Kegmenter Fermentation Keg - 7.6 gal

[bkboiler]

Picked one up for that price. What a steal! It just barely fits in my legacy GE side by side.

 

[adman]

For $160 including the ball lock fittings there's really nothing that's close for a pressure-capable stainless fermenter. And it should fit in my 4.4 cu ft fermentation fridge. I'll also update once I receive mine to confirm whether or not it fits. I'm psyched for the possibility of fermenting enough to package a full 5 gallons in my serving kegs, instead of 4.25-4.5 gallons.

 

[gonefishin2]

I have one and I added the clear beer draught system so I can dry hop in it. I built a small wooden stand to fit it in my 4.4 cuft mini fridge. I use a blowoff during fermentation, then I hook up co2 on a few psi for cold crashing.

Works like a charm. Couldnt be easier to pull samples and package my beers.

I havent even touched the pressure fermentation side of things yet, and I already think it is a fantastic piece of equipment.

One improvement I would like to see is a little more slope in the base of the kegmenter. I leave a lot of beer behind when packaging.

 

[bkboiler]

Interesting. Do you feel you leave a lot of beer behind due to the floating dip tube or are you using another method of transferring?

 

[gonefishin2]

I use the floating dip tube for transfers, but i think it is because the layer of trub is so spread out.

 

[adman]

I use the floating dip tube for transfers, but i think it is because the layer of trub is so spread out.

Any idea about how much your floating dip tube leaves behind after packaging?

 

[gonefishin2]

Any idea about how much your floating dip tube leaves behind after packaging?

I have not measured it, but I was surprised the first time I kegged the beer and only filled it with about 4.25 gallons of beer. I just make slightly bigger batches of wort now.

 

[Crono]

Sorry guys, I ended up landing a 5.8 cuft Vissani instead. Kegmenter will easily fit in it

 

[isomerization]

I have one and I added the clear beer draught system so I can dry hop in it. I built a small wooden stand to fit it in my 4.4 cuft mini fridge. I use a blowoff during fermentation, then I hook up co2 on a few psi for cold crashing.

Works like a charm. Couldnt be easier to pull samples and package my beers.

I havent even touched the pressure fermentation side of things yet, and I already think it is a fantastic piece of equipment.

One improvement I would like to see is a little more slope in the base of the kegmenter. I leave a lot of beer behind when packaging.

Have you tried tilting it forward with a wedge before cold crashing? Should be able to collect more liquid before hitting trub that way.

 

[adman]

For $160 including the ball lock fittings there's really nothing that's close for a pressure-capable stainless fermenter. And it should fit in my 4.4 cu ft fermentation fridge. I'll also update once I receive mine to confirm whether or not it fits. I'm psyched for the possibility of fermenting enough to package a full 5 gallons in my serving kegs, instead of 4.25-4.5 gallons.

Update: Fits just fine on the first shelf of the Haier/Tramontina/Frigidaire 4.4 cu ft fridge. I am concerned about the strength of the glass shelf supporting the fermenter plus ~6 gallons of fermenting wort. I think I'll have to figure out some way to reinforce the shelf--or replace it with a piece of plywood.

 

[crooow]

Update: Fits just fine on the first shelf of the Haier/Tramontina/Frigidaire 4.4 cu ft fridge. I am concerned about the strength of the glass shelf supporting the fermenter plus ~6 gallons of fermenting wort. I think I'll have to figure out some way to reinforce the shelf--or replace it with a piece of plywood.

Thanks for the info!

 

[adman]

Have you tried tilting it forward with a wedge before cold crashing? Should be able to collect more liquid before hitting trub that way.

I have yet to try with wort, but I tested transferring star-san to/from the Kegmenter, and I was able to empty the kegmenter to a bit less than a cup of sanitizer remaining. I did need to trim the silicone tube so that it's just long enough to reach the bottom with an inch or two of slack the end of the tube. We'll have to see how it goes the first time I transfer beer. Obviously hitting the yeast/trub will probably cause a bit more difficulty than just sanitizer, but I'm pleased with this first run anyway.

 

[Heer4beer]

Bringing back an old thread...I’m interested in the larger version of this for 10 gal batches. I was looking into the frermzilla all rounder but would like to stay away from plastic if possible.. How have these been working out for people?

 

[Rikk]

I still love mine. I have 15,13,and 7 gallon versions. Easy to clean and use.

 

[Spyderbyte07]

How have these been working out for people?

I mostly love mine. I have four 15 gallon versions (well, two official kegmenters and two 1/2 BBL yeast brinks) and one 7 gallon version. They're easy to clean, easy to sanitize (whether with star san or heat- they're GREAT for no chill brewing, or sometimes I'll boil a small amount of water in it, empty it out, then transfer the cooled wort), easy to carry, easy to store (I have three stacked up right now), easy to ferment under pressure, and easy to care for- no worries of scratching/warping plastic or breaking glass.

The one gripe I have with mine is the liquid ball lock post needs constant tending during transfers. This is consistent across all my kegmenter lids and several different quick connects. If I fully seat the QD on the post the flow slows to a trickle or stops entirely. If I release it and apply juuuuuuuuuuust enough pressure down onto the post it flows well (although even at best it still takes me ~10 minutes to transfer 5 gallons vs ~5 minutes to transfer 5 gallons between two corny kegs- I suspect the floating dip tube provides just enough extra flow restriction to slow it all down). I have replaced one of the liquid posts and it was a notable improvement, and I plan to replace the other two soon.

I have not come across any mention of anyone else having this issue so I'm not entirely sure how I'm 0/3 with mine, but as you can see that was definitely not a deal breaker. Once I replace the other liquid posts I expect I will be completely satisfied. I may explore some sort of larger diameter floating racking arm using the lower TC port on the yeast brinks, but if replacing the posts means the transfer doesn't need any tending I really don't mind if that's a 10 (or even 20 minute) process instead of ~5.

 

[Heer4beer]

Great thank you so much! Glad to hear it! I don’t mind the extra 5 minutes as long as you’re not having clogging issues that’s good enough for me. I’ve also seen they sell filter units that you can add to the end of the dip tubes to prevent any trub/hop material from getting into the finished brew. Do you notice if you leave a lot of wort/finished beer behind from the dip tube being that the keg isn’t really a conical shape? Or you get the majority out that you’ve put in?

 

[Heer4beer]

I mostly love mine. I have four 15 gallon versions (well, two official kegmenters and two 1/2 BBL yeast brinks) and one 7 gallon version. They're easy to clean, easy to sanitize (whether with star san or heat- they're GREAT for no chill brewing, or sometimes I'll boil a small amount of water in it, empty it out, then transfer the cooled wort), easy to carry, easy to store (I have three stacked up right now), easy to ferment under pressure, and easy to care for- no worries of scratching/warping plastic or breaking glass.

The one gripe I have with mine is the liquid ball lock post needs constant tending during transfers. This is consistent across all my kegmenter lids and several different quick connects. If I fully seat the QD on the post the flow slows to a trickle or stops entirely. If I release it and apply juuuuuuuuuuust enough pressure down onto the post it flows well (although even at best it still takes me ~10 minutes to transfer 5 gallons vs ~5 minutes to transfer 5 gallons between two corny kegs- I suspect the floating dip tube provides just enough extra flow restriction to slow it all down). I have replaced one of the liquid posts and it was a notable improvement, and I plan to replace the other two soon.

I have not come across any mention of anyone else having this issue so I'm not entirely sure how I'm 0/3 with mine, but as you can see that was definitely not a deal breaker. Once I replace the other liquid posts I expect I will be completely satisfied. I may explore some sort of larger diameter floating racking arm using the lower TC port on the yeast brinks, but if replacing the posts means the transfer doesn't need any tending I really don't mind if that's a 10 (or even 20 minute) process instead of ~5.

 

[Spyderbyte07]

Great thank you so much! Glad to hear it! I don’t mind the extra 5 minutes as long as you’re not having clogging issues that’s good enough for me. I’ve also seen they sell filter units that you can add to the end of the dip tubes to prevent any trub/hop material from getting into the finished brew. Do you notice if you leave a lot of wort/finished beer behind from the dip tube being that the keg isn’t really a conical shape? Or you get the majority out that you’ve put in?

I've been pleased with the amount that I get back out- I had been using carboys, so I'm used to a wide, flat bottom and to be able to have all ~12 gallons in one vessel instead of dealing with two trub surfaces has been excellent. I've only used the 7.6 gallon kegmenter a few times but I've heard trimming the dip tube shorter helps keep everything better aligned to get a few more quarts of finished beer. Most of the time I don't have clogging issues, but I have started experimenting with putting the end of the pickup tube (including the stainless float) into a fine mesh hop bag and securing it with a stainless hose clamp on that short length of stainless tubing. This has been working well, especially when I'm trying to rush a ferment into kegs instead of giving everything time to crash out in the fermenter. I had one transfer where the end of the pickup tube didn't stay very well submerged (it kept pulling CO2/foam, and I'd have to rock the fermenter a bit to resubmerge it). It seems like it was a fluke, but I haven't found a downside to also adding a stainless washer to the end of the pickup tube to keep it better submerged.

Side note, I finally measured and the FLEX/CF5 series temp control coil will fit in the 15.3 gallon kegmenter (it's about 2.5" too long for the 13 gallon version). I contacted Spike to see if they could fit a 2" TC ferrule on the lid (I would then use this to keep my ball lock fittings and floating dip tube, but have an internal cooling coil), but unfortunately they do not customize accessories. I may purchase the coil anyway so I can chill the wort in the fermenter post boil (have I mentioned I like sanitizing with heat?) but I'm unsure if the slower chilling times will feel worth the slightly broader spectrum/more thorough sanitation compared to star san.

 

[bkboiler]

Finally got a chance to use mine for the first time...
Pretty easy to sanitize and put back together. O ring on one of the posts was shredded, but thats an easy fix. Still a great value for a pressure capable fermenter!