Help me decide between Spike CF10 and SSBrewtech Unitank

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I'm glad to see that this thread is still going, more or less.
I'm in the market too, but i have already decided on the Spike CF10.
My reasoning:
The lid comes off. I don't have a CIP ball, and i really want to get in there and clean it.
2" TC for the bottom dump.
sample port
chiller coil for half batches
accessories are great and pretty varied based on what your needs.
excellent customer service.

Now these are my opinions and i have nothing to compare it to, especially since this will be my first conical/unitank. I'm pumped, but i hate waiting until i've saved up enough to purchase...
 
jmgreen7 said:
I'm glad to see that this thread is still going, more or less.
I'm in the market too, but i have already decided on the Spike CF10.
My reasoning:
The lid comes off. I don't have a CIP ball, and i really want to get in there and clean it.
2" TC for the bottom dump.
sample port
chiller coil for half batches
accessories are great and pretty varied based on what your needs.
excellent customer service.

Now these are my opinions and i have nothing to compare it to, especially since this will be my first conical/unitank. I'm pumped, but i hate waiting until i've saved up enough to purchase...
Click to expand...
They also have a payment plan....... Lol
 
Im also in the market. I did notice Ss sells chiller coil extension arms for $25 to get the coil further down in the conical for 1/2 batches. Still leaning toward spike cf5 though.
 
cubsfan16 said:
Im also in the market. I did notice Ss sells chiller coil extension arms for $25 to get the coil further down in the conical for 1/2 batches. Still leaning toward spike cf5 though.
Click to expand...
Remember the spike is a unitank and not a standard conical if your refering to the bme SS conical. There's a very big advantage to the spike. There not really comparable.cheers
 
Yeah, I’m looking at the ss unitank vs cf5. They are about the same price once all the options are added to the cf5
 
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Blazinlow86 said:
They also have a payment plan....... Lol
Click to expand...

You are not the first person that has mentioned it. While enticing, i can't put the cart before the horse. I have lots of brewing stuff i need to get rid of in order to fund it.

Keezer is going, brew tower that i don't use, extra carboys, kegs, growlers, etc. I have a surplus that i don't need. By the time that is sold, i'll have more than enough to pay for it outright.
 
Old thread, but hopefully not a dead thread.

A few questions for those that have gone with the Spike:

1. I rarely see anyone mention they picked up the cf5, instead mentioning they went with the cf10 or cf15. Is there a reason, other than wanting to do 10 gallon batches?
I have never in 15 years, done more than 5 gallons, and occasionally done 2.5 gal batches. I know I can fit 5 gal in a cf10, but if I'm never going to brew a 10 gallon batch, why spend the extra cash on a cf10? Just making sure I'm not missing something there.

2. What's the lifespan on the lid gasket?
Not having a TC gasket in that location is the one thing that makes me nervous about the spike. I'm only in my mid 30's, so I'm hoping to buy something that will last me 40+ years. Nothing against Spike, but I don't know if they'll be around that long, if the gasket will last that long, or what I'm supposed to do in 10+ years should it fail. Thoughts?
 
specialkayme said:
Old thread, but hopefully not a dead thread.

A few questions for those that have gone with the Spike:

1. I rarely see anyone mention they picked up the cf5, instead mentioning they went with the cf10 or cf15. Is there a reason, other than wanting to do 10 gallon batches?
I have never in 15 years, done more than 5 gallons, and occasionally done 2.5 gal batches. I know I can fit 5 gal in a cf10, but if I'm never going to brew a 10 gallon batch, why spend the extra cash on a cf10? Just making sure I'm not missing something there.
Click to expand...

I agree, if you're certain you'll never brew 10-gallon batches, then there's little point to the CF10. I have one, thought that the cost increase was relatively minimal given that the CF10 can also ferment 5-gallon batches. But that's me. I haven't done that many 10-gallon batches, thinking about splitting one w/ a friend this weekend.

2. What's the lifespan on the lid gasket?
Not having a TC gasket in that location is the one thing that makes me nervous about the spike. I'm only in my mid 30's, so I'm hoping to buy something that will last me 40+ years. Nothing against Spike, but I don't know if they'll be around that long, if the gasket will last that long, or what I'm supposed to do in 10+ years should it fail. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

No idea. I bought a second one as a backup just in case the original one bit the dust, but it's working just as well as the day it arrived. I've had the Spike now for almost 2 years, guessing about 40 batches.
 
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specialkayme said:
Old thread, but hopefully not a dead thread.

A few questions for those that have gone with the Spike:

1. I rarely see anyone mention they picked up the cf5, instead mentioning they went with the cf10 or cf15. Is there a reason, other than wanting to do 10 gallon batches?
I have never in 15 years, done more than 5 gallons, and occasionally done 2.5 gal batches. I know I can fit 5 gal in a cf10, but if I'm never going to brew a 10 gallon batch, why spend the extra cash on a cf10? Just making sure I'm not missing something there.

2. What's the lifespan on the lid gasket?
Not having a TC gasket in that location is the one thing that makes me nervous about the spike. I'm only in my mid 30's, so I'm hoping to buy something that will last me 40+ years. Nothing against Spike, but I don't know if they'll be around that long, if the gasket will last that long, or what I'm supposed to do in 10+ years should it fail. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I own a CF10 and I only brew 10 gallon batches. With that said...

1. In your situation since you are brewing five gallons and smaller, buy the CF5. By your own statements, there is no reason for a larger CF10 or CF15.

2. I bought an extra lid gasket. I suppose I could buy a new one every few years to make sure I always had a replacement. Probably unnecessary, but may be cheap insurance.

The lid design is not new. The same design is used in the swimming pool industry with diatomaceous earth filters on spas and swimming pools. I suspect there are several similar sized lid gaskets that would be able to be used. They might not be a wedge type like Spike uses, but rather might be a round design.
 
mongoose33 said:
I agree, if you're certain you'll never brew 10-gallon batches, then there's little point to the CF10.
Click to expand...

I picked up a 15g kettle from Spike to do eBIAB on the off chance I'd do a 10g batch in the future. 13 months later and a 10g batch hasn't even crossed my mind, and I wish I could have done some 2.5g batches in there (the heating element and temp probe are too high up to do such a small batch). My biggest problem has always getting rid of the beer, not brewing it. Who would have thought. Anyway, the increased kettle size ran me another $45, which isn't that big of a deal, but the price difference between the cf10 and the cf5 is $100. Seems like some wasted cash in my situation.

Thanks for confirming what I was already thinking.

mongoose33 said:
I bought a second one as a backup just in case the original one bit the dust, but it's working just as well as the day it arrived. I've had the Spike now for almost 2 years, guessing about 40 batches.
Click to expand...

I thought about that, but then figured the seal would probably dry rot at some point in the next 10-20 years. If I need it that is.

CodeSection said:
The lid design is not new. The same design is used in the swimming pool industry with diatomaceous earth filters on spas and swimming pools. I suspect there are several similar sized lid gaskets that would be able to be used. They might not be a wedge type like Spike uses, but rather might be a round design.
Click to expand...

I recognize its paranoia more than a reasonable concern. But after dropping a grand or more on a fermenter, it would frustrate me to no end if a $10 gasket is what makes the system obsolete.

What's the diameter on the seal?
 
specialkayme said:
I recognize its paranoia more than a reasonable concern. But after dropping a grand or more on a fermenter, it would frustrate me to no end if a $10 gasket is what makes the system obsolete.
Click to expand...

We promise we’re not going anytime soon!! We have test units at our facility we’ve used for 4+ years pretty rigorously and they still have the original lid gasket. It’s not really a part that wears out.
 
specialkayme said:
....What's the diameter on the seal?
Click to expand...

Here are the diameters on the seal area on my CF10....

It appears the inner diameter is 16 1/4". It appears the outer diameter is 16 29/32". Based upon Spike's website, the CF5 overall diameter is 3" less than the CF10. If you are concerned about "dry rot" for only $12 at today's pricing, you can buy a new replacement seal every 3-5 years. Again, probably unnecessary, but there really isn't any harm to follow that routine.

IMG_2492.jpg


IMG_2494.jpg
 
You guys have way too much time on your hands.
a) If you are brewing small (5 gal) batches and you biggest problem is "giving away your beer", work on practices that make your beer better. Good beer goes away faster than you can brew it, which brings point b.
b) The amount of labor/ time to make 5 gal vs 10 gallons with all grain or biab is so close that it is hard to justify only getting 5 gallons of delicious beer when you wish you had another 5 when you drink the last sip of a 5 would be cause for frustration, and eventual demise of your great hobby.
c) Any gasket, (in any industrial/ home scale use) will fail faster with longer periods of un-use.
Summary: Brew better beer, brew larger batches, over time, word will get out and your equipment will be in continuous use, so your gaskets will probably not fail in an untimely manner.
If you do have a gasket failure, rest assured that there are enough home brewers out there using Spike equipment that gaskets will probably be available. Kind of like buying a replacement head gasket for an older model V8.
Don't sweat the small stuff.
 
That is incredibly condescending to assume that if you only brew 5 gallon batches you must be brewing bad beer.

You know absolutely nothing about me, or any of the hundreds of thousands of brewers that only brew 5 gallon batches, and especially not enough to jump to a conclusion and assumption that all of that beer must be bad.

Personally, I don't give ANY beer away. When I did, I got inundated with constant requests for more beer. Some friends were upset that other friends got more beer than them, or got to try a batch before the keg was killed. It ended up being so much drama and trouble that I now only give beer away to people that come to my house. It restricts the drama, as well as the consumption, as they usually have to either drive home or they bring a DD (their spouse) who has no interest in their drunken debauchery, both of which keeps consumption reasonable. I live in a very rural and remote area, an hour or so drive away from most friends, so not many are able to make the drive anyway. Which leaves me. How fast can you drink 4 gallons of beer?

Even if I did give it all away, I still have no desire to brew 10 gallon batches. With so many different beer styles that I haven't tried brewing before, and so many different iterations of the same style, if I could choose between two 5 gallon batches of different beer, or one 10 gallon batch of one beer, I'd choose two 5 gallon batches.

iancl said:
b) The amount of labor/ time to make 5 gal vs 10 gallons with all grain or biab is so close that it is hard to justify only getting 5 gallons of delicious beer when you wish you had another 5 when you drink the last sip of a 5 would be cause for frustration, and eventual demise of your great hobby.
Click to expand...

With roughly 15 years of brewing under my belt, all of which are either 5 gallon or 2.5 gallon batches, I don't think I need to worry about being frustrated with only 5 gallons of beer, leading to the eventual demise of my great hobby.

iancl said:
Don't sweat the small stuff.
Click to expand...

Probably the only piece of advice from that post that I consider worthwhile.
 
Unless I really want to make a specialty beer, which won't be drank in quantity, I will ALWAYS want to brew 10-12 gals (into 2x 5.5 gal kegs); thus the incremental cost of a CF10 versus CF5 was definitely worth it. I keep one keg on tap and the other aging/waiting. Yup, this means that an additional 6-keg (8.8 cf) storage freezer is more than nice-to-have, but I need that anyway to help with lagers and other long-conditioning brews. As said before, it's 100% true that all the work to make (incl. prep and and clean up) for 10 gals is virtually the same as for 5 gals. [and I have nearby friends and golf buddies (I live on a course) to help keep the inventory moving...!] A lot of people will say, whether microbrewers or homebrewers, that over time most wish they had a bigger system, so I just went there from the start and am glad I did.
 
iancl said:
You guys have way too much time on your hands.
a) If you are brewing small (5 gal) batches and you biggest problem is "giving away your beer", work on practices that make your beer better. Good beer goes away faster than you can brew it, which brings point b.
Click to expand...

You discount the fact that some of us are unsocial old curmudgeons. Please consider other people's worlds before you are so quick to judge! :p
 
I just want to pipe into this conversation. I know the SSBrewtech Cronical doesn't have the following that Spike does, but I have had mine about a year and a half now and really like it. I was most likely going to buy all the accessories so the price was virtually the same. I never have trouble getting it to seal. Everything is some size of standard tri-clamp. My biggest complaint is that the thing is a little tippy on casters, especially when empty.

For the record, I have the 7 gallon so reaching my arm in to clean the thing is not an issue at all.
 
Gozie Boy said:
Unless I really want to make a specialty beer, which won't be drank in quantity, I will ALWAYS want to brew 10-12 gals (into 2x 5.5 gal kegs); thus the incremental cost of a CF10 versus CF5 was definitely worth it. I keep one keg on tap and the other aging/waiting. Yup, this means that an additional 6-keg (8.8 cf) storage freezer is more than nice-to-have, but I need that anyway to help with lagers and other long-conditioning brews. As said before, it's 100% true that all the work to make (incl. prep and and clean up) for 10 gals is virtually the same as for 5 gals. [and I have nearby friends and golf buddies (I live on a course) to help keep the inventory moving...!] A lot of people will say, whether microbrewers or homebrewers, that over time most wish they had a bigger system, so I just went there from the start and am glad I did.
Click to expand...
I brew on a 1/2bbl setup and now that the system has payed itself off I'm considering selling it and going to 5 gallon setup. As others have said I no longer want to brew for others and want to have a better variety for myself without having to drink constantly. Bigger isn't always better. Cheers
 
To NeoBrew and specialkayme, I apologize if my comment/ post was taken in offense, this is a great community here, and I'm sure you brew good beer, or you wouldn't be still doing it after 15 years.
For what it's worth, my post regarding CF 10 vs CF 5 were the result of a multitude of comments from many new brewers that had made the investment to get in to the hobby at the 5 gal level and wished they had made a similar investment for a better yield from their time/ effort as their skills and quality of their finished product developed. As the CF 10 has the versatility of both 5 and 10 gallon batches, my point was the 10 might be worth it in the long run. If that does not apply to your situation, or experience, or preference, no worries.
To recap the issue, the post that predicated my response was about whether or not a gasket for the CF 10 would be available in the long term, or whether the lack of availability would make it obsolete, to which Spike has replied.
Cheers!
 
Gameface said:
My Spike conical can absolutely get to 33F. The problem with the coil freezing happens if your glycol mixture temp is too low. Mine is set at 29F and I have no problem crashing to 33F.
Click to expand...

I didn't see this until now, but I'm very curious how you're getting your conical down to 33f? Is it the CF5? Is your ambient temperature pretty low?

I have a CF10, using the Penguin Chiller set at 28 degrees, and it's almost impossible to get it lower than about 38 degrees, maybe on a good day, 36 degrees. I've tried all sorts of ways of insulating the fermenter, from wrapping the whole thing in a moving blanket to individually using reflectix on everything that protrudes from the fermenter that acts as a heat sink. No real difference.

I'd love to crash it to 32 so it would more readily absorb CO2 from the headspace following a closed fermentation.
 
iancl said:
To NeoBrew and specialkayme, I apologize if my comment/ post was taken in offense, this is a great community here, and I'm sure you brew good beer, or you wouldn't be still doing it after 15 years.
Click to expand...

Absolutely no offense taken. We are all just sharing our thoughts to help out others.

mongoose33 said:
I didn't see this until now, but I'm very curious how you're getting your conical down to 33f? Is it the CF5? Is your ambient temperature pretty low?

I have a CF10, using the Penguin Chiller set at 28 degrees, and it's almost impossible to get it lower than about 38 degrees, maybe on a good day, 36 degrees. I've tried all sorts of ways of insulating the fermenter, from wrapping the whole thing in a moving blanket to individually using reflectix on everything that protrudes from the fermenter that acts as a heat sink. No real difference.

I'd love to crash it to 32 so it would more readily absorb CO2 from the headspace following a closed fermentation.
Click to expand...

This is what I struggle with on my setup. I was thinking about building an insulated chamber to put the conical in. That would help raise the ambient temp around the fermented so that the coil/glycol could be more effective. After all the monkey business, what I've decided is to just buy one of these. I'm having a little work done on my house, but in a few weeks I'm going to put an order in on one like this.

It's not far off in cost from a dedicated glycol system and seems like it will be so much more trouble free. The limitations is imposes may not work for some (Having to lift the fermenter, only having one fermenter at a time, and size limitations) I can live with.
 
mongoose33 said:
I didn't see this until now, but I'm very curious how you're getting your conical down to 33f? Is it the CF5? Is your ambient temperature pretty low?

I have a CF10, using the Penguin Chiller set at 28 degrees, and it's almost impossible to get it lower than about 38 degrees, maybe on a good day, 36 degrees. I've tried all sorts of ways of insulating the fermenter, from wrapping the whole thing in a moving blanket to individually using reflectix on everything that protrudes from the fermenter that acts as a heat sink. No real difference.

I'd love to crash it to 32 so it would more readily absorb CO2 from the headspace following a closed fermentation.
Click to expand...

something doesn't seem right. what is your glycol:water ratio? if you have too much glycol, you won't transfer the heat as efficiently. I'm able to crash my 14 gal Ss unitank down below 35 no problem with the penguin chiller.
 
speavler said:
something doesn't seem right. what is your glycol:water ratio? if you have too much glycol, you won't transfer the heat as efficiently. I'm able to crash my 14 gal Ss unitank down below 35 no problem with the penguin chiller.
Click to expand...

Same, crashing mine to 34f then 32f for the last 12 hrs using a diy chiller
 
speavler said:
something doesn't seem right. what is your glycol:water ratio? if you have too much glycol, you won't transfer the heat as efficiently. I'm able to crash my 14 gal Ss unitank down below 35 no problem with the penguin chiller.
Click to expand...

I'm at 50-50. Hmmm.....so you're suggesting (I think) that something like 25 percent glycol might work better?

Easy enough to try. I could pull out a gallon (2-gallon reservoir) and add back a gallon of RO water; that would give me 25 percent.

I've got a batch in the fermenter right now crashing; I can try this tomorrow. It'd drive me nuts if that was it.
 
mongoose33 said:
I'm at 50-50. Hmmm.....so you're suggesting (I think) that something like 25 percent glycol might work better?

Easy enough to try. I could pull out a gallon (2-gallon reservoir) and add back a gallon of RO water; that would give me 25 percent.

I've got a batch in the fermenter right now crashing; I can try this tomorrow. It'd drive me nuts if that was it.
Click to expand...

Straight water has a higher specific heat than glycol/water mix. Pure water will transfer heat/cold better than the mixture. The only reason for adding the glycol is so that you can get the temp of the coolant down below freezing. This page has a chart that can tell you what percent you need to protect against freezing at what temperature.
 
mongoose33 said:
I'm at 50-50. Hmmm.....so you're suggesting (I think) that something like 25 percent glycol might work better?

Easy enough to try. I could pull out a gallon (2-gallon reservoir) and add back a gallon of RO water; that would give me 25 percent.

I've got a batch in the fermenter right now crashing; I can try this tomorrow. It'd drive me nuts if that was it.
Click to expand...
The difference in specific heat capacity is not so large that it might become the limiting factor in your system, especially if your flow rate is more than adequate (higher flow rate compensates for lower heat capacity).
In any case you definitely don't need a 50:50 ratio as it's counterproductive to lower the cooling fluid's temperature too much as this will only cause icing on the coil. There is a good chance, if you're setting your glycol's temperature too low, that this is exactly what is happening in your case. If you try and set a lower setpoint for the fermenter, do you experience the pump running 100% of the time but the fermenter termperature slowly but steadily rising? If this is the case than it's a sure sign of icing on the coil resulting in a runaway control situation. In the case the first thing you should try is to set a higher temperature for the glycol and see if this improves the system's performance.
 
Vale71 said:
The difference in specific heat capacity is not that large that it might become the limiting factor in your system, especially if your flow rate is more than adequate (higher flow rate compensates for lower heat capacity).
In any case you definitely don't need a 50:50 ratio as it's counterproductive to lower the cooling fluid's temperature too much as this will only cause icing on the coil. There is a good chance, if you're setting your glycol's temperature too low, that this is exactly what is happening in your case. If you try and set a lower setpoint for the fermenter, do you experience the pump running 100% of the time but the fermenter termperature slowly but steadily rising? If this is the case than it's a sure sign of icing on the coil resulting in a runaway control situation. In the case the first thing you should try is to set a higher temperature for the glycol and see if this improves the system's performance.
Click to expand...

I always set it at 28F at the lowest, and my beers are always above 5 percent ABV, so no icing. As soon as I rack I always start cleaning the fermenter, never have seen ice on the coils.

Currently I have a batch crashing in my garage; ambient temps there are 50 degrees right now, and still it won't go below about 37 degrees. Penguin set to 28 degrees. Just thought of something; haven't checked the temp of the glycol solution in the reservoir to see if it's accurate [a short pause while I go check....]. Using a Thermapen MK4, it reads....28.2 degrees. So the temp control on the Penguin is confirmed.

I do have a coupler on the lines running into the coil so I can disconnect the lines from the coil. It constricts flow a bit, so to test whether that's the issue, I installed the lines on the coil w/o the coupler. Made no discernable difference.
 
So you're saying that with the pump running continuously the fermenter's temp is stuck at 37, neither rising nor decreasing?
If that's the case I would try and lower the glycol's temperature by the smallest increments possible (I assume 1°F) with the pump running continuously and see where it goes from there. As for the flow rate if you have reason to doubt that it's adequate just disconnect the return hose and let it flow into a measuring cylinder and time it to measure actual flow rate. You can then compare it to the pump's nominal rate and see how restrictive your setup is.
 
Vale71 said:
So you're saying that with the pump running continuously the fermenter's temp is stuck at 37, neither rising nor decreasing?
If that's the case I would try and lower the glycol's temperature by the smallest increments possible (I assume 1°F) with the pump running continuously and see where it goes from there. As for the flow rate if you have reason to doubt that it's adequate just disconnect the return hose and let it flow into a measuring cylinder and time it to measure actual flow rate. You can then compare it to the pump's nominal rate and see how restrictive your setup is.
Click to expand...

I did that early on--I even bought a second pump reasoning that was the problem (it's not). The flow rate was reasonable for what Spike said it should be.

Back before I bought the Penguin--which I thought would solve the crashing issue but didn't--I was running a glycol solution out of the upper freezer compartment on my ferm chamber refrigerator. Shockingly, that actually worked pretty well, but couldn't get that below about 38-40 degrees.

Thinking flow was the problem, I hooked up that second pump in series with the first, one pushing, one pulling. Didn't make any difference.

This is my white whale. The beer is great, the fermenter works great, it crashes down to 38 degrees fairly quickly, everything except being able to approach 32 degrees.

I've even thought about using that second pump to feed either a coil wrapped around the OUTSIDE of the fermenter, or to feed a heat sink that would sit inside an enclosure in which the fermenter sits. I have all this excess cooling capacity in the Penguin, occurred to me that I should be able to use it somehow. Still thinking on that one, but given that others have been able to approach 32 degrees, seems I should be able to do it as well.

However, this is mostly with 5-gallon batches in a 10-gallon fermenter. It may simply be the case that there is too much surface area or protruberances to overcome ambient with the smaller batch. In a CF5, there is smaller surface area, and the coil is completely submerged. That may be the telling difference.
 
Mongoose how much of the coil is submerged in the beer when you have 5 gallons ? Honestly I usually go from fermenter to a keg at 38f and it's been fine.
 
mongoose33 said:
However, this is mostly with 5-gallon batches in a 10-gallon fermenter. It may simply be the case that there is too much surface area or protruberances to overcome ambient with the smaller batch. In a CF5, there is smaller surface area, and the coil is completely submerged. That may be the telling difference.
Click to expand...
This is probably the biggest issue in your case. Basically you have the external surface area of a CF10 pulling in heat but only part of the coil actually exchanging heat with the wort. The part that lies above the surface only contributes a negligible amount as exchange over gas is really extremely poor. Of course if you lower the glycol temp further since you obviously cannot increase the coil's surface you'll only run into an icing situation which will lead to a runaway system. I'm afraid the only solution in your case as you have already suggested yourself is to put the fermenter itself in some sort of cooled or at least well insulated enclosure in order to reduce the heat input from the environment.
 
Vale71 said:
This is probably the biggest issue in your case. Basically you have the external surface area of a CF10 pulling in heat but only part of the coil actually exchanging heat with the wort. The part that lies above the surface only contributes a negligible amount as exchange over gas is really extremely poor. Of course if you lower the glycol temp further since you obviously cannot increase the coil's surface you'll only run into an icing situation which will lead to a runaway system. I'm afraid the only solution in your case as you have already suggested yourself is to put the fermenter itself in some sort of cooled or at least well insulated enclosure in order to reduce the heat input from the environment.
Click to expand...

Or just do 10 gallon batches :)
 
On the ss brewtech unitanks it looks like the 1.5 Tc ferrules are not the full 1.5 opening size , that make cleaning harder? I currently have a cf15 and they are the full 1.5 and pretty easy to clean by adding 6 gal of pbw and doing a cip
 
I have not had a good experience doing CIP with mine. I have in fact found yeast on the face of the carb stone port where it widens out to 1.5". I've not really tried to troubleshoot the problem. It is not that hard to break it down and clean it and the peace of mind that it is truly clean in every part is worth the peace of mind.
 
ready to make the jump and have decided on Spike CF15, the main reason being I can do 5, 10, or 15 gallon batches and not lose out on any specific feature. I am leaning on the taller leg extensions with castors simply to make it easier to interact with, looks like a lot struggle with CIP so likely to skip that for now. I was wondering if there is a consensus on any accessories to skip or if there is a better option by someone else?

I'm assuming if I go with the heating pad I need to Neoprene cover as well to hold it in place.
 

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