to the garage where the freezer is.

Appreciate all the help!

 

[Blazinlow86]

Hey all. Kinda new(ish) to this brewing thing.
I got a CF5 which I love. I found a scratch and dent upright freezer cheap that I was using as a fermentation chamber. My problem was with the Inkbird temp control, the freezer was too cold- it would drop well below the set point. Do other people have this problem? Is the solution to use a heat source? I fear that just over-works the compressor. Is this where a "PID" comes into play? No idea what a PID is.

I had taken a break from brewing for a bit, but saved up for the temp coil option from Spike. So far i LOVE the thing- best thing is I get to look at the conical every day! I am lagering at 50 and simply using an ice chest with frozen gallon water jugs I swap out every 12 hours- using the upright freezer to freeze them (and keep hops, meat, etc. in- it's actually very handy to have a spare freezer!).

Cold-crashing in the freezer was very easy- I am not sure how cold I can get the CF5 to with just an ice water bath- I am assuming maybe 40 or so? I read about a "brine" on here- I assume just salt water to aid in cooling like making ice cream? Does the brine hurt the pump or the stainless coils? (I though salt could pit stainless). Now with the freezer in use that is not really an option any more, plus I do not want to carry the CF5 full from the house to the garage where the freezer is.

Appreciate all the help!

There should be a option on your inkbird to adjust those settings. I use Stc1000 so I can't help with that specific controller however. I use a chest freezer also and it works fantastically. Cheers

 

[Beardless]

The Spike *can* be cleaned-in-place, but you'll have to remove the three ports--sampling valve, temp probe, racking valve-- to be able to get at the gunk that accumulates in them on the inside. I pull mine off and soak them in a small 2-gallon tub w/ PBW, while I'm cleaning the rest of it. I replace them with TC caps and then set it to cleaning using a CIP ball. But initially, I spray the fermenter out and drain the gunk out of the bottom, and that would be tough if it were sitting in a freezer.

Just cleaned mine for the first time and agree with this. It actually worked out that I was kegging from the CF10 while finishing a brew I intended to put into the CF10. I boiled my beer while racking to kegs (pressurized transfer was awesome, by the way). Did a quick rinse on the CF10 toward the end of the boil. Collected my hot water runoff from the immersion chiller and added some PBW to it in another kettle, which I then recirc’ed with the CIP ball. Removed all the parts and let them soak for a few minutes in PBW, cleaned em, then 5-10mins in starsan while I sprayed the rest of the CF10 with starsan from a landscape sprayer. Put it all back together and re-filled with the freshly brewed beer.

Having the CF10 on the ground / in the open for trub dump and cleaning was super convenient. I would think an upright freezer ferm chamber would be ok, but a chest freezer I think would hurt. Anyways- a glycol AC unit was easier to build than I expected following other posts on here. Just my $0.02.

For those of you with the temp coil, how do you manage taking the lid on/off for filling, dry hopping, cleaning etc.?

I have used the blowoff port for all of those things. Hose in the open port while pumping from BK. Remove the blowoff and dump in the top when dry hopping. Attach the CIP in that port when cleaning.

Last point I’ll make- the CIP ball, while it doesn’t get every nook and cranny, worked way better than I expected. It did a great job on the bulk of the walls and cone of the fermenter and cleaned the temp coil well. There was a ring at the top beer line (dried Krausen and pellet hop leftovers?) that needed a little light scrub with a sponge. Also the stub outs for the racking port, thermo well and sample port had a little bit of leftover crud that was easily cleaned up with the sponge as well.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Just cleaned mine for the first time and agree with this. It actually worked out that I was kegging from the CF10 while finishing a brew I intended to put into the CF10. I boiled my beer while racking to kegs (pressurized transfer was awesome, by the way). Did a quick rinse on the CF10 toward the end of the boil. Collected my hot water runoff from the immersion chiller and added some PBW to it in another kettle, which I then recirc’ed with the CIP ball. Removed all the parts and let them soak for a few minutes in PBW, cleaned em, then 5-10mins in starsan while I sprayed the rest of the CF10 with starsan from a landscape sprayer. Put it all back together and re-filled with the freshly brewed beer.

Having the CF10 on the ground / in the open for trub dump and cleaning was super convenient. I would think an upright freezer ferm chamber would be ok, but a chest freezer I think would hurt. Anyways- a glycol AC unit was easier to build than I expected following other posts on here. Just my $0.02.





I have used the blowoff port for all of those things. Hose in the open port while pumping from BK. Remove the blowoff and dump in the top when dry hopping. Attach the CIP in that port when cleaning.

Last point I’ll make- the CIP ball, while it doesn’t get every nook and cranny, worked way better than I expected. It did a great job on the bulk of the walls and cone of the fermenter and cleaned the temp coil well. There was a ring at the top beer line (dried Krausen and pellet hop leftovers?) that needed a little light scrub with a sponge. Also the stub outs for the racking port, thermo well and sample port had a little bit of leftover crud that was easily cleaned up with the sponge as well.

I removed the lid on mine, attach a hose from the dump valve into a bucket and hose most of the residue with hot water with my brew hose. I then close the valve and add a gallonish of water and diy pbw and gently scrub with a non abrasive sponge. After draining and rinsing I remove all the fittings and soak them in diy pbw and that's it till brew day. On brew day I soak the fittings in starsan and attach them to the unitank and starsan the whole assembly using a hand pump sprayer. Cheers

 

[jturman35]

Does anyone have a crafty idea for capturing or keeping yeast from blowing off? My next brew is a Westy 12 clone using WLP530 and last time I lost quite a bit due to blow off!

 

[Tagobolts]

Just received mine today. Came cleaner then I expected. Packaged great and seems like everything was included so that’s a plus

 

[Sbe2]

Does anyone have a crafty idea for capturing or keeping yeast from blowing off? My next brew is a Westy 12 clone using WLP530 and last time I lost quite a bit due to blow off!

Fermcap

 

[CodeSection]

@mongoose33, in the pictures and video you posted above, it appears you are using 1.5" TC sight glass and that it was full of hops. Were you making a five gallon batch? If it was a 1.5" sight glass, do you know how many ounces of hops it can hold?

 

[mongoose33]

@mongoose33, in the pictures and video you posted above, it appears you are using 1.5" TC sight glass and that it was full of hops. Were you making a five gallon batch? If it was a 1.5" sight glass, do you know how many ounces of hops it can hold?

Yeah, it's a 1.5. It held more than 3 ounces, not quite 4 ounces. You could, of course, reload it, release pressure through it to purge O2 from the next batch of hops.

You'll see I have a CO2 line connected to it, so I can pressurize it as I drop the hops, to kind of give them a "push" though it didn't seem to work that well. By doing that I created a small pressure gradient so that if I release the pressure through the PRV, I'm releasing that CO2 back through the hops. That's the point of the design, to allow for that. Or, if the fermenter is closed up before fermentation is complete, a certain amount of self-carbonation occurs and that can pressurize the fermenter and be the basis for that pressurization.

 

[CodeSection]

@mongoose33, thanks for the suggestion of "reloading"...great idea and makes buying less equipment like an adapter, etc. I was thinking of using my 2" TC sight glass. Looking at few recipes I have been considering, while I still must scale them up, it looks like the dry hops could be somewhere between 10-16 ozs.

 

[Beardless]

Has anyone carb’d and then bottled directly from the conical? I’ve heard at least one person comment that they’ve used the Blichmann beer gun to fill some bottles, just curious if anyone else has done this? I’d like to bottle half of a pale ale so it can be transported easier, while kegging the other half.

I’m trying to eliminate going from conical -> keg -> bottle. Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Has anyone carb’d and then bottled directly from the conical? I’ve heard at least one person comment that they’ve used the Blichmann beer gun to fill some bottles, just curious if anyone else has done this? I’d like to bottle half of a pale ale so it can be transported easier, while kegging the other half.

I’m trying to eliminate going from conical -> keg -> bottle. Any thoughts are appreciated.

It should work perfectly. I've never done it personally as I'm too lazy to bottle however

 

[Irish1225]

I posted this in the DIY forum but I don't know how much it is visited...

I need to put together a closed transfer system and I’ve decide I’ll build it to get it to my specifications. I do let the beer carb slightly in the conical and would like to continue doing that. I can’t cold crash far enough that I would trust a condensation line.

Quick question first - I saw mongoose reference silicone tubing in the DIY forum thread. Any reason for silicone and not keg beverage tubing?

My plans here...
1) choose a TC fitting for the conical (keg disconnect, camlock, MFL). Still weighing how I would like to do it.
2) get a length of tubing. Is 5’ okay, or do you want at least 10’ if the beer is at 10psi for example?
3) another beverage keg disconnect into the keg
4) then I’ll build another length of tubing with gas disconnects at each end and a spunding valve that attaches at the other end. The length of tubing is so I can monitor fill volume and have enough length that I can cut off the fill before it gets to the spunding valve.

If I’m understanding this correctly, I won’t want to just put tubing into a bucket of sanitizer because that won’t keep pressure in the keg.

Am I barking up the right tree here?

 

[mongoose33]

I posted this in the DIY forum but I don't know how much it is visited...

I need to put together a closed transfer system and I’ve decide I’ll build it to get it to my specifications. I do let the beer carb slightly in the conical and would like to continue doing that. I can’t cold crash far enough that I would trust a condensation line.

Quick question first - I saw mongoose reference silicone tubing in the DIY forum thread. Any reason for silicone and not keg beverage tubing?

My plans here...
1) choose a TC fitting for the conical (keg disconnect, camlock, MFL). Still weighing how I would like to do it.
2) get a length of tubing. Is 5’ okay, or do you want at least 10’ if the beer is at 10psi for example?
3) another beverage keg disconnect into the keg
4) then I’ll build another length of tubing with gas disconnects at each end and a spunding valve that attaches at the other end. The length of tubing is so I can monitor fill volume and have enough length that I can cut off the fill before it gets to the spunding valve.

If I’m understanding this correctly, I won’t want to just put tubing into a bucket of sanitizer because that won’t keep pressure in the keg.

Am I barking up the right tree here?

You might find this post to be helpful:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/spike-fermenters.666727/#post-8608603

 

[Irish1225]

You might find this post to be helpful:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/spike-fermenters.666727/#post-8608603

All great information. But what about silicone vs beverage tubing?

 

[Vale71]

All great information. But what about silicone vs beverage tubing?

Beverage tubing, especially one with an O2 barrier, is definitely the best choice. Silicone has a high O2 permeability so using silicone tubing will increase oxygen pickup noticeably, which kind of negates the advantages of a closed transfer to some extent.

 

[mongoose33]

You might find this post to be helpful:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/spike-fermenters.666727/#post-8608603

All great information. But what about silicone vs beverage tubing?

I only use silicone tubing coming off the pressure manifold into an airlock jar. For beverage transfer, it's beverage tubing. Don't know that you're going to get really any oxygen pickup in the very short time you'd be transferring, but beverage tubing is designed for dispensing, which transferring is, in effect.

 

[couchsending]

What’s everyone’s favorite pump for CIP on the CF5? Best bang for the buck.

 

[Blazinlow86]

What’s everyone’s favorite pump for CIP on the CF5? Best bang for the buck.

It can be used with the march/chugger pumps but from what I've read it won't get everywhere so you still need to take the top off which kinda defeats the point. I have the cf15 and do it by hand. Much easier and only takes a few minutes. Cheers

 

[Nate R]

What’s everyone’s favorite pump for CIP on the CF5? Best bang for the buck.

I have the CF5 and just cleaned it a few days ago. I had let it sit for 3 days after a transfer. Even with dry full krausen it was a breeze. It fits inside most kitchen sinks. If you have a pull out sprayer its a snap. Or a bathtub or shower. A little pbw, a basic sponge, warm water, and 10 mins or less.
I love this thing!

 

[mongoose33]

It can be used with the march/chugger pumps but from what I've read it won't get everywhere so you still need to take the top off which kinda defeats the point. I have the cf15 and do it by hand. Much easier and only takes a few minutes. Cheers

I use the CIP ball that Spike sells. It gets everything in my CF10, with the exception of the port areas which need to have the sampling port and racking valve removed to clean them.

When I do mine, I spray it down with the sink sprayer, dumping as much as possible down the dump valve into a 5-gallon bucket. I'll put a couple of TC blanks on the ports for the sampling valve and racking valve, then let the CIP work for 15 minutes or so while I clean other things.

But---one good part of the design is you can pull the lid off and get at the inside, and as most have noted, you don't have to CIP it.

 

[couchsending]

I know I can put it in a sink I just don’t want to. I’ve got 4 Chronicals and I’m tired of cleaning them in the sink. I’d like to put casters on them with some leg extensions so the sink isn’t gonna be an option. I’ve heard the Spike CIP ball isn’t that great, especially with a March. Anyone running a 1/3hp pump (sump or submersible) with that spray ball?

 

[mongoose33]

I know I can put it in a sink I just don’t want to. I’ve got 4 Chronicals and I’m tired of cleaning them in the sink. I’d like to put casters on them with some leg extensions so the sink isn’t gonna be an option. I’ve heard the Spike CIP ball isn’t that great, especially with a March. Anyone running a 1/3hp pump (sump or submersible) with that spray ball?

I'm not putting it in the sink--I'm rolling it next to the sink so the sprayer will reach it, and I let it drain into a 5-gallon bucket.

I also will connect a hose to the main faucet to fill the conical with water if need be.

 

[timpritchard23]

I know I can put it in a sink I just don’t want to. I’ve got 4 Chronicals and I’m tired of cleaning them in the sink. I’d like to put casters on them with some leg extensions so the sink isn’t gonna be an option. I’ve heard the Spike CIP ball isn’t that great, especially with a March. Anyone running a 1/3hp pump (sump or submersible) with that spray ball?

I use a 1/3hp sump pump and it works great. Sometimes needs 1 quick swipe with a sponge to clean a few spots on the krausen ring but other than that is super clean. Even with that ease I find myself just hitting it with the hose and scrubbing with a sponge most times.

 

[Beardless]

I know I can put it in a sink I just don’t want to. I’ve got 4 Chronicals and I’m tired of cleaning them in the sink. I’d like to put casters on them with some leg extensions so the sink isn’t gonna be an option. I’ve heard the Spike CIP ball isn’t that great, especially with a March. Anyone running a 1/3hp pump (sump or submersible) with that spray ball?

I use a chugger with the CIP ball from spike. As others have noted it works well for most of the conical with a nice recirc for 10-15 mins and PBW. There are often a couple areas needing a gentle scrub (ports and the krausen ring) which is done easily. I do not use a sink, just a hose in the garage. But one could easily do the same with a bucket of clean water to rinse.

 

[hezagenius]

I'm planning to buy the CF5. I'm about 99% certain I'll be using an upright freezer as a fermentation chamber. I'm planning on getting the blowoff cane and the PRV manifold bundle. Are there any other must-have accessories? I figure I'll use a light bulb for a heat source. Is the heat wrap worth it? I don't think I'll need the leg extensions. Is the leg bracing still necessary?

 

[Blazinlow86]

I'm planning to buy the CF5. I'm about 99% certain I'll be using an upright freezer as a fermentation chamber. I'm planning on getting the blowoff cane and the PRV manifold bundle. Are there any other must-have accessories? I figure I'll use a light bulb for a heat source. Is the heat wrap worth it? I don't think I'll need the leg extensions. Is the leg bracing still necessary?

Get the racking arm most definitely and if funds allow I'd recommend the carb stone to get the most out of your purchase. I use a bulb to heat. Being in a upright freezer you probably don't need the legs. Cheers

 

[hezagenius]

Get the racking arm most definitely and if funds allow I'd recommend the carb stone to get the most out of your purchase. I use a bulb to heat. Being in a upright freezer you probably don't need the legs. Cheers

I have a 4" TC lid with 2 ball lock posts and a 1.5" TC ferrule welded on so I plan to use that to put a carb stone down into the beer. That will give me some extra clearance to fit it into the freezer.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I have a 4" TC lid with 2 ball lock posts and a 1.5" TC ferrule welded on so I plan to use that to put a carb stone down into the beer. That will give me some extra clearance to fit it into the freezer.

Hmmm not sure exactly what you mean about the carb stone going in from the top. It would need to be on a pretty long pipe or hose to reach all the way down similar to the stainless aeration stones. Do you have any pictures of what you have? Cheers

 

[Nate R]

I'm planning to buy the CF5. I'm about 99% certain I'll be using an upright freezer as a fermentation chamber. I'm planning on getting the blowoff cane and the PRV manifold bundle. Are there any other must-have accessories? I figure I'll use a light bulb for a heat source. Is the heat wrap worth it? I don't think I'll need the leg extensions. Is the leg bracing still necessary?

Fwiw... i also started with the cf5 in my upright freezer. I did not use a heater.
But using an inkbird with the probe in the thermowell I found that the freezer, after it turned off, would chill way lower than the set point.
That is- I would set to 68- freezer would fire up 69, and Inkbird would shut off when it hit 68- but because of some sciencey stuff, the temp would drop down another 5-10 degrees. I thought about a light bulb to counter balance it, but figured I did not want my wort to suffer.

I bough the chiller coil pack (sans heater) and I gotta say- it is freaking AWESOME! I would say spend every dime on that! Keep your freezer to do the final cold crash if you can, but the coils, with the pump in a cooler and frozen 2L soda bottles you swap out in the AM & PM, and you will see your temp stay within 1 degree!

Legs- not really needed unless you want to gravity feed to kegs, but that defeats the purpose of the cf5. I can see on the larger models how they help with stability.

That's my 2cents worth.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Fwiw... i also started with the cf5 in my upright freezer. I did not use a heater.
But using an inkbird with the probe in the thermowell I found that the freezer, after it turned off, would chill way lower than the set point.
That is- I would set to 68- freezer would fire up 69, and Inkbird would shut off when it hit 68- but because of some sciencey stuff, the temp would drop down another 5-10 degrees. I thought about a light bulb to counter balance it, but figured I did not want my wort to suffer.

I bough the chiller coil pack (sans heater) and I gotta say- it is freaking AWESOME! I would say spend every dime on that! Keep your freezer to do the final cold crash if you can, but the coils, with the pump in a cooler and frozen 2L soda bottles you swap out in the AM & PM, and you will see your temp stay within 1 degree!

Legs- not really needed unless you want to gravity feed to kegs, but that defeats the purpose of the cf5. I can see on the larger models how they help with stability.

That's my 2cents worth.

You found that's a better solution than just correcting the controller? Seems a overly complicated solution to me. The stc1000 has adjustments specifically to correct that issue. I would be surprised if the inkbird did not.

 

[Nate R]

You found that's a better solution than just correcting the controller? Seems a overly complicated solution to me. The stc1000 has adjustments specifically to correct that issue. I would be surprised if the inkbird did not.

Yup. The Inkbird is not a "PID" type controller. It gets to withing one degree- but not bad for like $35. I realized that the freezer was too much- like a gun to a pie-fight. Plus the coil set-up just looks awesome!

I bet I could have figured out a better way, but I really like the more precise temp control I get with the coils.

 

[Blazinlow86]

Yup. The Inkbird is not a "PID" type controller. It gets to withing one degree- but not bad for like $35. I realized that the freezer was too much- like a gun to a pie-fight. Plus the coil set-up just looks awesome!

I bet I could have figured out a better way, but I really like the more precise temp control I get with the coils.

Yea the stc1000 isn't a pid either there about 15$ and will solve your issue. I'd recommend getting one so you can use your fridge again. Dealing with frozen bottles and pumps and hoses is way to complicated imho. If I had to do it that way I'd go back to buckets in a chest freezer honestly. Of course if you prefer doing that way or are more concerned with looks over performance keep doing it. Just pointing out that there is no problem using a stand up fridge/freezer if you have it setup correctly and it's a much simpler,cheaper and better option. Cheers

 

[Nate R]

Yea the stc1000 isn't a pid either there about 15$ and will solve your issue. I'd recommend getting one so you can use your fridge again. Dealing with frozen bottles and pumps and hoses is way to complicated imho. If I had to do it that way I'd go back to buckets in a chest freezer honestly. Of course if you prefer doing that way or are more concerned with looks over performance keep doing it. Just pointing out that there is no problem using a stand up fridge/freezer if you have it setup correctly and it's a much simpler,cheaper and better option. Cheers

Yeah- honestly the problem is now I have a garage freezer with all my hops, meat, etc... man is it handy to have a spare freezer! Also great for freezing water bottles.

Question- I had the freezer set to the least coldest setting possible. How does one keep the freezer from getting too cold? My experience was that by the time the interior liquid hit the desired temp, and the controller shut off the freezer, it was getting much colder.

So- to sum up- what is the proper way to "setup correctly" the chest freezer?
Thanks!

 

[Blazinlow86]

Yeah- honestly the problem is now I have a garage freezer with all my hops, meat, etc... man is it handy to have a spare freezer! Also great for freezing water bottles.

Question- I had the freezer set to the least coldest setting possible. How does one keep the freezer from getting too cold? My experience was that by the time the interior liquid hit the desired temp, and the controller shut off the freezer, it was getting much colder.

So- to sum up- what is the proper way to "setup correctly" the chest freezer?
Thanks!

Honestly I can't remember what the actual setting was called. I'd be very surprised that the inkbird doesn't have something similiar. But it basically turns the cooling or heating off before reaching the desired temps to avoid your experiences. Maybe someone else who has recently setup a keezer or fern chamber can chime in. Cheers

 

[Jag75]

We used a chest freezer with an Inkbird 308. Set the inkbird temp to desired temp then place the temp probe in a cup of water . I set it up with a 2 degree cushion and a 5 minute delay . When I started to raise temp for diacetyl rest I connected the temp probe to the carboy . Never had an issue , worked quite well .

 

[HB2 HughBHomeBrew]

Fwiw... i also started with the cf5 in my upright freezer. I did not use a heater.
But using an inkbird with the probe in the thermowell I found that the freezer, after it turned off, would chill way lower than the set point.
That is- I would set to 68- freezer would fire up 69, and Inkbird would shut off when it hit 68- but because of some sciencey stuff, the temp would drop down another 5-10 degrees. I thought about a light bulb to counter balance it, but figured I did not want my wort to suffer.

I bough the chiller coil pack (sans heater) and I gotta say- it is freaking AWESOME! I would say spend every dime on that! Keep your freezer to do the final cold crash if you can, but the coils, with the pump in a cooler and frozen 2L soda bottles you swap out in the AM & PM, and you will see your temp stay within 1 degree!

Legs- not really needed unless you want to gravity feed to kegs, but that defeats the purpose of the cf5. I can see on the larger models how they help with stability.

That's my 2cents worth.

I’m thinking that’s the next step for me. How low of a temp (with what as your ambient temp) can you get with the cooler/frozen soda bottles setup? My CF5 sits indoors in a room where thermostat is 68F - that’s my “temp control.” I brew indoor/outdoor in the garage then roll the CF5 inside. Don’t need a heater. I don’t have the legs or braces but I repurposed a little cart I had. I then made a cutout so the sight glass would fit. BTW, the sight glass is really fun (helpful maybe?) and worth it but then you do need the legs or set something up like I did.

Speaking of moving it, how are those of you who put it into an upright freezer getting it in there while it’s full? Or are you transferring wort into it from your BK somehow?

 

[Nate R]

I’m thinking that’s the next step for me. How low of a temp (with what as your ambient temp) can you get with the cooler/frozen soda bottles setup? My CF5 sits indoors in a room where thermostat is 68F - that’s my “temp control.” I brew indoor/outdoor in the garage then roll the CF5 inside. Don’t need a heater. I don’t have the legs or braces but I repurposed a little cart I had. I then made a cutout so the sight glass would fit. BTW, the sight glass is really fun (helpful maybe?) and worth it but then you do need the legs or set something up like I did.

Speaking of moving it, how are those of you who put it into an upright freezer getting it in there while it’s full? Or are you transferring wort into it from your BK somehow?
View attachment 632648

Ok:
#1- love the dog! Great helper!
#2- like the cart. Very nice. Great that its on wheels.

I was moving the cf5 from my kitchen outdoors, down 3 steps, into the upright freezer. Heavy.
Then i moved- now i can gravity flow right into the cf5, plug in the coils, and go.

I had temps probably around 70-78. I am cheap and dont run ac durig the day. Norcal heat this time of year.
I was able to maintain 50 easily with two 1-gallon plastic water jugs frozen. Swapper once when i got up, one when i came home, once when i went to bed. 3x a day. I could have easily only done 2x a day.
I was able to get down to about 40 for cold crash, but it required many ice swaps.
I want a glycol chiller but cannot justify the price. And i hear they can be noisy.

Instead, i "crashed" as good i could, racked to a keg, and put it in my upright keezer at about 34 or so. It worked.

What i really liked was the constant temp the coils give you. Cant wait to do an ale next.

Yeah love the sight glasd but not sure i need it. I just dump yeast after primary and have started racking from the 1.5" racking port. Leaves most junk behind. Cheers

 

[Blazinlow86]

I’m thinking that’s the next step for me. How low of a temp (with what as your ambient temp) can you get with the cooler/frozen soda bottles setup? My CF5 sits indoors in a room where thermostat is 68F - that’s my “temp control.” I brew indoor/outdoor in the garage then roll the CF5 inside. Don’t need a heater. I don’t have the legs or braces but I repurposed a little cart I had. I then made a cutout so the sight glass would fit. BTW, the sight glass is really fun (helpful maybe?) and worth it but then you do need the legs or set something up like I did.

Speaking of moving it, how are those of you who put it into an upright freezer getting it in there while it’s full? Or are you transferring wort into it from your BK somehow?
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I pump into my cf15 in the freezer. It's only a few feet away from my cfc output. Additionally the freezer is on wheels if I need to move it full. Cheers