FastFerment conical fermenter??????

[cantrell00]

With respect to aeration, why not just use an oxygen bottle and stone???? Why bother with mechanical aeration at all???

I wondered the same...

Since I bought mine - I'd never go back. It isn't that expensive..

 

[jleiii]

I wondered the same...

Since I bought mine - I'd never go back. It isn't that expensive..

I got lucky on this, I still had my burnzomatic brazing kit from the early 80's stashed in a tool box. Grabbed the O2 fitting, added a 1/8 ID tube fitting, a $6 airation stone, and a fresh O2 bottle, done! Well, almost. I disassembled and cleaned it first.
Looks just like the new brewing ones, but it's an aluminum body. Only worry I have is that I remove it from the bottle every time (to avoid a leak) and it's got to be wearing on the aluminum threads. Lubrication is a no-no on anything O2.

 

[redwing_al]

anyone know the dimension of the FastFement stand where the fermenter sits? I have something that I think might work, but I need to know how big to cut the opening... will post pics!

 

[jbb3]

anyone know the dimension of the FastFement stand where the fermenter sits? I have something that I think might work, but I need to know how big to cut the opening... will post pics!

Not sure about the factory stand but here are the dimensions I used:

The top ring, cabinet grade 1/2" ply, is 9-7/8" ID and 13" OD. The bottom ring, 3/4" ply, is 13" ID and 16" OD. The legs are 21" in length which gives a 3-3/4" space between the bottom of the collection ball and the floor. They are made from oak for strength and stiffness.

 

[AfroHopster]

Not sure about the factory stand but here are the dimensions I used:

The top ring, cabinet grade 1/2" ply, is 9-7/8" ID and 13" OD. The bottom ring, 3/4" ply, is 13" ID and 16" OD. The legs are 21" in length which gives a 3-3/4" space between the bottom of the collection ball and the floor. They are made from oak for strength and stiffness.

View attachment 240191

dude can you make another I will pay you?

 

[MaddBaggins]

I did 10" ID on the stands I made. Hindsight, I would have made it 11" ID just so it sits a little lower.

 

[redwing_al]

I took a little different angle on mine. I'll post pic's tomorrow when I finished it up. I recycled something around the house and it's going to work out pretty good I think.

 

[redwing_al]

Here is a fermenter stand that I fashioned out of stuff laying around the house. This is on wheels and I lined the opening of the fermenter hole with a pipe insulation sleeve.

I'm currently working on a basement brewery, so I'll post more pics as I get it in order.

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[ku5e]

I was not planning to reattach the ball after primary. I think the oxygen pickup would be worse than any benefit.

Here is a picture of the stand I threw together quickly for it. I have a heating pad strapped to it and the probe from an STC-1000 controller in the thermowell.

The stand is great. I think I am going to make one just like it.

but...

The oxygen should not be a problem when you reattach the ball. The air will flow throught the wort/beer but there will be very little contact time. Additionally, whe the air gets to the headspace, which should be full of CO2, the air will go to the top and out the airlock.

In order to ease my worries in this area (yes I did worry about this like you), after I sanitaize the ball, I blow some CO2 in it just before I reattach it. Kind of like what I do when I fill my corny kegs.

 

[gregorywbrown13]

Repitched for the first time today. Ball was 75% yeast 25% beer. Brown ale to imperial stout. Put the ball in my fridge for 1 week. Steady airlock activity in about 40 minutes. Crazy, I've never had such fast fermentation , even with big starters.

 

[redwing_al]

Repitched for the first time today. Ball was 75% yeast 25% beer. Brown ale to imperial stout. Put the ball in my fridge for 1 week. Steady airlock activity in about 40 minutes. Crazy, I've never had such fast fermentation , even with big starters.

why did you repitch?

 

[gregorywbrown13]

I meant that I pitched yeast from one batch (Brown ale) to another batch (imperial stout).

 

[ChefRex]

You didn't use it all did you? That would be a bit of an overpitch.

 

[gregorywbrown13]

I did, my og was 1.12, and the yeast calculator said I would need about .4 liters of slurry.

 

[ChefRex]

I did, my og was 1.12, and the yeast calculator said I would need about .4 liters of slurry.

Nice!

 

[33willys]

Here is a picture of mine. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1418674000.145243.jpg I have 3 kits waiting for the green flag to get started. Must admit it was very helpful to read the issues some of you had setting up and brewing with the fastferment. I was able to take care of the issues and lucky enough to read ahead of time to catch and repair the problems.Thanks to you "hopefully" my brewing sessions ahead will be non complicated and frustrating with on the fly fix's.

 

[redwing_al]

I dont mean to overpost this as I posted it in another thread on HBT, but I thought i would copy here just in case the FF users missed it.

============
I brewed a solid IPA, OG 1.060, nailed all my numbers.. I did a 1L starter with Wyeast1056 and pitched… Well, 24 hours later not a sign of activity in the bubbler!? I recall that I didn’t necessarily aerate the wort as well as I normally do, so I was thinking that could be the reason.

I did a little research and thought heck, it’s only been a day. I’ll take this thing down and shake the heck out of it to wake it up. I came to the basement and the first thing that I noticed is that the valve was closed to the collection ball… I reached over and gave it a slight crack (and I do mean slight!) and this thing erupted like nothing I’ve ever seen. I’m talkin' Mentos in Diet Coke here… At this point there was nothing I could do. I threw a towel over the geyser and put a bucket underneath and walked away until it slowed down and I could come in and assess the situation. It was scary for a moment, could have been dangerous...

In any case, it calmed down to a point where I could add a blow off tube. I cleaned everything up and it’s bubbling away as expected.. But let this be a lesson and a warning to you all. Once you’ve pitched and wort has fell into the collection ball, keep that valve open or you’re gonna’ shoot ‘yer eye out!

I realize this is a rookie mistake, but the collection ball adds a whole ‘nuther dimension to think about. I likely ruined a few things and I don’t know if I did any damage to the ball valve or what-have-you, but I wanted to share this with you as the FastFerment conical is a relatively new item and like anything, there are some learning.

Anyone know if this will harm my beer in any significant way?

Here are a couple videos:

This is after it settled down a bit : http://youtu.be/NDlZVJz6eP0
This is the after clean up: http://youtu.be/kEEhylt3UOs

 

[wastrel]

If you want to replace the factory seal on the screw top, order a pack of these. Fits very nicely.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#5018t429/=v2jylb

 

[jbb3]

To seal the top, what worked for me is a foam craft sheet from wally world. I put the homemade foam gasket in first and put the factory gasket on top of that. Together, they provide enough thickness to seal the top.

Such an easy fix you have to wonder why FastFerment won't just fix it??

 

[MaddBaggins]

The gaskets for the BigMouth Bubbler from NB can be trimmed to fit. They sell a 5pk for .99. If you happen to be ordering from NB just add them on.

 

[EuBrew]

It's certainly a risk but you would only need two per side... The odds are in your favor though. Many more square inches without tubing in the wall than with.

Isn't that akin to what golfers say, a tree is 90% air? If it's 90% air why do I hit that $&@!?

If you go this route put a stop on your bit at 1/8" and use a small screwdriver to dig out the insulation in your path through and you'll be fine. Worst case is you discover you indeed are too close to a line and you move your hole. It'd be covered by your wood anyway.

 

[cantrell00]

isn't that akin to what golfers say, a tree is 90% air? If it's 90% air why do i hit that $&@!?

If you go this route put a stop on your bit at 1/8" and use a small screwdriver to dig out the insulation in your path through and you'll be fine. Worst case is you discover you indeed are too close to a line and you move your hole. It'd be covered by your wood anyway.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^better idea^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[fhk]

Haha, I am done with this POS (Hey *********s, maybe you should have replaced the lid)! Sold on ebay for $76 knowing and disclosing that that a new $15 lid was needed.
Good luck to y'all! And good luck with manufacturer support

 

[MaddBaggins]

I don't know what your lid issue was, (I didn't read back to find your trouble) but seriously, it's a $90 conical. Pretty good deal. All I had to do was file the flashing on the threads and shave the top where the lid mates. Done deal. It worked first time.
It sucks you had trouble, but getting a conical for $90 shipped, I'm more than willing to make a couple minor fixes on my own. Now, if your lid is broken, then I agree, they need to send you a new one.
IMO, this was the perfect vessel to spend a couple bucks on to see if I want a conical. If it works well for me, I can decide if I want to save money for the real deal stainless conical.

 

[jleiii]

Been mulling it over for a week. Time to drill a hole for sample valve. No turning back.

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[jleiii]

Argh picture fail, sorry.

 

[ChefRex]

Been mulling it over for a week. Time to drill a hole for sample valve. No turning back.

Parts list? Been thinking of this, any reason you did it on the seam? I would avoid it personally

 

[redwing_al]

for what it's worth, I added this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/130970496231?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

took out the thermowell, screwed this in... all is good!

 

[mxstar21]

Parts list? Been thinking of this, any reason you did it on the seam? I would avoid it personally

I think the seam is the stronger point. I had asked the same thing about why the Thermowell was placed where it was and that was their (Fast Ferment) answer.

 

[jleiii]

I didn't think about the seam until I had the hole done, and looked in it. Oopsie, should have moved off to the side. The vertical position was based on it not sticking out further than the widest point of the conical.
The gasket should be more than sufficient. The valve was screwed on tight, lined up, then the outer bulkhead nut tightened, and it looks good. A water test to come.

Parts:
Valve, $13.49
Coupling - any 1/4 NPT coupling will do.
Bulkhead

My McMaster specs seems wrong, the valve is 1/4 NPT and the bulkhead link is 1/8 NPT. No clue why, as it is 1/4 NPT to fit the valve. Just measured my fittings, 1/4 NPT is .500 OD, 1/8 NPT is .400. This part is .500 OD, so can't be 1/8 NPT, weird.