Carboy vs Conical.. Fermenters

[CrankyBeaverBrewery]

So I know what I'm Gunna get for cooking all the brew and now I need fermenters..

I can get around 8 carboys and use that or try and find some good priced used conical fermenters.. If you were me what would you do and why ?

 

[spazjdm]

i vote conical, easier to harvest yeast in theory.

 

[Cape Brewing]

I'm kind of the wrong person to ask because I'm practically violently anti-conical but I'll calm down my rhetoric on them...

My own, personaly opinion is... conicals are super pretty and have enormous, "wow that is super cool" power but... for homebrewers, the benefits of using them don't come close to justifying the cost. Unless you're something like 60+ gallons at a time, personally, I don't see any reason to use a conical.

You said it yourself... you can get 8 carboys (and you can get a lot more than that for the cost of a conical) so you can have at least 10 beers going at once... or one... in a conical... that'll make yeast harvesting "easier" (easier than simply tipping a carboy upside down)... for a lot more money.

My own personal advice... buy a pile of carboys and a bunch of other equip first and then, if you want to add to the bling and have the money to spare, by all means... go conical.

(and I was writing this as that last post was put up so... any reference was 100% unintentional)

 

[kgalle]

I'm a carboy supporter. I did buy a plastic conical with which to experiment. It's full of apple stuff, right now.

 

[helibrewer]

I would get a Speidel Plastic Tank before I got a conical...just me though

 

[NervousDad]

I'll admit that I did want a nice shiny Blichman conical until I realized for $700 I'll only be able to make one beer at a time. But man they sure do look cool

 

[DeafSmith]

I vote carboy (I use Better Bottles). If you have a conical, how will you control temperature? With a carboy or bucket, you can just stick it in a refrigerator or freezer with a temp. control (Johnson, Ranco, etc.)

 

[muthafuggle]

I vote carboy (I use Better Bottles). If you have a conical, how will you control temperature? With a carboy or bucket, you can just stick it in a refrigerator or freezer with a temp. control (Johnson, Ranco, etc.)

THIS. ^^^^^^^^

Unless you have a walk-in fridge/fermentation room, go with carboys or buckets.

 

[krazydave]

word. Carboys all the way.
I have a damn big chest freezer for fermenting and there's still no way I'd fit a conical in there. Though it'd be a different story if I could afford a huge temperature controlled conical!

 

[onthekeg]

I have 2 plastic conicals, and depending on the temp in the basement room they are at they are filled with ales or lagers.
I also have a bunch of pails for other beers. You can get into a conical cheaply with plastic and you don't have to worry about contamination, but buckets are nice as well. I like having choices.

 

[dannysanchez86]

I have 2 plastic conicals, and depending on the temp in the basement room they are at they are filled with ales or lagers.
I also have a bunch of pails for other beers. You can get into a conical cheaply with plastic and you don't have to worry about contamination, but buckets are nice as well. I like having choices.

What is recommended for secondary fermentation?

 

[onthekeg]

What is recommended for secondary fermentation?

I don't secondary. 3-4 weeks in primary then in the keg. If I dry hop, the hops are in a bag and go into the keg. If you bottle, then you could transfer to another fermenter, or dry hop in the conical after you have the trub and yeast dumped.