Morebeer FerMonster

[treacheroustexan]

This is six gallons in a seven gallon fermenter. I'd think if you had a six you'd be fine, but if you ever wanted to ferment slightly more you might wish you had a seven.

I'm chilling a batch in a minute. Give me a bit and I'l post a pic of a 5.5 gallon batch in a 7.

Edit: Sorry, totally misread your post. Thought yours was 5 gallons in a 6 gallon fermonster. I guess.l my pic of 5.5 gallons isnt a whole lot different haha

 

[treacheroustexan]

5.5 in a 7 gallon

View attachment 1474736911580.jpg

 

[kidnextdoorz]

This is six gallons in a seven gallon fermenter. I'd think if you had a six you'd be fine, but if you ever wanted to ferment slightly more you might wish you had a seven.

5.5 in a 7 gallon

Many thanks guys!

 

[Calaeb]

Does anyone use the 7 gallon in a cool brewing bag? Have the bag coming next week, and am considering one of the fermonsters. Would like to get the 7, but want to be sure there will be enough room inside.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Does anyone use the 7 gallon in a cool brewing bag? Have the bag coming next week, and am considering one of the fermonsters. Would like to get the 7, but want to be sure there will be enough room inside.

I do. You're good!!

 

[treacheroustexan]

I'm sure it will be fine, but the stupid gasket fell into my wort when I was putting the lid back on. I left it in there. It was in my star san so shouldn't have an issue but still worries me a bit.

 

[LBussy]

I don't care what Papazian says, all homebrewers worry.

 

[tc53]

I am thinking of getting the 7G Fermonster to use as a primary fermenter, but I want to be able to easily and securely attach a blowoff hose. The help guy at MoreBeer suggested getting one of the #10 stoppers (with a hole predrilled for a bung) and carefully drilling out the hole to fit a larger (3/4", perhaps, or 5/8") blowoff hose. Has anybody tried that? Or are there other suggestions for accommodating a blowoff hose?

Regarding the BMB v. Fermonster, I already have a 5G size BMB, and basically I am pretty happy with it after using it as a secondary fermenter 3-4 times now. The light weight (compared to my glass carboys) is nice, and the wider mouth makes for easy dry hopping additions and cleaning. I am NOT happy with the new silicone gasket style lid though. As the gasket is meant to be installed, it popped out of the opening constantly, even without any pressure inside the BMB. Following a tip from NB, I flipped the gasket around (so the wider of the three or four flanges was at the top), and it seems to work fine now. I had planned on getting the 6.5G size soon to use as a primary fermenter, but the issues with these new lids/gaskets have left me with no confidence in how they will work with the pressures generated in primary. Hence my consideration of the Fermonster.

 

[hezagenius]

@tc53

You can definitely drill the Fermonster lid. I've done it with several lids. More Beer also sells solid lids so you can customize the hole size to whatever you want. Whatever you do, use a step bit and take it nice and slow so you keep the edges clean and not overshoot your desired size. Also, I'd avoid drilling right on the seam on the lid. I think it's a bit weaker on the seam.

 

[EarthwormJim]

I found that a 3/4 inch ID hose will fit snug over the OD of the hole for the air lock in the non-solid stoppers. The problem is, as others said, the stopper pops out of the lid if it isn't completely dry. So like hezagenius said, I got a couple solid lids and drilled a hole in one and threaded a 1/2 inch nipple into it and attached the hose to it. That is much more secure. I am going to get an elbow so I can just run the hose down the side of the fermentor. Now, with the hose coming off the nipple, it comes off going straight up and it hits the door on my freezer. It doesn't hurt anything but I worry that the hose will kink and I won't know.

 

[BigTerp]

I want to replace a few of my buckets I use for primary fermentation and just came across the FerMonster on Moore Beer today when getting an order together for an upcoming batch. A few questions for those that have been using these......

I brew exclusively 11 gallon batches splitting it in half for 2 separate primaries. With 5.5 gallon batches would you guys recommend the 7 gallon or 6 gallon? 7 gallon seems to be the way most of you are going, but I'm not sure I have the vertical space in my chest freezer. Would I be blowing off with 5.5 gallons of wort in the 6 gallon fermonster?

How are you guys hauling these things around when full? I use a chest freezer as my fermentation chamber, so a bucket handle is nice for getting buckets in/out of my fermentation chamber. Looks like some of you have been using the brew hauler. Would I need 2 brew haulers? Or can I swap the brew hauler to my second fermonster once the first one is in the fermentation chamber? Just wondering how easy it is to remove and put back on the brew hauler from a full fermonster in a crammed chest freezer.

 

[Johow]

When I bought my 7 gal, I got the brew hauler with it. Much easier to get ahold of that thing and move it. I'll probably get a few more soon.
The brewhauler would not be something you could take off after it's in the chest freezer so you need one for each fermenter...

 

[LBussy]

If you have 5.5 gallon batches, you may well get blowoff with a 6 gallon. I recommend measuring and seeing if you can fit the 7 - people rarely dislike having more room.

 

[Yesfan]

I want to replace a few of my buckets I use for primary fermentation and just came across the FerMonster on Moore Beer today when getting an order together for an upcoming batch. A few questions for those that have been using these......

I brew exclusively 11 gallon batches splitting it in half for 2 separate primaries. With 5.5 gallon batches would you guys recommend the 7 gallon or 6 gallon? 7 gallon seems to be the way most of you are going, but I'm not sure I have the vertical space in my chest freezer. Would I be blowing off with 5.5 gallons of wort in the 6 gallon fermonster?

How are you guys hauling these things around when full? I use a chest freezer as my fermentation chamber, so a bucket handle is nice for getting buckets in/out of my fermentation chamber. Looks like some of you have been using the brew hauler. Would I need 2 brew haulers? Or can I swap the brew hauler to my second fermonster once the first one is in the fermentation chamber? Just wondering how easy it is to remove and put back on the brew hauler from a full fermonster in a crammed chest freezer.

I just recently did an 11 gallon batch and had to use a blowoff for both fermenters. It was for a choco stout, I used US-04, and it was pretty messy! My last few batches were around the 5.25-5.5 mark in volume and this was the only messy fermentation I had, so I guess it depends on the brew and how aggressive the yeast you're using is going to be. I have 6 gallon Fermonsters, but even if they were seven gallons, I'd still use a blow off. I would just rather be safe than sorry.

As for moving them around, I love the brew haulers for mine. I have one for each of my carboys (3 fermonsters, one Better Bottle). They pretty much stay on all the time, unless I'm cleaning them. I bought mine in pairs from Amazon for, IIRC, $20.


I also bought one of those strap style wrenches to help get the lids off when cleaning them. The lids on these things almost seal too good.

 

[BigTerp]

Got 2 of the 7 gallon FerMonsters ordered today along with 2 of the brew haulers. Based on my measurements there is just enough room in my chest freezer fermentation chamber to fit both. Will be a little tight height wise since I figure I have about 27" of clearance. The FerMonster's measure 21" which should still give me enough room with the bung and airlock on. Looking forward to using them this weekend. My buckets needed replaced awhile ago!!

 

[BigTerp]

Have had my FerMonsters in my fermentation chamber now for close to 3 weeks fermenting a Two Hearted Ale clone. Loving them so far. The only negative I have is that while cold crashing the thin plastic will suck/collapse at the sides with the cooling liquid/air inside the FerMonsters compressing. I just release the bung a bit and they pop right back out though. The negative with that is I'm sure I'm introducing oxygen into the FerMonster this way. I naturally carb in my kegs so the oxygen should be taken care of when I keg tonight, but do you guys do anything different to combat the collapsing of your FerMonsters while cold crashing?

 

[55x11]

Have had my FerMonsters in my fermentation chamber now for close to 3 weeks fermenting a Two Hearted Ale clone. Loving them so far. The only negative I have is that while cold crashing the thin plastic will suck/collapse at the sides with the cooling liquid/air inside the FerMonsters compressing. I just release the bung a bit and they pop right back out though. The negative with that is I'm sure I'm introducing oxygen into the FerMonster this way. I naturally carb in my kegs so the oxygen should be taken care of when I keg tonight, but do you guys do anything different to combat the collapsing of your FerMonsters while cold crashing?

you can backfill with CO2. Connect it to an empty keg at slightly above atmospheric pressure before cold crashing, or just keep a line with low pressure of CO2. Or just re-inflate it as it's on the edge of collapse. You may need a carbacap for this.

Any fermenter will either take on oxygen (from air) or will collapse during cold-crashing (and as soon as you open it for transfer . Or, if it's a rigid fermentor like glass, it will have a risk of breaking while cold-crashing. I guess you could cold-crash in kegs, but then you still have to transfer off the yeast, which is it's own issue.

I guess my point - people who claim they can cold crash with their plastic fermenter walls not collapsing on them - they have a leak.

 

[Hannabrew]

I realize this isn't rocket science but figured it might somebody so here's how I marked up my 7 gallon Fermonster.

First I ensured it was completely dry, hooked up the spigot, and calibrated my water to around 68 degrees.

Next I started the process of measuring out 2 quarts of water, pouring them into the fermonster, marking just below the water line with 4 inches of masking tape. I mad sure both ends of the tape were equidistant from the water line so the lines would be as straight as possible. This worked well until gallon 7 and above as they are on angles. For those I just tried to get the middle as straight as possible. Not too concerned with the accuracy of those anyway.

I found I could get into a good rhythm of refilling the pitcher while waiting for the addition to the Fermonster to stabilize and likewise I could mark the Fermonster while I was waiting for the pitcher water to stabilize.

Next simply use a permanent marker and your still hand of choice to draw lines above each piece of masking tape. I choose to do 1 inch lines for gallon markers and .5 inch lines for the 1/2 gallon markings.

FWIW, I measured the capacity of my 7 gallon Fermonster at slightly above 7 11/16ths gallons. That is with the spigot which takes up some volume. Also the 5, 6, and 7 gallon markers were all off by quite a bit as pictured below (look for the dimple which is about 1/4 inch higher than my 5 gallon mark. Note the cool bubble lines that naturally occurred during this process at each 1/2 gallon marking...too bad I couldn't use those to somehow chalkline the fermonster.

Also if you make a mistake with the permanent marker, you can use dry erase markers to draw over the permanent marker. It acts like an eraser and then you can wipe both off easily.

I'm not sure why the pics I upload always show up rotated incorrectly...I am positive they are the right orientation when I upload them. Any advice?

 

[BigTerp]

Anyone having any luck with getting the lid off easily after fermentation? Mine are a bear to get off. I lube the o-ring with keg lube on brew day, but it doesn't seem to help much at all. I need a second person to hold the Fermonster so I can man handle the lid to get it off. Last batch I was by myself so I just transferred through the bung hole and dealt with the lids after I got all the beer out. A strap wrench would probably work, but I don't have one that fits good. Any other ideas?

 

[treacheroustexan]

Anyone having any luck with getting the lid off easily after fermentation? Mine are a bear to get off. I lube the o-ring with keg lube on brew day, but it doesn't seem to help much at all. I need a second person to hold the Fermonster so I can man handle the lid to get it off. Last batch I was by myself so I just transferred through the bung hole and dealt with the lids after I got all the beer out. A strap wrench would probably work, but I don't have one that fits good. Any other ideas?

I only ferment for like 2 weeks max before kegging so I just took the o rings out of my lids. The last time I couldn't get it off I sat on the floor facing the wall and held it in between my legs and gave it everything I could. haha. I have a friend who had to throw his against a wall. If you don't have a strap wrench, you could always just use a belt.

 

[GotPushrods]

Anyone having any luck with getting the lid off easily after fermentation? Mine are a bear to get off. I lube the o-ring with keg lube on brew day, but it doesn't seem to help much at all. I need a second person to hold the Fermonster so I can man handle the lid to get it off. Last batch I was by myself so I just transferred through the bung hole and dealt with the lids after I got all the beer out. A strap wrench would probably work, but I don't have one that fits good. Any other ideas?

I use an oil filter wrench and have no problems with a light grease on the o-ring. A few lb/ft max. I don't worry about getting the lid too tight as I know it will come off easily.

 

[LBussy]

Anyone having any luck with getting the lid off easily after fermentation? Mine are a bear to get off. I lube the o-ring with keg lube on brew day, but it doesn't seem to help much at all. I need a second person to hold the Fermonster so I can man handle the lid to get it off. Last batch I was by myself so I just transferred through the bung hole and dealt with the lids after I got all the beer out. A strap wrench would probably work, but I don't have one that fits good. Any other ideas?

$4.99 at Harbor Freight:

 

[BigTerp]

All good ideas. Will probably pick up a strap wrench before next kegging day.

 

[Murphys_Law]

Anyone port one of these yet? I am thinking I'd like to give it a shot and use gravity to transfer into the keg. Kinda tired of the siphon.

I currently have a 2 hole bung - 1 hole has my SS siphon with a hose directly connected to my "out" post, and the other is a CO2 lug. This set up seems to take eons to transfer 5 gallons.

 

[jiMithing83]

Anyone port one of these yet? I am thinking I'd like to give it a shot and use gravity to transfer into the keg. Kinda tired of the siphon.

I currently have a 2 hole bung - 1 hole has my SS siphon with a hose directly connected to my "out" post, and the other is a CO2 lug. This set up seems to take eons to transfer 5 gallons.

They sell a pre-ported version, it's $4 more but comes with the spigot.

 

[Hannabrew]

They sell a pre-ported version, it's $4 more but comes with the spigot.

That's what I bought.

 

[Murphys_Law]

They sell a pre-ported version, it's $4 more but comes with the spigot.

Unfortunately I didn't know that when I bought mine from the local store. I didn't want to buy another so I was thinking of...drill baby drill!

 

[EosTI]

Does anyone know if a 7 gallon FerMonster will fit in a Cool Brewing Fermentation Cooler?

 

[treacheroustexan]

Does anyone know if a 7 gallon FerMonster will fit in a Cool Brewing Fermentation Cooler?

Yes it does.

 

[Hannabrew]

I'm looking to drill a lid to allow for a blow off valve and/or an airlock and a thermowell. I also am doing closed transfers with my Fermonster using a carb cap.

I've never really dealt with thermowells before so looking for some advice on how to best do this.

Is it best to drill a hole and use stoppers with holes in them? Do you think I could drill the cap that comes with it or should I start with a solid lid?