Hey Everyone,
Thanks for all the FastFerment chat - great to hear most people are having positive results with it. For anyone that is not please get in contact with us at
[email protected] we try our very best to get everything sorted out. But also reading the forums on homebrewtalk.com or posting your question here is awesome. We do a lot of our learning on here. Couple updates and points we've taken from reading this thread over since our last post...
Team FastRack
Hello FastRack Team,
Very glad you guys are reading this tread and taking the comments here into account. I would venture to say, a good part of your consumer base follows this forum if not this thread.
I think you have a good base product. I have two! And I'm pulling for you guys! I've been a big advocate of your product but also very critical where it's warranted.
Like most products, there is room for improvement. However, the most important gauge of a business is how they respond to their customers who do have issues. There have been some, not a lot, but some who have posted with less than favorable comments about the response to their situation after contacting FF customer service. The first line customer service folks need to be trained not only in how to respond to various logistical situations but also in your customer service philosophy. Your customer service approach WILL come through your CS folks. Just make sure you are communicating the right message...
Since I know everything, I'm going to comment on your individual items:
1. Bolts - Yes we are currently looking finding a new lag bolt supplier. They are rated from the manufacture but it sounds like some of the heads are torquing off. Thanks for the heads up.
This can be a shared issue between a low quality bolt and incorrect installation. Some either do not drill pilot holes or drill holes too small for the size lag being used.
- Include information on the proper pilot hole size in the installation instructions
&/or
- Include bolts that are larger in diameter to withstand the torque
2. Cool that yeast harvesting is going well. We plan to learn more about this too and do an instructional video up at some point. Please stay tuned.
I am completely happy with this feature!
3. Information on ball change outs can be found here. We have found some tricks for making it go well and helping minimize sediment.
I would add suggestions/instruction to wait until after primary is complete before starting collection ball changes/trub removal.
4. Gasket/Sealing - This has been a work in progress and we are pumped to have new rubber gaskets which are 3mm thick arriving soon. We had a small amount arrive but a big order will be here shortly and we will make them available for purchase on our website for a limited time until they research our retail partners. Please stay posted for that.
There is no excuse to allow this issue to continue. A good
temporary fix would be to add a second gasket in each kit and instruct folks to double stack the gasket. The added thickness will seal the top and the small added cost will not make or break you until a suitable replacement is had.
5. We also have replacement O'Rings that will be available in about 4-5 weeks. This point is something we will add to the instructions to be careful that is does not slip out and get lost like its happened to. We will also we will make them available for purchase on our website for a limited time until they research our retail partners.
I've seen several post from folks not able to get the union to seal. I suspect it's either from missing, mis-aligned or deformed o-ring. I suggest adding a trouble-shooting section to your instructions to address this.
6. Lots of comments about a us having an accessory test port available. We will work on making it and instructions available soon.
Cool! Just don't take away the thermowell port...
7. I have attached some pictures of the FastFerment in an 18" stand. When we originally started production the stands were 19" tall. We made around 1500 of these until we changed the design to the more compact 18" version. We had many requests about making the units as compact as possible to fit in fermenting chambers so since there was excess room we trimmed it down. I have attached pictures of the current 18" stand. There is 3/4" of space underneath it that should provide more than enough room for removing the ball. I am not sure how a couple of the last post are having issues with this but we would appreciate having pictures sent to
[email protected] We are keen to make FastFerment an enjoyable experience for all.
hmmm... Not sure cutting 1 inch from the stand height was the best decision? Is 1 inch enough to make much of a difference in fitting the FF into chambers or compact refrigerators?? Your photos show a gap under the collection ball. But then again, the fermenter is empty. What happens to that gap when the FF is full??
8. Lastly We are getting a lot of request for making a fermenting chamber. Over the next few months we will be designing a custom jacket similar to the cool-brewing.com Fermenting Cooler System. We hope to have something available for the warm summer months that we can't wait for ahead!
Interesting! If you make good design and price point decisions, this could be a very good product for you.
I hope you take my feedback as constructive, instructive, and most of all supportive. I DO LIKE YOUR PRODUCT!
Let me know if you have any questions on my comments or if you'd like to know the meaning of life. I'll be glad to tell you...
Cheers!