Spike Flex Plus Owners

Searched and didn’t find any recent threads. Anyone with a flex plus wish they would have gone with a conical instead? Any other thoughts after putting some brews through it?

 

I assume he means a conical with a yeast dump on the bottom. Like the CF5 or a chronical, I know I have been on the fence with that decision.

 

I was debating on the same thing . By the time I added the accessories to it was not much cheaper then the cf5 . I've been very happy with my decision to go with the cf5 .

 

Exactly my thoughts. CF5 costs more at the base price but this includes lots of things the flex doesn’t.

 

I just picked up a flex plus. I have a Hefeweizen fermenting in it right now. I don't harvest yeast so a dump wasn't a big thing for me so I decided on the F+. I have to say I love it though. It is my first use so I have to see if where I set the pickup angle is good, but outside of that I have no complaints so far. I bought the TC100 heating/cooling kit and a clear cap for when not using cooling just to be able to get eyes on. Going to order the pressure manifold and transfer kit as well.

 

I was on the fence between the two, but the crazy sale yesterday (25% off) pushed me squarely in the Flex Plus camp. It arrives tomorrow, it will be a fantastic upgrade from Speidels (which have been great but I've had them for years and the plastic is starting to get iffy). I figured it wasn't worth the price differential for the ability to dump trub, and my biggest goal is to be able to safely and easily pressure transfer, which I shouldn't have any issues doing with the flex plus. The only issue now is upgrading from a 3.5 cubic ft. chest freezer to a glycol/aquarium pump chilling system. I suppose I'll have to keep lagering in the Speidels until then.

 

i just ordered + yesterday.(sale got me too)
i the gas manifold with gauge, pressure transfer kit, and thermowell.
i measured and this WILL fit in my chest freezer so i decided against the temp control.
Super excited to get a beer in it. I bought the SS 1V and am going to use that as an ebiab.
I've never done closed transfers before and am excited to get back to brewing incorporating modern practices and equipment. byebye 3 vessel brewing and oxidation!
Anyone hear if spike is gonna release some kind of dry hopper? does one already exist for the 4" tc?

 

I ordered a Flex+ from High Gravity Brew when they had the sale up last Wednesday and also ordered one from Spike yesterday morning. The one from Spike just got delivered today (only an hour away from them). Looking forward to getting it out when I get home. High Gravity Brew emailed that they are waiting to hear back from Spike about how they will be fulfilling orders through retailers.

 

Mine hasn't arrived yet- guys- post pics of yours to hold me over! Lol

 

Here's the first one I got from Spike. Still need to get it cleaned and will be using it Saturday morning for a Bell's Official brew.

 

I'm 50/50 on that. I have a Spike Flex Plus, and the difference in price between what I have and the CF5 outfitted the same way is about $163. I think if it weren't for the Black Friday sale they had, I may have just ponied up the extra money for the CF5.

What I was really wanting/hoping for was the CFs also being discounted. I've been wanting the CF10 so that when I do a 10G brew, I don't have to use two 6G fermonsters for it.

The Black Friday sale was only on the Flexes, so I bit the bullet. I have a Zombie Dust (sort of) clone fermenting in it now. I went with a big hopped beer to see how racking from this thing is going to turn out.

Here's a couple of pics of it.

 

So I came across my first brew with the Flex Plus that I wish I had a dump. I'm moving an IPA to secondary so I can add puree and dry hop and don't want the yeast bed. I went to buy another Flex Plus from my LHBS, but they only had CF5's so I bought one of those so now have 1 of each. I think they both have their benefits and with the CF5 coming with the thermowell, a stat, dump valve and sample port a flex plus is going to be similar in cost by the time you add those accessories.

 

If you're gonna go glycol then I personally would go CF5. I didn't wanna get into that expense and complexity and the plus offers everything other than yeast dump

 

I just ordered a flex with long extension legs and plan on having a 1.5” tc welded to the bottom of the cone to add a dump valve to it. This way is considerably cheaper than the cf5. The tc fitting was only a few dollars. My brother is a welder and is gonna slap it on for free, but I think it wouldn’t be too expensive to get done at a shop. I know that this is kinda a waste of time and effort for some, but for me, the additional cost for the cf5 is enough for me to find a cheaper route for what I want. Right now I’ve got about $350 invested into the flex and parts and will add another $75 for valves and fittings, but as I see it I’m still ahead versus buying a cf5. Also, I can completely disassemble the flex and store everything inside for a smaller footprint.

 

Myself, I think the extra cost of the CF5 would be worth it if you're wanting a dump valve. The other bonus is the dedicated ports you also get for temp gauge and sample valve. With the Flex Plus, you only have one port to swap between the two.

I'd love to see pics of your modified Flex Plus when you get done.

 

I agree having the dump valve is the whole purpose of a conical bottom and is the benefit of a conical to be able to use it for primary and secondary without transferring.. When I look at the flex I think SS brewbucket... a space saving compromise for those who want stainless more than the ability to improve the process and beer without transferring. Just my 2 cents though... I think anyone on the fence should talk to a brewer at their local brewery and ask them which they think is superior and why because its would be a unanimous recommendation for the CF series.. If cost is that big of a concern personally I would take a plastic conical with a dump valve over a stainless bucket but again that just me and I realize due to fermenter chamber size and other variances between setups its not the same situation for everyone.

 

Exactly. As noted, there was only a $163 difference between the Plus and CF5 after outfitting them with some of the same extras. The Black Friday sale made the Plus almost half the cost of the CF5.

As for the plastic conical vs stainless bucket....I'd rather have the bucket. I've yet to own a fermentation vessel with a dump valve, so that's not a loss for me.

 

Understood but just because you dont know what your missing doesnt mean you arent still missing out on the advantages of having them...

 

Yeah, I get what you're saying and agree. Case in point is triclover ports. The Plus is the first thing I've bought with them and I was impressed with how easy it was to breakdown, clean, and reassemble. It's made me want the CF10 that much more and, in some ways, make me look at a kettle upgrade on down the road.

I'm on my first batch in the Plus, so I'm sure the more I use it the more I'm gonna see it's advantages and disadvantages.

 

Just kegged the IPA I had in it. Holy s##t did that sample smell/taste awesome! Pressure transfer was a breeze with the parts I got from Bobby M. I bought a 1.5" triclamp/MFL thread attachment and a 1.5 triclamp gas post.

Because I ordered the sample port later, I had to clamp it to where the butterfly valve was. I then opened the sample valve and drained the fermenter enough to where the beer cleared. Then, filled up my hydro jar for a gravity sample. Then I transferred to my keg. The 4" transparent cap made it easy to gauge how much beer I had going into the keg, so I didn't overfill.

Got this IPA carbing up. I can't wait until the weekend. I'm so pumped!!!

 

As long as you're aware that all you've added is a center drain valve and you won't be able do dump anything during fermentation then yes, it's definitely a bargain.

 

I got a flex when they first came out and got a flex plus at the 20% sale. I top crop yeast so the dump is not important to me. what is important is clarity. I can cold crash the flex/flex+ in my fridge I drain into a mason jar to find clear beer I then use that position to transfer to bottling bucket

 

I really dont want to be the negative Nancy here. But For discussions sake about the above statement. Being able to remove the dead yeast and trub for clearer beer (and removing the likely hood of autolysis for a cleaner flavor) is the main point of a true conical bottom though, not necessarily harvesting yeast. Also the deeper conical bottoms reduce the surface area of dead or dorment yeast in contact with the beer at any given time during fermentation. I am not saying you cant make great beer with the flex or its counterparts like the chapman, brewbucket and avil fermenter, Just that theres more to the advantages of a conical fermenter than collecting yeast for reuse and thats why breweries use them and also why most of spikes more expensive options are them...

The flex is honestly a miniture version of what would normally be sold as a brite tank in the nano or brewery equipment world... I have 3- 3bbl stainless versions of the virtually the exact same thing at the brewpub but we do our fermentation in a plastic conical first because of the reasons I just mentioned..

 

If functionality vs cost is a factor you had other options like this which would have actually saved you money...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Conical-Fe...hash=item4b6d9898b8:m:mXWMT0wuMz7WVRYx9vT6HSw

As vale71 pointed out the dished bottom on the flex is much to shallow to work as a conical with a dump valve added... The trub and yeast will just sit there around the small hole you will punch through it when you drain from the dump your considering spending considerable time to weld on. I would not bother with the port at this point unless you just want it for cleaning.

 

I brew belgians and the monks seem to do okay with horizontal fermentors. The flex allows one to leave the trub in the fermentor easily making for clear beer. Autolysis isn't really a thing for 5 gallon batches in my mind

is the cf5 an upgrade, of course. Now you just got wondering if people in key west need heated seats

 

Depends on the style of beer and what your after. The monks also sometimes do open fermentation but they dont do it with every style.. that type of fermenter has limitations. The brewery in Belgium I visited used conicals.

 

true I mean Chimay switched to conicals and now are believed to have a decrease in quality

 

I never toured chimay (although I did bring some home a few years back and compared it with locally obtained chimay along with other brands and found the stuff that makes its way to the states through proper channels is pretty skunky from the 6 week average in hot storage containers on the ocean so many in the states dont realize what it supposed to taste like anyway.)

I realize your just trying to argue a point here but again that style of beer and those results are not typical or relevant to this discussion as the results would not likely be any different with the flex vs using a conical and not dumping right? Are the monks using pressurized fermenters? BTW thanks for this comment because you reinforced what I was trying to say about a fermenter having an effect on the beer it produces depending on how they are used and limitations..
In this case the flex is limited to being the same as the cf5 being compared in functionality if the dump valve is not used but at the same time gives advantages on beer styles such as IPAs or lagers where one would certainly want to use it. Ironically the cf5 is MORE flexible that the flex as far as options and flexibility of use short of size when used in a size limiting chamber.

This lack of a functional conical drain bottom is due to size and price constrictions here they were not excluded for any other reason related to the quality of the beer made. The flex is literally a mini brite tank by design (only those also have center drains) giving it advantages over other bucket style fermenters that wont hold pressure but disadvantages against the more expensive stainless or cheaper plastic dedicated fermenters spike or others sells that should be discussed good or bad for people to compare.

... Im sure their sours would taste different too if they stopped using open attic coolship type fermenters... I doubt there are a lot of folks reading this thread that are exclusively brewing one of these unique styles that any change after centuries would be considered negative regardless but point made... I guess im referring to the vast majority of the beer styles were brewers want cleaner fermentation and beer. I bet many of the brewers using these are even taking steps to keep the trub out of the beer not realizing that with a conical and dump valve a person could wait for it to settle to the bottom of the conical and easily dump it all from the bottom an hour after its been filled. Lastly, My comments here are for the folks reading and comparing. Those trying to decide and weighing a conical vs a bucket style. not for those who already made their decision. In hindsight I normally know better than to discuss things like this in a thread intended for owners despite it being the first place potential buyers would look for feedback. There are two similar threads going on and To be honest I didnt pay much attention to which was which since the same conversation more or less was going on in both but I would have otherwise been more and cautious. Sorry if this comparision or information is bothering anyone who doesnt want to hear it. I will refrain from derailing the thread any further than I apparently already have.

I didnt mean to be "that guy" who brings beer to the party only serving hard seltzer and bud here..

 

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I open ferment s

no worries

I have no use for yeast dumping. You see. To believe it is the end all be all to fermentation. I have no idea what you brew. I brew Trappists. Mostly Tripels. They sit on the yeast for 3 weeks and cold crash on the yeast for another 2. They do reasonably well in competitions. And most importantly I like them

The flex and flex plus work great for me. However the CF5 is a great fermentor. But to do what I can do with a flex would require a glycol chiller that I didn’t have to worry about my dogs getting into, and more space

 

I reviewed the flex+ on spikes site and mentioned that the clear 4" lid doesn't seal. A few days later Spike emailed me and had already shipped me a new style gasket made of a different material that they say solves the issue. This is without a formal complaint or email on my part.
That is EXCELLENT customer service imo.

 

How did you verify that the clear lid wasn't sealing? Were you able to check it by spraying it down with StarSan and visibly seeing a leak? I'm curious if I'm having this issue as well. I have a Sculpin clone in one of my Flex+ with the clear lid. Checked gravity on Thursday and it was around 5 points of expected final gravity. Put my dry hops in and spunding valve still attached and increased temp to 72F to help it finish out and clean up. Not seeing any pressure on the gas manifold now 4 days later. Going to try giving it 2-4PSI CO2 today after work to see if it holds pressure at the set temperature.

 

Mine only holds to about 5psi with the clear lid as well. Used it with both a silicone and buna gasket with same results. Metal lid seals fine, but on the clear lid I can see air bubbles pushing between the gasket and the clear lid. To get it to hold 5 I had to use a lot of keg lube and really play with the clamp to find the optimal clamping pressure. I'll contact them about their newer gasket and see if that helps.

 

I am on my second batch using the base model flex with a glass cap. I used a 3-piece airlock on the first and an S on the second. I never saw a bubble in the first and so far have not seen one on the second, either. Looks like I need the newer gasket as well.

There is no real risk to my beer under this scenario, is there? I've not tried a pressurized transfer nor much of anything else so far.

 

I've only done one batch, but didn't notice anything suspicious. Mine is the Plus, but I didn't do a pressurized fermentation or use my spunding valve. I did have activity with the blow-off hose, so who knows.

I thought about filling mine with about 5-6 gallons of water, hit it with about 10psi of co2 and see if it there's any leaking around the clear cap. 15psi is the limit and if nothing is happening below 5psi, then maybe 10 is the magic number. Thoughts?

 

You should be ok. You're going to have more positive pressure during the active part of fermentation anyway, so nothing should be going into the fermenter.

 

Thanks. I transferred the first batch to a keg for spunding, and it came out pretty good, so I wasn't too worried about it. I am just glad to know where the leak is likely to be. I've already reached out to Spike.

 

I was able to observe a leak through the top of one of my Flex+ and clear cap combinations. Pressurized it to around 3PSI today while home for lunch and it was at 0 when I got home about 5 hours later. Emailed Spike with a picture of the leak location to see if they have a recommendation.