Bru Gear ProFermenter 14 Gallon Review

[iijakii]

@-CHRIS- , what's your dump-schedule like? On my conical (not brugear) I've been struggling with dumping the right amount. If I wait until it's pretty done it'll clog some, but otherwise I feel like I waste quite a few beers dumping too much.

 

[-CHRIS-]

I aim for 11 gallons into the fermenter to give me some wiggle room in the dumping of trub. Usually I fill the fermenter, let it sit 24 hours, drop the cold break than pitch the yeast. Since I make basic ales and stouts, fermentation is almost always done within 2-3 weeks. At the end of fermentation, I pressurize the fermenter to 1-3PSI and cold crash the fermentation chamber. I then use the CO2 to push the yeast and trub out of the bottom port before I fill the kegs. I generally capture around 1/2 gallon in this process. I don't bother harvesting yeast at this point in time. This gets me two full corny kegs.

Chris

 

[cilestiok]

I am not an expert in inline carbonation, but wouldn't that require the fermenter to be at the proper pressure e.g. ~15psi at around 37 degrees for a basic ale? Otherwise, wouldn't the carbonation stone just pressurize the fermenter?



Thanks,

Chris

Not exactly. My experiments with inline carbonation are still ongoing but I have had fairly successful results so far.

My experience so far has been that manipulating the flow rate and oxygen pressure/flow through the stone while keeping the fluid temp and size of tubing constant allows me to dissolve a wide range of carbonation. I haven't reached the perfect calculation yet for my system but I keep working on it little by little. I've had beers ranging all the way from greatly undercarbed to slightly overcarbed.

My current system is a triclover tee with a cam lock for the incoming flow, a carbonation stone, and a ball valve on the outgoing flow.

I keep the fermenter pressure at 2.5psi. The carbonation going through the stone doesn't pressurize the fermenter because it's only pushing co2 into the liquid that's between vessels.

I'm not sure if this method is common, proper, etc. but I've been experimenting with it and am liking the idea of being able to dial in a few set values I can rely on to eliminate the extra carbonation period entirely.

 

[augiedoggy]

@-CHRIS- , what's your dump-schedule like? On my conical (not brugear) I've been struggling with dumping the right amount. If I wait until it's pretty done it'll clog some, but otherwise I feel like I waste quite a few beers dumping too much.

I have had the same issue with the AHB conical we use... Ironically its the butterfly valve on my bottom port thats causing my issues... the smaller ball valve is easier to control and I am able to cut the flow faster.. the lock on the handle of the butterfly valve has caused me to waste beer while I fight it.

The 90 degree elbow has helped a bit though. I know the butterfly valve is supposed to be better but I find it awkward to use in this case.

 

[-CHRIS-]

I have had the same issue with the AHB conical we use... Ironically its the butterfly valve on my bottom port thats causing my issues... the smaller ball valve is easier to control and I am able to cut the flow faster.. the lock on the handle of the butterfly valve has caused me to waste beer while I fight it.

The 90 degree elbow has helped a bit though. I know the butterfly valve is supposed to be better but I find it awkward to use in this case.

I'll take a picture of my keg filling setup tonight as I am kegging some beer tonight. That being said, out of the bottom drain, I have a 90 degree elbow, the butterfly valve, a sightglass then a 1.5" TC to 1/2" barb that then goes into a silicone tube into the keg. The 1/2" barb certainly reduces the flow which allows me to limit waste. I tend to "burp" the valve, by opening it full and closing it quickly, until it runs clear. The sightglass shows me when the beer is starting to run clear. If I get a little trub in the bottom of the keg, I am really not too worried.

Chris

 

[HumboldtBrewer]

I got my SS Brew Tech conical a couple years ago and it does not have a weldless thermowell, in fact it is welded. They must have gone to weldless as of recently to cut costs, bummer.

When I formulate my recipes I usually shoot for 5.25 gallons into fermentor, that way I have a 1/4 gallon that goes to trub and racking arm loss. With this method I always have a complete 5 gallon corny.