Chronical Fermenter by SS Brewing Technologies

[Alt]

Would this work as a ferm chamber for this? I know the cost is the same as the ss tech temp controller but I'd prefer to use a freezer with a ranco controller.

http://m.sears.com/kenmore-4.9-cu-f...1x000001&kpid=04620502000&kispla=04620502000P

No, that is a manual defrost model with the refrigerant coils built into the shelves. You want to look for an auto-defrost model with removable shelves.

 

[TxBigHops]

Beverage Air 12

That is some sweet brew porn there Danam! I am looking at a Bev Air 24 right now as a possible Ferm chamber. Seller says its been heavily used, but works fine and has been regularly serviced. Do these guys require much maintenence? Then once I have the Bev Air, I can start thinking about getting a Ss Chronical! Brewing Heaven!

 

[Danam404]

That is some sweet brew porn there Danam! I am looking at a Bev Air 24 right now as a possible Ferm chamber. Seller says its been heavily used, but works fine and has been regularly serviced. Do these guys require much maintenence? Then once I have the Bev Air, I can start thinking about getting a Ss Chronical! Brewing Heaven!

Not that I've experienced! It's a commercial grade unit so I theory it should hold up. Fingers crossed!

 

[jammin]

ordered a 14g chronical today. hoping it will be delivered by saturday so i can fill it up next weekend.



any tips or advice for a new owner/1st time conical user?

 

[dmcman73]

Clean the chronical with TSP (it's a degreaser) first and warm water. It will remove all manufacturing oils and also the buffing compound they use to Polish it. Do that for everything including gaskets. Then follow up with PBW wash.

Once cleaned, attach all the valves and fill it with water and then add 14oz of Starsan to the water and let it sit for 20-30 min, this will passivate the stainless steel. Drain it (save as much of the starsan in a 5 gallon bucket, you can use it to sanitize) and it's ready to go.

 

[jammin]

still need to clean/prep the fermentor but here it is in it's new home

 

[jammin]

a couple more shots

annnndd possibly my favorite part - casters! this thing rolls like a dream

 

[kevink]

Jammin- That's a nice looking setup. Is that fridge/freezer still made? Would you mind letting me know the make and model number? I've been trying to find something that's big enough but not too big.

 

[jammin]

^thanks, kev

it kind of appears that model is no longer produced but i could be wrong.



here is the data plate, hopefully that helps. if you want measurements i am happy take any ones you want.

 

[kevink]

That is awesome of you. Thanks a lot!

 

[kcmobrewer]

I have that exact same freezer and fermentor lol

 

[Base2Brewery]

True GDM 12 w/ ohmbrew fermentation controller
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1439640747.827647.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1439640773.574897.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1439640807.457567.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1439640835.936276.jpg

 

[dmcman73]

True GDM 12 w/ ohmbrew fermentation controller
View attachment 296612View attachment 296613View attachment 296614View attachment 296615

Damn nice setup! So you fill you fermenter and carry it to the fridge? Is that a 7 gallon?

 

[Base2Brewery]

Thanks!! I have a dolly with casters that the chronical fits on to roll around. I have a 7 & 14 gal. Both fit in the true GDM 12 nicely. 7 gal is the one in the pic.

 

[dmcman73]

At some point, I woukd love to have a closed off brewery like in your pic (love the glass door). Right now, my brew rig is tucked away in the corner of my basement kitchen, been thinking of getting rid of the cabinets in the kitchen and buying from there. I would keep the stove since it gets used during the holidays.

 

[Base2Brewery]

Yep that's how it starts. When you start you won't be able to stop. I thought I was going to go with a brew closet. Then plans changed.

 

[kal]

At some point, I woukd love to have a closed off brewery like in your pic (love the glass door).

+1. One of the benefits of having it closed off is that you can put in a make-up air system (mine's just a vent to the outside that I can turn open/closed) so that you're not sucking air conditioned or heated air from the rest of the house and pumping it outdoors when your brew hood fan is running. Instead, you close the door and 90%+ of the air that you evacuate with your fan is air that just came from the outside.

In the warmer months (summer) it can get a bit warm in the brewery because of this. In the winter it's great: I'll brew when it's below zero (-18C) outdoors and the kettles do a great job of keeping the brew room at ~60F (16F) which is really comfortable for brewing.

Kal

 

[Base2Brewery]

Agreed!! I have an electric damper that opens when the hood vent fan is turned on. It is just plumbed to the outside with a filter. Works great!!

 

[nicolas_james]

Has anyone thrown casters onto their 7 gal Chronical? They little black feet that came with are completely shredded.

 

[3toes]

I have a question for those of you who do pressurized transfers into corny kegs...

I occasionally get pretty big star-san foam snakes when I rack from my buckets into the corny keg's main opening. How do you handle that with the pressurized transfers? I know "don't fear the foam," but does that mean you just let it build up and leave it in there?

 

[PlinyTheMiddleAged]

Has anyone thrown casters onto their 7 gal Chronical? They little black feet that came with are completely shredded.

Nicolas,

Yes, I added wheels (and leg extensions) to my 7 gallon Chronical. I reworked the plumbing on the bottom of the cone so that I go straight down into a canning jar to catch trub and yeast. As a result, I needed longer legs to make room for my additional hardware. I fabricated my own extensions with attached wheels using my barely adequate welding skills.

One problem with wheels though is that the Chronical is a bit "tippy" so one has to be careful when moving it around.

Pliny

 

[VApatriot]

Is anybody using the Brew Bucket fermenter? I just found it today on the interwebs and it looks really good. I am getting tired of hauling my glass carboys and really don't want to deal with one breaking. If any of you do use one of these could you please let me know what you think of them and how well you think they work? Thanks.

 

[barleypopmaker]

I use both the conical and the buckets. If you have no desire to capture yeast or dump trub, the bucket is a great way to get the benefits of glass (non-porous, not easily scratched, impervious to oxygen) and the benefits of plastic buckets (light barrier, lightweight, easy to clean, will not shatter). Moving to stainless was a great move in my opinion. However, there is no doubt it's more costly. I have not had issues cleaning or with the ball valve. Just clean and sanitize well by disassembling and cleaning/sanitizing and you will be good.

 

[abeasst]

Has anyone thrown casters onto their 7 gal Chronical? They little black feet that came with are completely shredded.

I bought some 3/8" casters from Lowes to put on my half barrel SSbrewtech fermenter.

 

[nicolas_james]

Nicolas,

Yes, I added wheels (and leg extensions) to my 7 gallon Chronical. I reworked the plumbing on the bottom of the cone so that I go straight down into a canning jar to catch trub and yeast. As a result, I needed longer legs to make room for my additional hardware. I fabricated my own extensions with attached wheels using my barely adequate welding skills.

One problem with wheels though is that the Chronical is a bit "tippy" so one has to be careful when moving it around.

Pliny

Yeah I might have to come up with another solution. As much as I want casters, I tend to throw the Chronical up on the counter to bottle out of. Probably not the safest thing with wheels

I was thinking about modifying a movers dolly, and build up some wood to "slide" the legs down into. Give it a little wider of a base to prevent tipping.

 

[Spyderbyte07]

Could someone with the 14 gallon and/or the half barrel chronical please measure the diameter where the lid seats? I have a 10 and 20 gallon kettle that I'm considering occasionally fermenting in and would love a gasketed domed lid. I'm planning on rigging up several spring clamps to stand in for the latches. The smaller kettle is 14" inside diameter and 14 7/8" to the outside of the lip; the larger kettle is 17 3/4" inside diameter and 18 1/2" to the outside of the lip. The diameters I've found sound close but I don't know exactly where they're measured.

Thanks!

 

[Ahoffy]

The lid on the 14 gallon fermenter seals at 14 Inches.

 

[Spyderbyte07]

14 inches from inside edge to inside edge? Or outside edge to outside edge?

Thanks again!

 

[JonyMac]

 

[ram5ey]

Has anyone thrown casters onto their 7 gal Chronical? They little black feet that came with are completely shredded.

I did this too. Just trimmed some 2x4 down to slot into the legs and added the casters from there. I find it is more tippy at lower volume.

 

[JonyMac]

I added wheels to the 14s in the picture before ssbt came out with a wheel option - indispensable!

 

[rivalry15]

I just want to chime in and say that your brewery area is insane! That's quite the well thought out setup! Well done!

 

[JonyMac]

Thanks! It is hard not to go hang out down there...

 

[sabotenfighter]

Would anyone have measurements on the shipping box that the 7 Gallon standard SS Chonical comes in? Looking to bring one back from the US as checked luggage so I could save a load on shipping.

 

[JMathie77]

32x15.5x16

 

[sabotenfighter]

Thanks for the reply. Kinda sucks though as that's 1.5 inches over the limit. Wonder how strict they are with measurements.

 

[IslandLizard]

Thanks for the reply. Kinda sucks though as that's 1.5 inches over the limit. Wonder how strict they are with measurements.

Call em up and ask what to do. Is there also a limit on weight?

 

[sabotenfighter]

Weight limit is 50lbs.
I emailed SS and they actually said the box was 62 inches sum of all dimensions. Weight wise, 50lbs seems to be the limit and this is well under that.

 

[IslandLizard]

Weight limit is 50lbs.
I emailed SS and they actually said the box was 62 inches sum of all dimensions. Weight wise, 50lbs seems to be the limit and this is well under that.

What did the airline company say about the 2 inches oversize? Will they accept it?

 

[sabotenfighter]

They'll accept it, just charge me $100 for the privilege. I think at that rate it goes up to 80 some inches. Makes me want to consider a 14gal one haha.