Fermzilla All-Rounder with Temp Twister

[mbg]

I have a BrewJacket immersion chiller/heater. I really like this system on my FastFerment conical and a carboy. I want to ferment under pressure and pressure transfer so purchased an All-Rounder. Love it so far.

Looking for feedback on something I'm thinking of trying. For temperature control I would like to use the Temp Twister coil in the All-Rounder and chill/heat the separate pond pump bath with the immersion chiller. I would insulate the bath, fermenter, and lines. I was thinking if I wanted to cold crash I could just add ice to the bath too.

Thanks
Mike

 

[apache_brew]

I don’t know much about pumping heated fluid through internal coils. I think the convention is to pump cold fluid (glycol or ice water) and heat with an external pad. Seed germination mats work great for me.

 

[mbg]

I don’t know much about pumping heated fluid through internal coils. I think the convention is to pump cold fluid (glycol or ice water) and heat with an external pad. Seed germination mats work great for me.

Thanks for the reply. I just decided to try this out. Sort of as expected the peltier device doesn't have enough capacity. When used as designed in my FastFerment I could reach mid to high 40F. I ran this configuration and only got to 68F. Probably could do better with more insulation on hoses and vessels but not worth the trouble. Might try ice packs next like others do.

 

[apache_brew]

If you have space, you can’t beat a freezer as a fermentation chamber for a single batch.

 

[g_wood]

Hi @mbg , have you solved your problem with the temp twister? Are you using it?

 

[mbg]

Hi @mbg , have you solved your problem with the temp twister? Are you using it?

I see some have had success with the BrewJacket Immersion chiller but I didn't as you saw above. Later on I saw someone stick the cooling/heating rod in a hole at the bottom of a cooler (yes submerged it) and used I think 1-1/2" plastic sink drain pipe fittings and said they seal perfectly on the rod. I may actually try this some day.

In the mean time I purchased an Otterbox 25 quart Venture cooler for a good price. I was looking for a high performing cooler for traveling anyway. I can fit six 2-quart juice bottles in it with a pond pump. I did a test and found It holds ice for 9+ days. So I cried a bit and drilled a hole in it to pass the pump cord and cooling lines. I used a 1" NPT plastic pipe and cap. I did some tests and it worked great. When I went to use it on an Ale I put it in an area of the basement where a leak would drain into the sump but get this, it was so cool I needed heating not chilling. Someday I will try it on a lager and report back.

This is the other solution I found. Guy claims he purchased this bulkhead at HomeDepot. If anyone knows what this is called please let me know - thanks.

 

[Henbrew]

Not sure if it helps you, but I created a lid for my Fermzilla with plexiglass and a 1 3/4" grommet. It seals nice but certainly won't hold any significant pressure. My buddy sold me his Brewjacket for a good price and with this setup I can at least ferment with the Brewjacket and then pressure transfer with the original lid. Not ideal, but it works. Regardless, you could do something similar to this for your cooler.

 

[SugarJohnson]

Hi @mbg , have you solved your problem with the temp twister? Are you using it?

I know this an old post but for heat I routinely use my all rounder with the temp twister for Kveik yeast. Its currently holding 85 degrees circulating hot water in a cooler with a 500w aquarium heater and Inkbird. I also cool and cold crash rotating 2L frozen water bottles daily. Simple and effective.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

If you have space, you can’t beat a freezer as a fermentation chamber for a single batch.

This is exactly what I use. I got some sort of adhesive heating pad for heat, in inkbird to control that and the freezer and I can ferment from 100 down to cold crashing to 34 degrees. Works great. I've been using a big mouth bubbler but the all-rounder for pressure ferm and pressure transfers works fantastic.

I also use the CO2 output from the all-rounder during early fermentation to purge my starsan filled keg, so I save CO2 there too.

The freezer is a 5 cubic foot...doesn't take up a ton of space and it was $150 new at Best Buy. Hard to beat $230 for a full temp controlled fermentation system that can hold up to 30psi! It's an excellent system.