Giving up on my fancy conical...

[OakIslandBrewery]

I have the CF10 and love it. I started out with plastic buckets, then a plastic conical then pulled the trigger on the CF10. It probably cost more than all the other fermenters I had combined but it's worked out well for fermenting and cleaning. I've had it for several years now and the only changes I made was purchasing the three-port cover and building PRV. I purchased the CF10 with leg extensions and a wheel kit although I have it bolted to the wall with a clamp on the back leg. It's very top heavy empty and especially full so I wanted it not mobile. It sits close to the brewery sink so cleaning is not a problem. Transfer are done by just draining the beer into corny kegs from the side port with a hose. Simple and it works fine.

Using the Kegmenter would be my second choice just as McMullan stated. I looked at them too before the CF10.

In the grand scheme of things if folks brew great beers in an old boot sick with it. Having a "pretty" shiny stainless steel conical works for me and I would not give it up.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

found the cold crash, dump yeast, cold crash dump hops, cold crash, transfer to be quite involved process and I lost about 3L of beer getting our the hops (not to mention a bigger mess than I wanted).

So I changed my process for this with my neipa. Basically what I've been doing is, cold crash, dump yeast, dry hop at 55f, rouse, cold crash and keg. So instead of dumping dry hops I leave them in the cone, turn my dip tube to about 10 o'clock then hook up my transfer hose with inline filter, purge the line and transfer. By doing this I skip a step of dumping and found I get more final product.

 

[Bassman2003]

I believe things can get overly complicated and maybe not result in a better end product. Happiness is paramount to this hobby lasting and ease of use is a very close 2nd! So sell the bling and go back to basics. I recently added some new equipment to give some options for pressure and O2 free cold side management. One was a Kegmenter as mentioned before. Picked it up used for $100. I think it will be a great tool for pressure and non-pressure ferments.

Regarding conicals, I share the dismay with the size and non-practicality for small fridges and the general homebrew world. So I decided to make my own. This was a project that took a long time to come together but it fits my brewing world. Compact and easy. I can fill it on brewday and do not open it until it kicks as it is a keg as well. I just move it around between fridges.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

I need a sanity check. I'm about to get rid of my fancy conical in favor of fermenting in a kegmenter or fermonster/all-rounder.
Here is my set up (some stuff not shown). I've got a spike conical CF10 with all the bells and whistles - pressure manifold, dip tube, low O2 dry hop doser, temp probe, extra butterfly valves for blow off and dumping. I use it in a big glass door fridge for temp control. Its every homebrewers dream right?!?!
But I'm just kinda over it and I miss the simplicity of fermenting in kegs. Here are my gripes:

• Too heavy - When full with 5-10 gallons of wort its too heavy to lift into the fridge, so I have to fill it using a 10 foot hose that has to be cleaned and sanitized. Its a pain to do it well.
• Hard to clean - I've tried CIP on top and I've tried hand washing the tank while soaking all the parts in pbw. Its just a big chore, ultimately takes 1-2 hours with lots of lifting moving it around. I much preferred fermenting in kegs because washing kegs on my keg washer couln't be easier and its a process i'm doing anyways!
• Dumping yeast and especially dry hops is a pain - I avoid doing either because of the mess, hassle with low potential benefit, loss of beer. Plus re-using yeast is unpredictable - I mostly would rather re-pitch on a cake or start with new dry yeast.
• Worse dry hopping extraction - With the elbow on the bottom I get significantly worse extraction on dry hops because they all sink into the elbow below the cone. The solution to this is to rouse with Co2 or recirculate with a pump (risk O2 and yet another cumbersome chore). Its too big to shake around the hops like in a keg.
• Risk of clogged transfer via the dip tube. Even with a good cold crash adjusting the dip tube there is little assurance that I won't clog a dip tube. I miss my floating dip tube with a filter on it, which mostly guarantees I get the most beer possible without a clog. The work around for this is using an inline filter, but again more hassle and risks o2.

This is why so many are getting out of brewing...way too much work. When it's easier and sometimes cheaper to go to Total Wine and just buy a keg of your favorite beer.

 

[Bassman2003]

Homebrewing has never been easier so I can't see that as a new factor. Unless one brews Bud Light clones, buying a keg of good beer is about the cost of a kettle. I have never seen liquor store in competition with my brewing. If they are, one is destined to leave the hobby anyway.

 

[easttex]

I believe things can get overly complicated and maybe not result in a better end product. Happiness is paramount to this hobby lasting and ease of use is a very close 2nd! So sell the bling and go back to basics. I recently added some new equipment to give some options for pressure and O2 free cold side management. One was a Kegmenter as mentioned before. Picked it up used for $100. I think it will be a great tool for pressure and non-pressure ferments.

Regarding conicals, I share the dismay with the size and non-practicality for small fridges and the general homebrew world. So I decided to make my own. This was a project that took a long time to come together but it fits my brewing world. Compact and easy. I can fill it on brewday and do not open it until it kicks as it is a keg as well. I just move it around between fridges.

Sidebar: I've thought of doing this myself some day. Where did you source the stainless funnel from?

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Just about all hobbies require some work. Even the person who sits and watches birds. I guess if had several hobbies I might consider brewing to be more work than others. To me the reward of brewing my own beer outweighs the work part plus I've finetuned my brew day so it's not as much work as it once was, like spreading out tasks over a couple days. Again, I don't have a ton of hobbies.

There's a lot of great beers out there I still can purchase and serve on my home brew serving system so if I decide to switch gears I can. I haven't yet though.

 

[natmartin]

I think it truly depends on your setup. For me, the conical makes everything much easier. I have a fixed location for brewing, so the fermentor is on wheels, moves over to the brewing area, gets fillled (via pump) and rolls back over to the glycol chiller. No lifting into a fridge.

I have a CF5, so sanitizing is pretty simple, just dunk all the valves & parts into a tub of starsan, and spray the inside with a starsan spray bottle. Cleaning is the same, a hose and brush with PBW takes care of the conical itself quickly, while everything else dunks in a tub of PBW overnight. The next morning, an quick rinse and put everything on the drying rack. So for me, it ends up being a faster and easier process than a carboy.

Being able to carbonate while cold crashing also saves me time overall.

But all of this is very dependent on having a setup with glycol, an easily accessible hose and sink, a brew system with a pump, etc etc. Without all of that, it would be a big pain.

 

[Bassman2003]

Sidebar: I've thought of doing this myself some day. Where did you source the stainless funnel from?

I nice guy named Mike North at www.floturn.com They have the cones made in bulk and they will cut down to your size. $240 shipped. Finding the cone was the most challenging part of the project. Once I had one I found a great welder and he went to town.

 

[Willygilly]

If anybody is brewing beer to save money they are probably driving a pedal driven car as well. There are far too many inexpensive and good tasting beers out there to be driven to home brewing by cost savings. Home brewing is a lot of work; even if you don't use pressurized kegs, etc., even brewing and bottling is a lot work, but it's well worth the wait and the final product.

 

[seatazzz]

I've looked at the conicals, and while I like the idea of the ease of dumping yeast/trub, they just don't fit in my system. My ferment fridge is an old Samsung side-by-side (don't use the freezer side for anything), and if I went to conicals, I could only ferment one batch at a time. With fermonsters I can fit two. And they are just easier to clean; take off the lid, fill with warm water, and use a microfiber towel to get the gunk out. I can fit my arm all the way to the shoulder in those things. I recently got a pressure-transfer setup for them, and I will never go back to either using an autosiphon or stuffing the tubing into the spigot; it's just too easy, and low oxygen, and CLEAN.

 

[Deric]

I would love to have a conical. It would be great to harvest yeast and dump trub/hops but... Lifting one in and out of a fridge/freezer is not appealing to me. I ferment in my garage that gets over 100 degrees in the summer (98 today) and close to freezing in the winter. Would need a glycol chiller and a heat source...

I've been fermenting in a Fermonster in a chest freezer. Works great. Do pressure transfers when kegging. Only time I have to open it is for dry hopping. To dry hop I loosen the lid then connect CO2 at ~5 psi. Let it flow for a few then open quickly and dump hops in. Put the lid back on half way, let CO2 flow for a few more seconds then disconnect the gas and tighten the lid. For cold crashing I hook up CO2 via a low pressure propane regulator. Works great - biggest problem can be loosening the lid. Only real downside is that I can only ferment one batch at time if I want different temp/fermentation profiles.

After weighing the cost/benefit of a conical (plus glycol, plus heat), I've been looking for 2 wine/beverage fridges that will fit a 7 gal Fermonster so I can have more than one batch going at a time. Hoping I can find a pair that will fit in the same space as my chest freezer for less than the price of a conical..

 

[NoCornOrRice]

I've had a conical for years, but I certainly understand the desire for returning to simplicity. To that end, I got rid of my 3v E-Herms. I put a heating element in the conical so I can mash, boil, ferment, and use it as a keg washer. Only downside is I can only make ~15 gallons (of strong beer) at a time instead of ~23. It's worth it tho. So much easier. Good casters for the fermenter are a must.

 

[GoodTruble]

I think the fermzilla all-rounder is the best bang for your buck, and best option for sub-$thousands home brewing. Dead simple but pressure-capable. And the light weight is great not just for moving but especially for cleaning (wipe down inside with paper towels and then 5 gallons of PET-safe cleaner with lid on, then flip upside down (!) to clean the top side - you can even just pick up and shake like crazy with cleaner inside).

I agree it has a slightly wider footprint than a fermonster, but it has way better pressure rating (want to cold crash? Spund to 7 psi and no suck back).

Plus, I love to watch the fermentation playing out. For me, that's a fun part of the process.

I also highly recommend these for the all-rounder. They slip over the stand and fementer and then the handles fit snug up and over the fermzilla's handles, allowing you to easily carry the fermenter and stand together. ....

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