DIY: Better Bottle conical?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Natron008

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2008
Messages
192
Reaction score
3
Has anyone ever heard of a conical being built out of a Better Bottle? It seems like it could work, but I've only seen funnel/bucket contraptions. I was looking at the V-Vessel, when this idea came to me. I like the idea the easy trub drop offered by the V-Vessel.

Anyone ever tried or heard of someone trying this?
 
Hmmm... looks like a cheap-o version of what I was thinking. Looks like one of these water jugs is going home with me tonight for a prototype. I'm thinking something with a ball valve and a 1-liter bottle.
 
When this issue has come up before, the thing I remember from those conversations is that the incline in the better bottle is not steep enough to mimic a conical. Thus, the yeast layer may not empty out the bottom as effectively as it would at a 60* angle in a conical.

If that is in fact the case, then I guess my question would be what would be the advantage over a pre-ported BB with a spout at the base?
 
It's basically a huge pain in the ass all around. The valves are never big enough to handle all the trub, and rigging up a blow-off is a pain. You're trusting that valve assembly on the bottom to be 100% leakproof. It's a neat idea in theory, but in practice there's no real way to make it easy and worthwhile.
 
Apparently it's come up often enough that BB addresses it in their FAQ (and in this case, they're referring to an actual PET conical, not just an upside-down carboy)

http://www.better-bottle.com/faq.html

. . . make a PET conical fermenter? – Large-scale, conical fermenters, used in conjunction with filters, are definitely effective; however, on a small scale, things do not work out so well. We tested a prototype of a transparent, PET conical in our development lab and we saw what cannot be seen in opaque conicals. Fine particles settle on the sloping walls of the conical section and remain "stuck" there, until the liquid level reaches them during racking. Then, they contaminate the clarified wine or beer. Racking was not nearly as clean as it is with our standard carboys and racking adapters. There is a reason for drawing clarified wine or beer from above the sediment during small-scale racking. Nevertheless, a conical made of our PET would have many advantages compared to conicals made from polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyvinyl chloride. The PET conical would be essentially impermeable to oxygen, would not stain, would not add or transfer flavors, would be transparent, and would be a great deal easier to clean. Unfortunately, a PET conical would also cost more, making it quite impractical in view of the fact that Better-Bottle racking-carboys perform better in any case.
 
Stuff sits on the ridges of my Better Bottles too, but a little bump on the side knocks it off, seems like the same could be done with the bottom "cone". Never-the-less, it probably is more of a pain that it's worth. I really have no issues with BBs as-is, those conicals are just so damned attractive!
 
Back
Top