Fermenter Comparisons

[Bobby_M]

After reading a lot of opinions on a few threads about ideal fermenters and why one is better or a better value than another, I got to thinking that most people never really look at all the available options and consider the pros and cons across the entire marketplace.

Everyone has different needs and budgets of course so this is just a table of data which I hope is as unbiased as possible. You pick which features are most important to you and as long as they fall within your budget, you're golden.

Hopefully the column labels are self explanatory but a few notes:
"Suitable for Aging" is related to oxygen permeability of the material. You could also argue that it relates to how well the lid/closure seals.

"Racking Required" and "Integrated Yeast Dump" are interrelated. By racking, I mean having the need to transfer the beer out prior to adding priming sugar in the case of bottling. If you can dump the yeast out of the primary, you can add priming sugar directly and bottle out of the same vessel. Even if you keg your beer, racking to secondary would be necessary for lagers if "racking required" is yes.

Comments, fact checking, etc welcome.

 

[BlurryEyed]

Deleted..

 

[jddevinn]

Other than the oxygen benefits the most important benefit I get out of having conicals (and I suppose it would apply to the ss bucket, corny kegs with wraps, plastic fermenters with wraps and coils) is ability to run multiple fermentations at different temperatures. Who really wants to cold crash EVERYTHING they have fermenting at once? When I had carboys even though I had room for 3 batches (10g each) of fermentation going the first batch would have to wait for the 3rd to be ready to cold crash and rack.

 

[Bobby_M]

I would venture a guess that most homebrewers rarely have more than one thing in primary at a time. Even so, I find that a pair of refrigerators would most likely be cheaper than the likes of glycol chillers,cooling coils and solenoid valves.

 

[passedpawn]

Other than the oxygen benefits the most important benefit I get out of having conicals (and I suppose it would apply to the ss bucket, corny kegs with wraps, plastic fermenters with wraps and coils) is ability to run multiple fermentations at different temperatures. Who really wants to cold crash EVERYTHING they have fermenting at once? When I had carboys even though I had room for 3 batches (10g each) of fermentation going the first batch would have to wait for the 3rd to be ready to cold crash and rack.

When I brew, I always do at least 2 different beers, sometimes 3. They all ferment, crash, and get kegged at the same time. Even if I could process them out of phase, I don't think I would. It's very convenient to batch process like that.

 

[passedpawn]

Regarding the table above, thanks Bobby. I've used glass carboys, PET carboys, and the widemouth PET (i.e., Big Mouth Bubbler). I prefer the last one by far. I've considered fermenting in cornie or sankey kegs, but for my situation, the BMB are best.

As with all things, everybody's situation is different, and there is no "one-size-fits-all".

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm sure there are a few more columns that can be added such as "available with integrated cooling solutions"

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

I have a brew bucket and a 14 gallon chronical, both with temp control provided by the Brewtech accessories plus some hillbilly engineering. Love them, often have an ale fermenting and one crashing. The hilllbilly side is might have cost as much as 2 used fridges (~$650) but it's smaller and portable.

BTW the duck tape is also a hilly billy fix for a dog who like chewed the jacket because I spill some wort on it when filling

 

[Thorsbrew]

$650 for 2 used fridges? More like 6 used fridges

Since i started my brew hobby i've bought 2 chest freezers, one about 25 cubic feet the other about 15 cubic feet for for $120 and $100 respectively.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

Maybe a bit more clarity, I can get used fridges for $100 where I live also but I'm not willing to spend $100 per year to run each of them, at least not until the I put solar cells on my roof. I do have a space issue but I would love a low cost , but efficient Keezer to put 4 to 5 brew on tap simultaneously might have to look into that

 

[Thorsbrew]

Each of the chest freezers i've got uses about $1-$3ish a month in electricity ($1 for fermenting, bit under $4 for keezering) so pretty much negligible. At about 10c/kwh.

Though there is a vast difference in the energy usage between different models. My 25 cubic foot unit is newerish (2007 i think) and only uses about 170 watts. Strangely enough the smaller 15 cubic foot unit uses more like 350 watts and appears a lot older (couldnt find a date on that one). Smaller one is also far less efficient and takes much longer to cool down. Which is why i use that one for fermenting.

 

[passedpawn]

Maybe a bit more clarity, I can get used fridges for $100 where I live also but I'm not willing to spend $100 per year to run each of them, at least not until the I put solar cells on my roof. I do have a space issue but I would love a low cost , but efficient Keezer to put 4 to 5 brew on tap simultaneously might have to look into that

I have a 4-tap keezer that sits outside in FL (covered patio). I used a kill-a-watt to measure energy usage. Less than< $2/mo.

I did buy that one new, but I doubt the older ones take much more.

 

[Bobby_M]

It's funny how a thread about fermenter comparisons immediately went to the costs of cooling fermenters. I'm totally fine with that by the way, just an observation. When considering costs of running any cooling method for fermentation, the slight variation in efficiency will be related to insulation. In that regard, refrigerators are much better insulated than a jacketed fermenter. The heat removal method will be comparable.

I do agree that some fermenters lend themselves better to being shoved inside a fridge.

 

[BlurryEyed]

Regarding the table above, thanks Bobby. I've used glass carboys, PET carboys, and the widemouth PET (i.e., Big Mouth Bubbler). I prefer the last one by far. I've considered fermenting in cornie or sankey kegs, but for my situation, the BMB are best.

As with all things, everybody's situation is different, and there is no "one-size-fits-all".

I'm ready to try a BMB, would you recommend glass or plastic?

 

[passedpawn]

I'm ready to try a BMB, would you recommend glass or plastic?

I've got the plastic ones. I have 6 of them and like them a lot.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

.... the bottom line is it's a hobby, you spend what you can afford and your spend does not necessary correlate with the quality of your output or your enjoyment of the hobby. For me I draw an analogy to cars. Is stainless fermentation worth it? Is a Lamborghini worth it? I can get everywhere I want to go with my Honda, but if could afford it , I'd have the Lamborghini. It's a great hobby. with a little creativity, there are so many ways to get to a quality end result

 

[augiedoggy]

I would venture a guess that most homebrewers rarely have more than one thing in primary at a time. Even so, I find that a pair of refrigerators would most likely be cheaper than the likes of glycol chillers,cooling coils and solenoid valves.

Depends on if your handy.
There are folks that made their chillers for $100-150 with dehumidifiers or window AC units. I scored a used chiller myself but built a 4 fermenter heating and cooling solution with a manifold and $2.20 solonoid valves mounted in a pvc manifold.. the valvles and heater strips all run on 24v and I use 4 stc1000+ units for ramping g and temp control and a $30 roll of foil faced bubble wrap to insulate about $10 worth of blue discharge hose wrapped around my conicals. All in all I have a couple hundred bucks in the setup and its been working great for a year now. For as much as my chiller runs with three full conicals I believe running 3-4 fridges would use more electricity but I havent don't a direct comparison.. I know this system takes up a lot less room.

As far as conical fermenters, I have 4 different brands..

an older version of the fast ferment plastic one which is not as easy to clean as my 3 stainless conicals.

I have one that's generic but almost the same as the stout brand 7.3 gallon conicals. I am using the thicker stout brand silicone seals on it but I do t care for the lack of a sealable triclamp fitting on The top and their were seams and welds inside I had to clean up.

I have a stout 12.5 gallon and love it because it's tall and slender which men's it cools faster as well as the fact that it has more headspace which means less blowoff getting to the tube.

The last one is a 12 gallon American home Brewer sold conical I bought for $300 shipped on Ebay. It also works very well. It seals easier than the stout but isn't as finely finished as the stout and is low and wider which means more blowoff ends up in the bucket. It did come with a real butterfly valve which I actually do not prefer over a ball valve for this small of a conical.

Both of my 12 gallon conicals have no seams and are completely sanitary as well as easy to clean. I was shocked to see more expensive options like the blichmann conical did not have this ability.

 

[mcl]

Happen to have a link for the eBay option.

 

[augiedoggy]

Happen to have a link for the eBay option.

unfortunately He no longer sells them on ebay. I found them available on alibaba but it wasnt cost effective to order just one with shipping.. I wish I would have bought more myself.

 

[mcl]

Thanks for the follow up

 

[burdbrew]

This may be a dumb question, but is there any practical way to harvest yeast using a sanke to ferment? This would be a sweet way for me to go, but I reuse yeast a lot. Does anyone pick one up and pour?

 

[Bassman2003]

I just wanted to add that I have had a great time fermenting with this 8 gallon SS Fusti - http://thevintnervault.com/product/2881/Fusti-30-liter.html

I did drill a hole on the lid for an airlock but other than that it is ready go. Easy to deal with, easy to seal and the spigot is threaded SS so it will last a long time.

Probably one of the best things I have ever purchased in homebrewing.

 

[Bobby_M]

This may be a dumb question, but is there any practical way to harvest yeast using a sanke to ferment? This would be a sweet way for me to go, but I reuse yeast a lot. Does anyone pick one up and pour?

If you set it up with a pressure transfer system with a height adjustable racking cane you can swirl it up a bit and then drop the cane right to the bottom.

 

[mongoose33]

I'm ready to try a BMB, would you recommend glass or plastic?

I've got the plastic ones. I have 6 of them and like them a lot.

Well, I feel a little inadequate as I only have three of them. But mine have spigots!

I just racked from BMB to keg tonite--that spigot is very nice. And they're easy to clean. There's not a chance in you-know-what that I'd trade my plastic BMBs for glass except on one condition: if I were aging something for a long time, glass would be better.

But when I started this odyssey, I read the horror stories about glass carboys; no way, no how. Those plastic BMBs are darned near weightless.

Well, not really. I just weighed one w/ a spigot; 2 pounds 11 ounces. But it does feel nearly weightless.

One note: they're not easy to pick up unless you buy the harness. I have three harnesses to go w/ the 3 BMBs. You can carry them in a milk crate, but that's fairly tough as you have to hold it somewhat away from your body to do that. You can also bend down and pick it up from the bottom, which is better; the problem is getting down there and getting back up. Once up, they're easy to carry that way, but when you're just shy of starting your seventh decade, there's a better way: the harness.

Would I like a chronical? Sure. May get one at some point. Depends on how this all goes. I'm producing excellent (IMO) beer right now, beer I'd rather drink in a bar than what they have on tap or in bottles. So maybe there's no reason for a chronical. But they sure do look pretty!