Brew Bucket by SS Brewing Technologies

[Carlscan26]

My spiedel does this

Cool! So what did you use for the post to connect to?

 

[Jwin]

Pieced together at the hardware store
One tight fitting rubber washer, one steel washer (need stainless as seen in photo, but that was from the sanitizer, no contact with beer), and a compression nut.
Note the threads don't 100% match, but it works well enough to create a seal that holds the 2-3 psi needed to transfer.
When ever I place my next brewhardware order, I'm gonna ask Bobby_M if he has something that will fit. bet he does.

View attachment 1447642720380.jpg

 

[Carlscan26]

Thanks jwin

 

[Jwin]

Thanks jwin

Glad I could help.

 

[tallguybrewer]

I am about to finally graduate from a swamp cooler to better fermentation control. I would like to also incorporate a Brew Bucket at the same time.

Questions:

Has any moved from a fermentation chamber to the FTSS with a Brew Bucket? If so, was there any considerable change in your quality?

If I go the fermentation chamber route, does any know of a *current model* mini fridge that will hold a Brew Bucket (without many mods)? I would prefer a mini fridge to chest freezer mainly for loading and unloading purposes.

 

[jammin]

I am about to finally graduate from a swamp cooler to better fermentation control. I would like to also incorporate a Brew Bucket at the same time.

Questions:

Has any moved from a fermentation chamber to the FTSS with a Brew Bucket? If so, was there any considerable change in your quality?

If I go the fermentation chamber route, does any know of a *current model* mini fridge that will hold a Brew Bucket (without many mods)? I would prefer a mini fridge to chest freezer mainly for loading and unloading purposes.

i honestly cant understand the value in the FTSs and i don't think jockeying a full brew bucket in/out of a mini fridge is worse than a chest freezer. an upright, frost free freezer might be your golden ticket. i have an upright that i put on casters - it wheels over to the brew station easily so I can pump wort right into the fermentor without any lifting

- A used chest freezer on craiglist is max $100 (for decent capacity). you could stack brew buckets in an upright
- dual temp control (cool/heat) is like $75 depending which route you go.
- heating pad or light bulb setup is maybe $15.

So for easily less than $200 you have a system that is much more robust and can handle multiple brew buckets. It can also cold crash to freezing temps easily. Clean up/sanitation is not a factor in this system either.

Dont get me wrong, the FTSs is a cool gadget, but i just cant see the value or practicality in it.

 

[tallguybrewer]

I guess I should add...space is more of an issue than cost. I am really looking for a chamber that will fit a single carboy/brew bucket. I think the best I could hope for is the smallest mini-fridge that will hold the brew bucket.

 

[mjc999]

I have the ftss on their 7 gal conical. It works well to keep fermentation warm, although I had to buy the extensions to make it work properly (i.e. eliminate high temp differential). I think they should be standard. Cooler of water and a cheap aquarium heater is an easy setup. Unless you have a glycol chiller or similar, cooling is not practical. I've done it, but it is a royal pain. Same cooler, rotating in frozen gallon jugs of water. Lagering is out of the question.

If I had the space, I'd dump it in a heartbeat and build a fermentation chamber or use a chest freezer as discussed above.

So, I agree it is more gadgety than it is a truly useful brewing product.

Their fermenters are really nice tho'.

 

[Oldskewl]

I found one of the older Visanni wine coolers on Craigslist already modded with a stc-1000. The brew bucket fits in fine even with the LCD thermometer.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=351536

 

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

Got two brew bucket minis last night...boy were those things dirty! I did a TSP wash with an XL soft sponge, but I guess I didn't scrub hard enough. Cleaned them both, took a rag to them, black. So I mixed up another gallon of TSP solution and put some elbow grease into it. Especially at the crease and very bottom. Then I went through about 12 q-tips cleaning out the ball valves. I'm hoping I got everything, but I don't really know for sure. Filled to the top (3.5 gallons) with 3.5 ounces of star san and left for 20 minutes to passivate - air dried them. I am still pretty paranoid that I didn't get every last ounce of grease/oil out...especially inside the ball valve.

How far are you guys breaking down the ball valve to clean? On the Ss site, it says in the FAQ "You must break down the ball valve to clean everything prior to first use..." but they don't say how. I unscrewed the blue lever and the barbed tip, but couldn't get any farther than that. I'm a little nervous to take pliers to that white washer. Am I missing something?

One thing I will say about the Mini's...I really wish they had legs instead of this black rubber piece. I might even attach the rubber to the fermenter with some velcro or something. Anyone else have a mini? what do you guys think. Super excited to put mine to use!

EDIT: I came across this thread right after I posted this. Seems like I basically had it broken down as far as you could go, with the exception of the washer. Good info here about replacement o-rings that are much better than the ones sent. I just ordered some.

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

Got two brew bucket minis last night...boy were those things dirty! I did a TSP wash with an XL soft sponge, but I guess I didn't scrub hard enough. Cleaned them both, took a rag to them, black. So I mixed up another gallon of TSP solution and put some elbow grease into it. Especially at the crease and very bottom. Then I went through about 12 q-tips cleaning out the ball valves. I'm hoping I got everything, but I don't really know for sure. Filled to the top (3.5 gallons) with 3.5 ounces of star san and left for 20 minutes to passivate - air dried them. I am still pretty paranoid that I didn't get every last ounce of grease/oil out...especially inside the ball valve.

How far are you guys breaking down the ball valve to clean? On the Ss site, it says in the FAQ "You must break down the ball valve to clean everything prior to first use..." but they don't say how. I unscrewed the blue lever and the barbed tip, but couldn't get any farther than that. I'm a little nervous to take pliers to that white washer. Am I missing something?

One thing I will say about the Mini's...I really wish they had legs instead of this black rubber piece. I might even attach the rubber to the fermenter with some velcro or something. Anyone else have a mini? what do you guys think. Super excited to put mine to use!

EDIT: I came across this thread right after I posted this. Seems like I basically had it broken down as far as you could go, with the exception of the washer. Good info here about replacement o-rings that are much better than the ones sent. I just ordered some.

Definitely was a chore to clean... Was wondering about the breakdown of the ball valve too..... The last two beers I brewed I used my 7 Gal. conical SS Brewtech and they both turned out fantastic... just make sure to rotate the spigot clock-wise when transferring..

 

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

Well I guess I spoke too soon. Let my buckets air dry after star San soak, looked this morning, wiped, black oil. ****. I really went to town on those things with TSP yesterday and they seemed clean until now. Anyone have any recommendations? This is pissing me off.

Also, if I do another tsp wash with a cloth or sponge, will I need to passivate again after?

 

[Oldskewl]

Is the black residue on the inside or the outside? I did the tsp on the inside and outside of mine. Then did the starsan soak on the inside. The inside is fine. But after 2 weeks in the ferm chamber the outside is black and the legs are rusting. When I emptied last night, I used barkeepers friend on the outside. Looked like hell before I did. Looks new again now. We will see how long it lasts.

What size hose are you guys using to transfer the wort? I use a 3/8" hose. Even with a worm gear clamp I was still getting a lot of air in my line. Would 5/16" beer line work better?

 

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

It's on the inside. I did same as you, tsp on inside and outside (twice) and star San soak on inside.

 

[Oldskewl]

Mine was not that dirty. It could be oxidation from air drying. Or I could be wrong.

I would soak with star san if I cleaned again with tsp. You could try barkeepers friend. But be careful around the volume etchings as it could remove them.

 

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

Mine was not that dirty. It could be oxidation from air drying. Or I could be wrong.

I would soak with star san if I cleaned again with tsp. You could try barkeepers friend. But be careful around the volume etchings as it could remove them.

Can anyone else confirm that leaving my bucket to air dry after starsan soak would leave a black residue?

 

[Rev2010]

What size hose are you guys using to transfer the wort? I use a 3/8" hose. Even with a worm gear clamp I was still getting a lot of air in my line. Would 5/16" beer line work better?

I have this issue too. I kegged the first beer I fermented in it using 3/8" silicone tubing which I had to hold in place with my hand as I could tell it wasn't snug enough. Been wondering what tubing to try now, was thinking 1/4" but not sure if that little bit difference will be snug enough. I had air in the tubing glugging away for the first few seconds until it backed and filled with beer. Thanks for reminding me of this as I have a Belgian Wit fermenting in there now and want to have the right tubing before it's done fermenting in a few weeks.

As for the black color when cleaning... oddly I didn't get much of it at all and am hoping I cleaned it well enough. I used TSP and the scrub side of a regular sponge (non scratching) to clean it out first, then I did the passivation. On none of my three fermenters was there anything other than some very light hints of the black in the paper towels I dried with. There was some black visible on a spot or two of the lids and that rubbed off easily. And for my first fermenter I also filled it to the rim and used a crap ton of TSP and let it sit and soak first for 20 minutes before dumping and cleaning. I didn't see the need to very roughly or aggressively scrub the hell out of the smooth stainless.

The first beer I fermented in it tastes fine though.


Rev.

 

[StrainedSky]

One thing I will say about the Mini's...I really wish they had legs instead of this black rubber piece. I might even attach the rubber to the fermenter with some velcro or something. Anyone else have a mini? what do you guys think. Super excited to put mine to use!

EDIT: I came across this thread right after I posted this. Seems like I basically had it broken down as far as you could go, with the exception of the washer. Good info here about replacement o-rings that are much better than the ones sent. I just ordered some.

I also got a mini for Christmas, the rubber base is just awful. Wish they would have added legs to it

 

[Vesteroid]

I have a tip for cleaning ball valves of cutting oils. I use a product designed for coffee machines called cafiza. I mix up a batch in hot water and soak the parts I want to strip in there. It works awesome in one pass.

 

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

For anyone having trouble with grey substance coming off after TSP washes...I spoke with someone at Ss and he said that once in a while, someone can't get it all off with TSP. In that case, he reccommends using rubbing alcohol (isopropenol). I just tried it and got a ton of gunk off, did the lids as well. After about 30 minutes and a lot of paper towels, I'm not seeing any more grey/black coming off. I think I finally have them clean!

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

Well I guess I spoke too soon. Let my buckets air dry after star San soak, looked this morning, wiped, black oil. ****. I really went to town on those things with TSP yesterday and they seemed clean until now. Anyone have any recommendations? This is pissing me off.

Also, if I do another tsp wash with a cloth or sponge, will I need to passivate again after?

I had to wash mine several times with tsp before I could use it... on the final wash I tried a Gleen (microfiber) cloth to help wipe the inside of the bucket and it seemed to get the rest of the black marks out. If I had to purchase over again, I think I would spend the extra $ and go with the 7 gal. chronical because of the TC fittings.

 

[Spartan1979]

For anyone having trouble with grey substance coming off after TSP washes...I spoke with someone at Ss and he said that once in a while, someone can't get it all off with TSP. In that case, he reccommends using rubbing alcohol (isopropenol). I just tried it and got a ton of gunk off, did the lids as well. After about 30 minutes and a lot of paper towels, I'm not seeing any more grey/black coming off. I think I finally have them clean!

That's a good tip. I cleaned mine with Bar Keepers Friend and that did the trick too. Alcohol is probably better.

 

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

So I have a couple minis and I did my first brew with one last night. Anyone have any tips/advice on aerating in this thing? I put the stopper in, which I wrapped in sanitized tin foil to cover the hole. I did my best to shake it for 5 minutes but it wasn't easy. I don't have the ability to pump in O2 yet. What do you guys do?

 

[Rev2010]

I don't have the ability to pump in O2 yet. What do you guys do?

I pump in O2 I have one of those $50 oxygenation kits from NB and use those disposable O2 cans from the local ACE or Home Depot. Since you have the mini it should be pretty easy to shake aerate. What was the issue you were having? Was the stopper popping out or something? You can also use a strainer to assist in adding aeration. I use a double mesh strainer, but to strain out hops and trub from the beer, but it sure does create a foam layer.


Rev.

 

[Foosier]

So I have a couple minis and I did my first brew with one last night. Anyone have any tips/advice on aerating in this thing? I put the stopper in, which I wrapped in sanitized tin foil to cover the hole. I did my best to shake it for 5 minutes but it wasn't easy. I don't have the ability to pump in O2 yet. What do you guys do?

An O2 system would work. If you want to go cheap though, get a big restaurant whisk and whisk the cooled wort vigorously before you transfer into the fermenter. It works like a champ. There is no reason you have to aerate it in the fermenter, it is just a bit easier.

 

[normonster]

I use the little kit from Morebeer that pumps in filtered air. Bout 30 minutes for a 5 gallon batch and it seems to work great (though it makes a lot of foam).

The wand part also fits perfectly through the airlock port of my SS buckets.

 

[Lazer Wolf Brewing]

I pump in O2 I have one of those $50 oxygenation kits from NB and use those disposable O2 cans from the local ACE or Home Depot. Since you have the mini it should be pretty easy to shake aerate. What was the issue you were having? Was the stopper popping out or something? You can also use a strainer to assist in adding aeration. I use a double mesh strainer, but to strain out hops and trub from the beer, but it sure does create a foam layer.


Rev.

Yeah, the stopper kept either wanting to pop out, or seemed like it could fall in as well. I was able to shake it pretty well, but this was my first brew in history and I'm being paranoid. Thanks guys, will look into the Oxygen route probably, depending on how this batch does.

Also, pretty pissed, I think i have a small leak. I'm seeing a small amount or wort in my ferm chamber...damn inside nut. Even replaced the o-ring to a better one, wonder if I went too tight or not tight enough!

 

[Rev2010]

I'm seeing a small amount or wort in my ferm chamber...damn inside nut. Even replaced the o-ring to a better one, wonder if I went too tight or not tight enough!

Sorry to hear that. Did you fill it with sanitizer first to sanitize and check for any possible leaks? I only have one fully completed batch and two batches currently going at 16 and 9 days respectively and none have leaked at all. The first batch I used their included o-rings and the other two got immediate upgrades to the thicker 2.4mmx15.8mm o-rings at theoringstore.com. I still only hand tighten the nuts but I apply more force than I could with the included o-rings which easily warped out.


Rev.

 

[augiedoggy]

So I have a couple minis and I did my first brew with one last night. Anyone have any tips/advice on aerating in this thing? I put the stopper in, which I wrapped in sanitized tin foil to cover the hole. I did my best to shake it for 5 minutes but it wasn't easy. I don't have the ability to pump in O2 yet. What do you guys do?

If you want to kill two birds with one stone and think you might some day have a use for it, spend $60 on this torch/ welder kit from the home depot http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-OX2550KC-Oxy-Map-Pro-Torch-Kit-331673/203391033
and you get a nice little torch plus the oxygen tank and regulator will work with any 2 or 5 mircon beer air stone ... you just need the tubing and stone... (metal tubing is not really needed for anything)
I actually bought an airstone mounted in a 1/2" cap and plumbed it into a tee from my chiller to my fermenter and used this kit for the rest...

 

[sportpak]

Has anyone used the 3.5 gallon mini bucket yet? I am a small batch guy and the conical bottom and valve have me considering it.
I have some concerns about the silicon rubber base that it sits on. Being that it appears to just sit on it, how is moving it while full going to be?