Temp Controlling a Conical Fermenter

[Morrey]

I see a new Blichmann 14G SS Conical Fermenter with leg extensions on Craigslist near me for a very attractive price. I am currently using plastic fermenter pails inside my chest freezers which are temp controlled.

My brew cave is enclosed but not heated or cooled. My concerns are obviously keeping good fermentation temps, so how would I approach keeping temps controlled? A second and probably most important question is the cost of this control.

 

[Bensiff]

Fab up a cooling coil to wrap around the outside and then insulate. Or you could mount a cooling coil to the lid and immerse it in the beer. Either way you would need a means of supplying coolant to the line. You can maintain a cooler with ice water, its a pain but it works until you have the time/money to rig up or buy a glycol system. Or you can buy a refrigerator/freezer large enough to house the conical and do it the ambient way you are already doing.

 

[augiedoggy]

The deisgn of the legs on the blichmann make it tough to cool with a jacket or wrap. Keep in mind the blichmann design is not really a sanitary one because of weldless fittings they use that should be removed and cleaned before each use... For what they normally cost new most other stainless conicals are a better choice these days. I know it's being sold used on Craigslist but it's still stuff to keep in mind. Especially if the price they are asking is still on par with something like an SS brewing or stout conical which most would say use better fittings.

 

[Morrey]

The deisgn of the legs on the blichmann make it tough to cool with a jacket or wrap. Keep in mind the blichmann design is not really a sanitary one because of weldless fittings they use that should be removed and cleaned before each use... For what they normally cost new most other stainless conicals are a better choice these days. I know it's being sold used on Craigslist but it's still stuff to keep in mind. Especially if the price they are asking is still on par with something like an SS brewing or stout conical which most would say use better fittings.

Having produced 50+ AG brews in 6.8G plastic pails and Speidels is effective, but strikes me as something I'd like to upgrade. SS conicals are not mandatory but seem nice to have....maybe eye candy in a way.

I understand your point in that just because I may save some money on a Blichmann conical on CL, this may not be the best expenditure in the long run. My friend has a craft brewery of 8.5 barrels, and he has all the bling, pumps, valves, glycol cooling....and on and on. It all sparkles and I envy that setup. However, and please don't take this a being boastful, I can make pretty darn good beer in my lowly plastic fermenters. Plus I have all the temp controllers and freezers and know how this system works in my sleep.

If I am going to run into major $$$ buying all the temp stabilization gear and additional associated equipment, I think I am talking myself out of this purchase already. I am making a list of the pros and cons now, and your post helps me in my final decision.

 

[BarleyPopBrewer]

Have you looked at retrofitting one of the SS brewing coils and temp controllers?

 

[Dolomieu]

I use an upright freezer with a myheat heater. Used freezer was 125 and the myheat 15ish. I have a brewpi controlling them both. It's worked out very well with my 14gal SS brewtech conical.

 

[stevehaun]

I use a 40 gallon stout conical in an upright freezer with Johnson controller. I brew primarily lagers and it works great.

 

[augiedoggy]

I use 3 stainless conicals myself I have had very good luck with my 12.5 gallons stout conical.. they are about $425 shipped and are the same diameter as a carboy so the coolzone cooling jacket for a carboy fits them perfectly allowing easy hookups to a chiller solution. I use inexpensive 24v flexible heating strips attached to each and I control the temps with stc1000s
I completely know what you mean about not needed fancy equipment.. what I was really trying to say is though, As far as stainless conicals the worst one you can buy from a standpoint of having the least amount of benefits for being a stainless conical, is the blichmann. It's made well in the USA and all but it's has these silly cheesy weldless fitting because actually having sanitary fittings welded onto it like all the other stainless conicals would apparently raise the cost too much for blichmann to make its profit margin.
So being that it's extremely expensive and the valves and valve fitting/mounting solution is inferior to even the $300 moonshine distillers and no name conicals I just think it's not a good choice once you do a side by side comparison to pretty much anything else being sold these days in stainless.

This is why dispite all the blichmann users on the forum there really isn't a lot of people talking about the blichmann conicals.
I'm sorry if this upsets anyone who owns one but I tried to sugarcoat it in my first response and the point just didn't get through.
A stainless conical is much easier to use and does have some nice benefits, bling aside.

 

[Morrey]

I use 3 stainless conicals myself I have had very good luck with my 12.5 gallons stout conical.. they are about $425 shipped and are the same diameter as a carboy so the coolzone cooling jacket for a carboy fits them perfectly allowing easy hookups to a chiller solution. I use inexpensive 24v flexible heating strips attached to each and I control the temps with stc1000s
I completely know what you mean about not needed fancy equipment.. what I was really trying to say is though, As far as stainless conicals the worst one you can buy from a standpoint of having the least amount of benefits for being a stainless conical, is the blichmann. It's made well in the USA and all but it's has these silly cheesy weldless fitting because actually having sanitary fittings welded onto it like all the other stainless conicals would apparently raise the cost too much for blichmann to make its profit margin.
So being that it's extremely expensive and the valves and valve fitting/mounting solution is inferior to even the $300 moonshine distillers and no name conicals I just think it's not a good choice once you do a side by side comparison to pretty much anything else being sold these days in stainless.

This is why dispite all the blichmann users on the forum there really isn't a lot of people talking about the blichmann conicals.
I'm sorry if this upsets anyone who owns one but I tried to sugarcoat it in my first response and the point just didn't get through.
A stainless conical is much easier to use and does have some nice benefits, bling aside.

Yes, you made a good point. And while Blichmann does make a nice kettle, that alone does not mean their conicals are the best nor the best value out there as you point out. I don't hear the name Blichmann often regarding conicals, now I understand why.

I still think I want a SS fermenter since plastic ones like I am using including Speidel, simply are not of the quality or durability I want in the long run. I like thermowell's for temp probes, so maybe I can find a SS fermenter already thermowell ready. If not, I can drill with a step bit.

If I had a SS conical, it seems as one of the allures is being able to remove the yeast cake w/o much muss or fuss. If I simply set this conical down into a chest freezer as I am doing now, the bottom valves may be difficult to get to w/o removing the fermenter from the freezer. Seems this may work better in a cooling unit with a front door which I don't have.

I'm just trying to get my head around the best way to work this out with what I am working with now.

 

[Huds]

I just picked up a half barrel fermenter from SsBT.

Funny how the progression of a homebrewer advances exponentional and so do the investments.

With that said, outside of switching to all grain I firmly believe there is no better investment then a conical. If you can afford the upgrades to fully utilized its capabilities your beer will be better than any distributed beer.

I bought the FtSs for my .5Bbl. The heater holds it at 68 even when the ambient is near freezing. That was surprising to me for such a small contact area (50% of the cone) that it would hold at ferm temp.

Haven't had to use the cooling side but that needs no proof of any sort.

I would buy the FtSs kit for cooling and retrofit it. They sell the bits and it should be easy.

 

[atoughram]

I use an upright freezer with a myheat heater. Used freezer was 125 and the myheat 15ish. I have a brewpi controlling them both. It's worked out very well with my 14gal SS brewtech conical.

X2

My no-bling plastic conical stays withing a half a degree during fermentation with basically the same setup.