Closed transfer from Fermonster/Big Mouth Bubblers

I got so spoiled with closed transfers to keg from the carboy/better bottle with Sterile Siphon Starter - so easy and painless.

Has anyone developed a hack for using Sterile Siphon Starter for closed transfer to kegs with wider mouth fermenters - like Fermonster (particular interest since I own one) or Big Mouth Bubbler?

(By the way, fermented in a bucket recently and what a pain for transferring - ended up using siphon as the bucket faucet was just around the trub line - and because it was so difficult to figure out where trub/hops are, ended up getting quite a bit of it into the keg. And it took forever, potentially oxidizing beer a bit. May need second transfer. I never understood why people like to ferment in buckets so much)

55x11 said:

I got so spoiled with closed transfers to keg from the carboy/better bottle with Sterile Siphon Starter - so easy and painless.[...]

Click to expand...

fwiw, that's actually not a closed transfer, and other than removing the filter and plumbing in CO2, there's no way to effect a closed transfer with that device.

While the beer is siphoning out, oxygen is entering the fermentor to back-fill the void.
Game over...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

fwiw, that's actually not a closed transfer, and other than removing the filter and plumbing in CO2, there's no way to effect a closed transfer with that device.

While the beer is siphoning out, oxygen is entering the fermentor to back-fill the void.
Game over...

Cheers!

Click to expand...

it is if you push it with a few psi of CO2.

regardless, this is probably overkill, since beer will have a few minutes of contact with oxygen that is entering - and it won't have much chance to dissolve in the beer, that takes days. So it is "closed" transfer for all practical purposes as well.

I guess I could always use a regular auto-siphon attached to ball-lock fitting and transfer that way, but I thought someone has found a hack?

I think big mouth babbler has a two-hole cap so can CO2 can go into one hole and siphon goes into another (both with stoppers)? Anything similar for Fermonster? Do I drill another hole in a stopper to get CO2 in?

This guy came up with something;

http://www.3683brewing.com/closed-transfer-system/

55x11 said:

this is probably overkill, since beer will have a few minutes of contact with oxygen that is entering - and it won't have much chance to dissolve in the beer, that takes days.

Click to expand...

How did you determine this? It's completely wrong! Even deaerated water sitting stilll will uptake several ppm of O2 in much less than an hour.

How big is the lid of the fermenter? There should be room to drill a hole and mount a stopper for the racking post to go in and a MFL to barb fitting for CO2 in.

jddevinn said:

How did you determine this? It's completely wrong! Even deaerated water sitting stilll will uptake several ppm of O2 in much less than an hour.

How big is the lid of the fermenter? There should be room to drill a hole and mount a stopper for the racking post to go in and a MFL to barb fitting for CO2 in.

Click to expand...

Ok, I am with you on this, after thinking a little about it. I guess we measure CO2 in volumes, but O2 in ppm, which is a million times or so difference in units. So yes, probably some oxygen will diffuse in, at ppm levels, even during 10-minute transfer.

I think I am going to drill a hole in a stopper, so I can apply CO2 through it, to push beer out with auto siphon. I don't want to drill a hole in the plastic carboy cap, but that's another option (I would have to make it big enough for a stopper, or else I need a dedicated lid for transfers which defeats the whole point of closed transfer.

55x11 said:

Ok, I am with you on this, after thinking a little about it. I guess we measure CO2 in volumes, but O2 in ppm, which is a million times or so difference in units. So yes, probably some oxygen will diffuse in, at ppm levels, even during 10-minute transfer.

I think I am going to drill a hole in a stopper, so I can apply CO2 through it, to push beer out with auto siphon. I don't want to drill a hole in the plastic carboy cap, but that's another option (I would have to make it big enough for a stopper, or else I need a dedicated lid for transfers which defeats the whole point of closed transfer.

Click to expand...

So I think I was right to be paranoid and always (well, almost - lately anyways) use CO2 to push my beer out to kegs.

It motivated me to take one of the #10 stoppers lying around, drill two holes, took about 5 minutes - even though I think I have read numerous HBT posts how it won't work drilling holes in rubber - it works just fine. I can use steel carbonater cap and a steel siphon (from Sterile Siphon Starter kit).

I tested in a mock CO2 pushed transfer and it worked great. My fermonster is busy fermenting Oatmeal Stout right now, but I am confident it will work just as well.

In case anyone is wondering.

I have a couple BMB's that are siphonless, i.e., they have spigots on them.

I cut off the top of an s-shaped airlock, which allows me to fit tubing over it. The other end of the tubing goes to my CO2 regulator. I can turn on a couple PSI and send CO2 into the BMB as I siphon out the bottom. I've tried pressure transfers but I have the universal BMB lid, and it tends to pop off. I'm more concerned with replacing the beer w/ CO2 as it leaves the BMB so as to minimize O2 exposure.

I like it. Be careful of bubbles in the racking arm and line connection. Almost 2/3 or my racking time ends up being placing worm clamps on hoses that MAY leak!

My paranoid-ness would make another cap for the (i assume secondary) (why are you secondarying?) that has just room for the tube in and an out that goes underneath a sanitizer batch.

jddevinn said:

I like it. Be careful of bubbles in the racking arm and line connection. Almost 2/3 or my racking time ends up being placing worm clamps on hoses that MAY leak!

My paranoid-ness would make another cap for the (i assume secondary) (why are you secondarying?) that has just room for the tube in and an out that goes underneath a sanitizer batch.

Click to expand...

this wasn't secondary. This was just a test.
I just filled a better bottle with some liquid and tried to see if I can transfer it into another vessel (in this case some water bottle) with CO2 - but normally it would be from fermentor - Better Bottle, Fermonster, anything that takes #10 stopper - to a keg, and I think it should work just fine.

55x11 said:

this wasn't secondary. This was just a test.
I just filled a better bottle with some liquid and tried to see if I can transfer it into another vessel (in this case some water bottle) with CO2 - but normally it would be from fermentor - Better Bottle, Fermonster, anything that takes #10 stopper - to a keg, and I think it should work just fine.

Click to expand...

ah, the "beer color" made me think it was actually a beer

I just came up with an easy solution.

I mostly use pet carboys to ferment. Then I rack off with Co2 and a sterile siphon rig from Morebeer into a corny. Recently at my LHBS I picked up a 6 gallon Fermonster for ease of cleaning. I used it for an IPA and it was great but I couldn't transfer using my method and had to go back to the old auto siphon. The auto siphon method is fine but I prefer to use co2. I was considering buying a blank lid and making holes in there, one for co2 in and one for beer out via racking cane with some small universal bungs. I couldn't get the blank lid locally. So I was going to get crazy and thread a 1-1/2" pvc male adapter through the existing hole. Then I realized I could put the large carboy cap right over a medium universal bung and it fit nicely. You may need to use a screw driver to get it in there nice and snug. So then I needed to find a way to get air into the vessleI drilled a 3/8" hole in the bottom of the bung beside the center hole. I positioned the air hole under the second tube off of the carboy cap, filled my Fermonster with water. Then I stuck the bung in the hole with the sterile siphon installed. I blew into the tube and the water began to flow out of the hose just like it was attached to a carboy. Here are a few pictures for anyone interested.
Happy Brewing!
http://imgur.com/a/hCMn0

What a great idea!

Adapting these ideas to my spigotted Fermonster couldn't be easier. I just took my carbonator cap, put a 2" piece of 1/4" ID tubing on it, and jammed in the hole of the #10 stopper where I would otherwise have an airlock. I have the ported version, so I should be able to give it a couple PSI, open the spout, and drain without air sucking back in.

I'm in the same boat...I have a 7 gallon Fermonster and wish to do closed transfers.

At first I figured I could just use the spigot and be done with it but reading this it appears that logic is faulty since O2 will replace the beer as it pours out right?

Then my next thought would be a solid cap and spigot but my slight recollection of physics tells me that might be a problem too.

So since I have the standard Fermonster lid with hole and the universal medium bung, I just need a way to hook up C02 to the bung? If that's the case, couldn't I just put a tube straight in the hole? What's the purpose of the carbonator cap?

seanthanna said:

So since I have the standard Fermonster lid with hole and the universal medium bung, I just need a way to hook up C02 to the bung? If that's the case, couldn't I just put a tube straight in the hole? What's the purpose of the carbonator cap?

Click to expand...

Yeah I think that would work.

The carb cap just lets me avoid disassembling the gas line. I just switch the qd from my keg to the carb cap.

And i put a tube on the other end just because it makes a tighter seal in the stopper than the naked nipple in the carb cap.

I havent tried this beyond dry fitting the peices together, but it seems likely to work.

Before I started feeding the displaced CO2 from the receiving keg back into the fermenter, I tried using CO2 from a tank/regulator to be the "makeup air."

On the fermenters with a sealed lid, the pressure would pop off the lid--and this is on a bigmouthbubbler w/ the universal lid, the one that just fits down into the mouth of the fermenter. On a fermonster, the lid is screwed on; you'll build up pressure until something gives. Presumably it would be the stopper, which would pop off the lid with a fair amount of force.

You could mitigate this by leaving the fermonster lid on loosely so excess CO2 could escape through through the threads of the lid.

FYI: I also had hopes that slightly pressurizing the BMB would increase the transfer speed of the beer into the keg. I wasn't able to notice much difference, and the lid would keep popping off. I thought about tying the lid down so it wouldn't do that, but if I'd done that, increasing pressure would have eventually found a weak spot in the system and blown out through that.

mongoose33 said:

Before I started feeding the displaced CO2 from the receiving keg back into the fermenter, I tried using CO2 from a tank/regulator to be the "makeup air."

On the fermenters with a sealed lid, the pressure would pop off the lid--and this is on a bigmouthbubbler w/ the universal lid, the one that just fits down into the mouth of the fermenter. On a fermonster, the lid is screwed on; you'll build up pressure until something gives. Presumably it would be the stopper, which would pop off the lid with a fair amount of force.

You could mitigate this by leaving the fermonster lid on loosely so excess CO2 could escape through through the threads of the lid.

FYI: I also had hopes that slightly pressurizing the BMB would increase the transfer speed of the beer into the keg. I wasn't able to notice much difference, and the lid would keep popping off. I thought about tying the lid down so it wouldn't do that, but if I'd done that, increasing pressure would have eventually found a weak spot in the system and blown out through that.

View attachment 379774

Click to expand...

I'm about to try this for the first time with my fermonster but after reading this post and your first post in this thread, I'm a bit confused...

What is the difference between pressure transfers and pumping CO2 through the airlock while draining out a spigot? isn't that pressurized as well?

Secondly, in your post above you mention feeding the displaced CO2 of the receiving keg back into the fermenter...what is the difference between that and pushing it with your regulator (besides the benefits on the receiving keg end)?

seanthanna said:

I'm about to try this for the first time with my fermonster but after reading this post and your first post in this thread, I'm a bit confused...

What is the difference between pressure transfers and pumping CO2 through the airlock while draining out a spigot? isn't that pressurized as well?

Click to expand...

The one where I'm feeding CO2 back into the fermenter from the displaced CO2 from the purged keg is not pressurized, at least not in the sense of CO2 coming from a regulator. Whatever beer goes into the keg displaces the same volume of CO2 which comes out the gas QD and back into the top of the fermenter.

Secondly, in your post above you mention feeding the displaced CO2 of the receiving keg back into the fermenter...what is the difference between that and pushing it with your regulator (besides the benefits on the receiving keg end)?

Click to expand...

The difference is I don't have to use any extra CO2. I'm using the displaced CO2 from the keg as makeup air into the fermenter. You'll use more than that if you run off a regulator.

mongoose33 said:

The one where I'm feeding CO2 back into the fermenter from the displaced CO2 from the purged keg is not pressurized, at least not in the sense of CO2 coming from a regulator. Whatever beer goes into the keg displaces the same volume of CO2 which comes out the gas QD and back into the top of the fermenter.



The difference is I don't have to use any extra CO2. I'm using the displaced CO2 from the keg as makeup air into the fermenter. You'll use more than that if you run off a regulator.

Click to expand...

So it sounds like the 2 advantages are 1) Reuse the C02 you're going to be pushing out of the receiving keg and 2) Since there's no actual pressure, you don't need to worry about lid blow offs etc.

One disadvantage would be that you need gravity to work it's magic as nothing is "pushing" it out of the fermenter right?

Just trying to be sure I understand correctly.

I'm still trying to decide if I use my spigot with the displaced CO2 being returned to the fermenter or setup the carboy bap on the bung for a pressurized CO2 through racking cane. My 2 concerns with using the spigot are 1) my yeast cake is pretty close to the spigot so I'm concerned about it being dirty at first and 2) I've take a few samples from it during the fermentation and even though I tried soaking it as best I could with a cup filled with starsan, I fear it may not be clean as I don't think it can get all the way up there. I could spray starsan in there too but will that actually clean it?

Any advice is appreciated.

Here's something I've been working on. I tried using it on my last batch but the Fermonster wasn't holding pressure so I'm presuming somewhere it isn't airtight.

I drilled 2 holes in a solid Fermonster lid. I'd have to measure it to remember the sizes.

I purchased some SS hardware:
NPT x Ball Lock Gas Threaded Post
Washer
Gasket
Threaded lock nut
Ball Lock Gas Post

The assembly should be pretty straightforward from the pictures. On the inside of the lid is the gasket and lock nut. On the outside of the lid is the washer. Screw on the gas post sans poppet. The racking cane and rubber stopper go in the 2nd hole.

Theoretically, this would allow me to not have to hold onto the gas line when doing closed transfers. Right now, I have a different lid with 2 holes and put an MFL x Barb into a rubber stopper in one hole (for gas in) and the racking cane into a rubber stopper in the other hole.

I had high hopes for this but until I figure out where the leak is, I can't use it. The gas post that screws down doesn't feel like it's getting a super tight seal so it could be there. I tried teflon tape on the both ends of the threaded fitting but that didn't work.

seanthanna said:

So it sounds like the 2 advantages are 1) Reuse the C02 you're going to be pushing out of the receiving keg and 2) Since there's no actual pressure, you don't need to worry about lid blow offs etc.

One disadvantage would be that you need gravity to work it's magic as nothing is "pushing" it out of the fermenter right?

Click to expand...

I suppose that's a disadvantage. I tried early on to speed up racking to the keg by using CO2 pressure from the tank to push the beer out of the fermenter; didn't seem to help much.

Just trying to be sure I understand correctly.

I'm still trying to decide if I use my spigot with the displaced CO2 being returned to the fermenter or setup the carboy bap on the bung for a pressurized CO2 through racking cane. My 2 concerns with using the spigot are 1) my yeast cake is pretty close to the spigot so I'm concerned about it being dirty at first and 2) I've take a few samples from it during the fermentation and even though I tried soaking it as best I could with a cup filled with starsan, I fear it may not be clean as I don't think it can get all the way up there. I could spray starsan in there too but will that actually clean it?

Any advice is appreciated.

Click to expand...

Why not try 'em both, see what suits you. When I have the fermenter draining into the keg, I do other things rather than sit and watch it (I'll confess to once or twice, sitting and watching while drinking a beer...but only once or twice ).

There's no right or wrong way. The only thing I'd say is if you decide to try to pressurize the fermenter a bit to speed up the process, be very careful about leaving a way for excess pressure to be released without bursting the fermenter...which I suspect would cause an unbelievable mess.

My bigmouthbubblers use the universal lid which will pop off if too much pressure. I used just a couple PSI to try to speed things up, even then it tended to pop off. if the stopper in the bung can come loose easily, that may be your point of release.

I kind of ended up realizing I had to babysit the fermenter if I used pressure, while if I used gravity (though somewhat slower it might be) I could go do something else, clean up, reorganize, whatever.

That's what I needed to hear. Time is not my enemy. I'm perfectly fine waiting for a slow drain of the fermenter if it means less problems.

My only other concern then is the fact that my yeast cake is looking like its right up at the spigot.

I've read that I could let it drain the junk and once clear, disconnect the QD and then force it out of the keg via CO2 and start again. While it sounds good in theory, I can't imagine that CO2 can push out all the crap that comes into the keg in the first runnings.

My other thought was simply hooking up a picnic tap and running it into a PET howler or something until clear and then hooking it up to the keg. That way I have a clean keg and I can still drink the dirty stuff by cold crashing/force carbing the howler with a carb cap.

Lastly, how do others deal with sanitizing spigots after they've been used to take samples?

seanthanna said:

That's what I needed to hear. Time is not my enemy. I'm perfectly fine waiting for a slow drain of the fermenter if it means less problems.

My only other concern then is the fact that my yeast cake is looking like its right up at the spigot.

I've read that I could let it drain the junk and once clear, disconnect the QD and then force it out of the keg via CO2 and start again. While it sounds good in theory, I can't imagine that CO2 can push out all the crap that comes into the keg in the first runnings.

My other thought was simply hooking up a picnic tap and running it into a PET howler or something until clear and then hooking it up to the keg. That way I have a clean keg and I can still drink the dirty stuff by cold crashing/force carbing the howler with a carb cap.

Lastly, how do others deal with sanitizing spigots after they've been used to take samples?

Click to expand...

The yeast cake at the spigot is potentially an issue. I'm going to start putting a small shim under the spigot side of the fermenter, tilt it away a bit from the spigot. I get a little stuff in the keg when I start, but it always settles to the bottom, and one or two glasses and it's clear.

Try some different stuff, see how it goes. Then report back so I can learn from it.

As far as sanitizing spigots after a sample....I take samples from the top w/ a thief. If I were to sanitize a spigot, I'd spray the hell out of it with star-san, rinsing and sanitizing. I always spray the spigot before draining out of it anyway.

And I always remove the spigot for cleaning. Takes a minute to do so, well worth the small sacrifice of time.

This site rocks. The advice given in this thread was spot on and I never would've thought of it myself.

I ended up doing a forced transfer through the spigot as the yeast cake looked pretty solid and indeed it was like ice.

The only issue I ran into was I didn't think about the tubing I needed to connect the spigot of the Fermonster to the liquid QD with MFL fitting. I think 5/16 tubing is ideal for the job with a larger barb for the swivel nut but in absence of any 5/16 tubing I just used siphon hose and clamped it straight onto the MFL fitting. Wasn't ideal but it mostly worked.

After that, I jammed my carb cab with tubing into the hole of my universal medium bung and hooked up the gas line QD. Opened the spigot and applied about 3 PSI. Tried getting greedy and found that anything more than this popped out the bung. My takeaway was it seems if you see the beer starting to ripple you're about to blow something.

Being my first time it took me a few minutes to realize that I had to start venting the receiving keg...I was doing that periodically until I realized I could just open the release valve to keep it flowing continuously. I worried for a second about air getting in but figured the rate of CO2 out would keep the air from entering.

I drained every last drop thanks to a rock solid yeast cake.

Thanks for all the great tips!

Loving my fermonster so far.

seanthanna said:

This site rocks. The advice given in this thread was spot on and I never would've thought of it myself.

Click to expand...

Yes it do!

I ended up doing a forced transfer through the spigot as the yeast cake looked pretty solid and indeed it was like ice.

The only issue I ran into was I didn't think about the tubing I needed to connect the spigot of the Fermonster to the liquid QD with MFL fitting. I think 5/16 tubing is ideal for the job with a larger barb for the swivel nut but in absence of any 5/16 tubing I just used siphon hose and clamped it straight onto the MFL fitting. Wasn't ideal but it mostly worked.

After that, I jammed my carb cab with tubing into the hole of my universal medium bung and hooked up the gas line QD. Opened the spigot and applied about 3 PSI. Tried getting greedy and found that anything more than this popped out the bung. My takeaway was it seems if you see the beer starting to ripple you're about to blow something.

Click to expand...

You're pretty much limited by what the QD can pass. A 5/16" tube will fit the spigot well, but you're still at about 3/16" going into the QD.

Being my first time it took me a few minutes to realize that I had to start venting the receiving keg...I was doing that periodically until I realized I could just open the release valve to keep it flowing continuously. I worried for a second about air getting in but figured the rate of CO2 out would keep the air from entering.

Click to expand...

You are not the first one to have that "Duh!" moment. Don't ask me how I know.

yeah I'm less concerned about flow and more concerned about making sure it fits the spigot and the MFL of the QD. The way I had it originally was causing some air at first. That's why I ended up clamping straight onto the MFL fitting itself which I'm guessing isn't really ideal.

I'm thinking 5/16 tubing...one end directly on spigot and the other attached to a 1/4 swivel flare nut with either 5/16 or 3/8 barb. That should work right?

Another question I have is what connections are you using to displace the receiving keg's CO2 into the fermenter. The way I see it, I'd need to get a gas line QD jumper similar to the liquid ones used to transfer the liquid between kegs since I'll have that carb cap in the carboy bung.

seanthanna said:

yeah I'm less concerned about flow and more concerned about making sure it fits the spigot and the MFL of the QD. The way I had it originally was causing some air at first. That's why I ended up clamping straight onto the MFL fitting itself which I'm guessing isn't really ideal.

I'm thinking 5/16 tubing...one end directly on spigot and the other attached to a 1/4 swivel flare nut with either 5/16 or 3/8 barb. That should work right?

Another question I have is what connections are you using to displace the receiving keg's CO2 into the fermenter. The way I see it, I'd need to get a gas line QD jumper similar to the liquid ones used to transfer the liquid between kegs since I'll have that carb cap in the carboy bung.

Click to expand...

You may or may not like my solution.

When I first did this I had the same issue, i.e., how to connect the gas-out tubing to the top of the fermenter. I ended up cutting off the top of an S-shaped airlock and the remaining stub fit the tubing perfectly. So that's what I use.

Obviously since I cut off the top, it's now a dedicated device.

Here's what it looks like:

I like that idea too and have a couple S airlocks that I never use.

Thanks!

That's not a bad idea. I may try it next time.

I tried this for this first time this weekend, using a carb cap and a little fresh co2. The fit around my carb cap and tubing was not tight, but it sealed enough. I have one of those concave bungs, so I filled it with starsan and nothing leaked in.

I was concerned about matching the pressure loss and pressure addition but I found that the fermonster would cave in if the co2 was set too low, and the starsan would bubble if it was too high. That made it pretty simple to maintain the right balance.

View attachment 1485182068622.jpg

murphyslaw said:

That's not a bad idea. I may try it next time.

I tried this for this first time this weekend, using a carb cap and a little fresh co2. The fit around my carb cap and tubing was not tight, but it sealed enough. I have one of those concave bungs, so I filled it with starsan and nothing leaked in.

I was concerned about matching the pressure loss and pressure addition but I found that the fermonster would cave in if the co2 was set too low, and the starsan would bubble if it was too high. That made it pretty simple to maintain the right balance.

Click to expand...

Sorry for the thread Jack...

Did you buy the fermonster ported or did you do it yourself? I have an unported one and am thinking of adding a spigot.

(And why do I feel like I'm talking to myself!).

You again, eh?

I bought it ported. It was about $5 more. If you search "spigot" on morebeer's website, they sell them for $4. I think you'd just have to be very careful about making the hole juuussst big enough. When I did that on a pot I used a step bit but I don't know if that would work on plastic.

hezagenius said:

Here's something I've been working on. I tried using it on my last batch but the Fermonster wasn't holding pressure so I'm presuming somewhere it isn't airtight.

I drilled 2 holes in a solid Fermonster lid. I'd have to measure it to remember the sizes.

I purchased some SS hardware:
NPT x Ball Lock Gas Threaded Post
Washer
Gasket
Threaded lock nut
Ball Lock Gas Post

The assembly should be pretty straightforward from the pictures. On the inside of the lid is the gasket and lock nut. On the outside of the lid is the washer. Screw on the gas post sans poppet. The racking cane and rubber stopper go in the 2nd hole.

Theoretically, this would allow me to not have to hold onto the gas line when doing closed transfers. Right now, I have a different lid with 2 holes and put an MFL x Barb into a rubber stopper in one hole (for gas in) and the racking cane into a rubber stopper in the other hole.

I had high hopes for this but until I figure out where the leak is, I can't use it. The gas post that screws down doesn't feel like it's getting a super tight seal so it could be there. I tried teflon tape on the both ends of the threaded fitting but that didn't work.

Click to expand...

Anymore news on where your leak problem was coming from? I'm thinking about doing something similar with my Fermonsters and was going to go ahead and order my parts. The NPT x ball lock post, I'll have to order from Adventures. I don't see them on More Beer's site.

Yesfan said:

Anymore news on where your leak problem was coming from? I'm thinking about doing something similar with my Fermonsters and was going to go ahead and order my parts. The NPT x ball lock post, I'll have to order from Adventures. I don't see them on More Beer's site.

Click to expand...

No, but I made a new lid with a much more basic setup that doesn't leak. I used a step bit to drill out 2 holes in a new solid lid. I then put 2 rubber grommets in. I put 1 hole in the middle of the lid for a 3/8" barb x 1/4" MFL flare and 1 hole near the side for the racking cane. At a pressure of a few psi, there is enough grip from the grommet to keep the barb from popping out.

hezagenius said:

No, but I made a new lid with a much more basic setup that doesn't leak. I used a step bit to drill out 2 holes in a new solid lid. I then put 2 rubber grommets in. I put 1 hole in the middle of the lid for a 3/8" barb x 1/4" MFL flare and 1 hole near the side for the racking cane. At a pressure of a few psi, there is enough grip from the grommet to keep the barb from popping out.

Click to expand...

What size grommets did you use?

Brew on

doug293cz said:

What size grommets did you use?

Brew on

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Looks like the ID on the grommets is 3/8". My LHBS sells 2 sizes of grommets so I bought 2 of each size. The ones I used are the smaller of the two.

I do not know what the OD of the grommets are but they fit really snug into the 9/16" holes I drilled.

Edit: Looks like maybe the OD of the grommets are about 0.50". That's the part that creates the seal, not the flanges. The OD of the flanges looks to be about 11/16".

5 months later.......

Well, I finally got around to getting parts to try mine. I bought a gas post, 1/4 NPT to Gas post adapter from Williams, and 1/4 NPT nut from Amazon. I already had the necessary post Oring and poppet valve as well as a stainless racking cane.

I don't remember the size holes I drilled out. For the post, I drilled it just big enough for the adapter to slide through. For the beer side, I used a step bit and drilled a hole for a #2 stopper that the cane slides through.

I filled the Fermonster with 5 gallons of water, screwed on the modified lid, and hooked up the CO2. I did all this in the garage just in case the carboy gave and spewed water everywhere. I turned the pressure all the way down, opened the shut off valve, and then slowly turned the regulator until I heard gas hissing and water started up and out of the cane.

As far as a pressure reading goes during the transfer, my regulator (a Tap-Rite) bottoms out around 4psi. So what, 3lbs max? The carboy didn't seem to flex any during all this and I didn't detect any leaks around the lids or fittings either. I did have to tighten the lid a little once the gas pressure starting building.

I want to try my other carboys just to have a little more piece of mind, but for now I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Sorry it took so long to do an update.

For the guys having trouble with their Big Mouth Bubbler universal lids coming off easy:

Flip the gasket upside down. After doing that, the lid WILL NOT come off easily (read: don't plan on removing it with beer in there, or have a towel handy).

Also, I have a solution on the BMB with a spigot. I posted a crap version of it on the LoDO thread, but will post a better one saturday when I do my next transfer.

The short sweet version is to jam 3/8 hose in the stem in the bottom portion of a 3 Piece airlock, with the other end on a barb from the co2 tank. Connect keg liquid port to spigot on bmb (keg should have some residual co2, so you purge the line and spigot doing it this way, just be quick).

Flow co2 at ~1 psi through tube and airlock assembly, remove existing airlock, Jam the assembly in it's place and open the spigot. Full keg in 5 minutes, open PRV as needed to keep flow.

I have the fermonster Carboy and came up with the following setup. I utilize a demi-john bung and the orange carboy cap blow off cap. I run the racking cane through the carboy cap and through the standard bung hole. To get the gas in, I used a stainless steel straw through the bung and up the blow off outlet of the carboy cap. I used a narrow mini screw driver to make a pilot hole in the bung to feed the straw through. You will need the hollow (demo-John) bung style to minimize how much rubber you have to go through. I then used two hose clamps to seal the gas tubing to the straw / blow off port. This is a bit of a jerry rigged system but gets the job done.

Looks like that should work well. But I'm curious, what purpose does the orange cap over the bung serve?

I think I'm working towards something similar to this now. I have a spigot on my fermonster, though, so I may just get a solid bung, drill a hole, and stick a hose with a carboy cap through it.