New Anvil Bucket Fermentors

[MT2sum]

It's not so much about pressure forcing yeast to drop out for clarity purposes. It's the opposite, it's getting it to the keg while it's near the end of the fermentation cycle in order to get carbonation done naturally. Letting the yeast tucker on the last 15-20 gravity points. Giving me about 15psi spund pressure at 68F. Then let it clear either warm or chilled, but in the keg.


View attachment 607297

Do you have a link to the building/parts of that spund/pressure relief/with-gauge setup that you show in that pic? I'm especially interested in the pressure relief parts for a CC-pinlock, and whether I can locate a pin-lock setup for it - and what other pressure settings might be available. (All my kegs are pin-locks!)
THX

 

[Schlenkerla]

Do you have a link to the building/parts of that spund/pressure relief/with-gauge setup that you show in that pic? I'm especially interested in the pressure relief parts for a CC-pinlock, and whether I can locate a pin-lock setup for it - and what other pressure settings might be available. (All my kegs are pin-locks!)
THX

Yeah, I have a web link somewhere with the bill of materials.

I also bought this at Menards for $9.

- A regulator $4.99
- A gauge for $3.99.
- 1/4 NPT brass plug.
- 1/4 NPT to 3/16" brass hose barb.

I had the hose, and 1/4 FFL swivel with 3/16 barb, the 1/4 MFL ball lock disconnect and the two hose clamps.

It's actually much cheaper to make this one below.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Home Brew mobile app

 

[MT2sum]

Thanks, now I gotta get hold of Menards (they're not in this part of TN, but I used to see them in N and S Dakota a lot)!

The closest store is in Kentucky, but I'm sure they will ship .... for a price!

Owensboro
3001 Heartland Crossing
Owensboro, KY 42303

Masterforce® 1/4" NPT Mini Regulator with Gauge $4.99
Model Number: CR1401G
Menards® SKU: 2074721
Sioux Chief 3/16" ID Barb x 1/4" MIP Brass Adapter $ 1.80
Model Number: 17700081
Menards® SKU: 6802176
Sioux Chief 1/4" FIP Brass Tee $.3.99
Model Number: 17700253
Menards® SKU: 6805115
Sioux Chief 1/4" MIP Brass Hex Head Plug $ 1.89
Model Number: 0121991
Menards® SKU: 6803191

I didn't find a pressure release like your first pic showed, but I'm sure there's one out there somewhere! Lots of different ones on ebay for as low as $1.18, but you have to wait for a month or so for them from China.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338413729&icep_item=311737813987

Here's an adjustable one on Ebay that will adjust to the lower pressures used in brewing. My understanding is that corny kegs are rated at about 125-150 PSI. So I wouldn't trust a pressure relief valve that is for a compressor - 10 KG is about 142 PSI, according to a convertor I found online. I'll go for the adjustable 0-100 PSI. at $12.39 with free shipping out of Sarasota, Florida!
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338413729&icep_item=132273629322

Thanks!

 

[Schlenkerla]

I finally come around to doing closed transfers. I'm purging my keg to be filled with the fermentor as it cranks away

Purging:
(Anvil airlock out) to (Beer_Line_Out)
(Keg_Gas_Line_In) to a Blow-off Growler

I'm doing my with gravity fill. I am using 1/4MFL hoses that I swap from keg purge to keg fill.

Filling:
(Anvil ball valve out) to (Keg_Beer_Line_Out)
(Anvil airlock out) to (Gas_Line_In)

I'm interested in how you both connected ball valve to your fill hose. I have two barbs; (1/2 to 3/8) and (3/8 to 1/4) connected to 3/16 line on a Beer QD with a 1/4MFL. Damn thing is like a venturi sucking it air.

Completed my first closed transfer with my Anvil. Everything went pretty well. Got stuck about half way through, I think I got a little over-zealous with turning the dip tube and got a little too much trub that clogged it up. I quickly blew the valve out with co2 and it started flowing again. The gas post I drilled into my lid needs some work. When pressure was building due to the clog it was definitely leaking around the seal.

A few questions for those who do closed transfers regularly:

When purging your keg (I filled with star-san then pushed it all out with c02) How much pressure are you doing that with? and do you leave the tank on the whole time or do you shut off and on as needed? and if different than above, how much pressure would you say you have in the keg when it's time to transfer beer?

Using the method above, is it still necessary to purge the headspace in the keg after filling? I don't really see why it would be but I'm no expert.

View attachment 582432

What kind of fitting are you using at the ball valve?

see attached pix. file under "better late than never"...

View attachment 583017 View attachment 583018 View attachment 583019

It looks like you're using two hoses? Can you elaborate?

Early this morning I emailed Anvil for gravity fill solution. Basically ball valve to QD 1/4MFL

 

[jeeppilot]

I’m digging this setup, but seeing as how I have a Fermonster, I can’t put any pressure on the fermenter. I have it purging my serving keg as it ferments, but I like to naturally carb my kegs. This is easy in a pressure vessel like a keg with a spunding valve, but I’m not sure how to do this with my Fermonster and without breaking the closed system. I suppose I could add my priming sugar solution to the serving keg when I hook it up to purge it. Wait till it’s finished then transfer.

Are people pressurizing their Anvil fermenters to 12 psi or so???

Is anyone without pressure vessels just purging their keg using fermentation gas then using priming sugar to carb?

Am I making any sense? [emoji16]

 

[MT2sum]

Is anyone without pressure vessels just purging their keg using fermentation gas then using priming sugar to carb?

I purge my kegs with CO2 before I put still wine in them, but last Aug I needed to put my RIS in something other than my glass carboy, and didn't have time to bottle becuz I was taking it cross country. I racked into the keg with no primer at all, just the CO2 from the purge - 3 weeks later it had a slight natural carbonation I'd guess, (way too slight for my stouts, just kind of a tingle in your mouth, not as if it had gotten some wild yeast), but I drank it anyways becuz it tasted so good, I couldn't wait - It was https://www.love2brew.com/Imperial-Stout-All-Grain-Kit-p/sbk018c.htm here. AIH has a keg lid w/airlock and bung https://www.homebrewing.org/Cornelius-Keg-Lid-for-Secondary-Fermenter_p_999.html which I had read about - I didn't have one (yet!) but it's on my wish-list after that experience! I know now I could have been doing a primary/secondary 'fermenting-all-the-way' as I travelled! Next trip tho .......

 

[Thorrak]

Are people pressurizing their Anvil fermenters to 12 psi or so???

Probably not. I can’t imagine putting any sustained pressure in the vessel - and certainly not more than 1-2psi.

 

[sweetcell]

Probably not. I can’t imagine putting any sustained pressure in the vessel - and certainly not more than 1-2psi.

this. the anvil bucket can't hold more than a few PSI. just putting a few gallons of hot water in it, sealing it and then shaking it a little will cause the lid gasket to fail from the pressure of the expanding heated air inside. thing can't hold pressure for beans.

(and by "fail", i mean that pressure is blown out through the gasket. i suspect that the latches don't keep the lid attached tightly enough, so increased pressure = lid separates from bucket just enough for pressure to sneak out)

 

[sweetcell]

I finally come around to doing closed
It looks like you're using two hoses? Can you elaborate?

i'm doing what i call "closed loop" transfer. while the beer flows down to the purged keg, it is displacing CO2 so that CO2 has to go somewhere - that "somewhere" is back to the anvil bucket. so in essence i'm swapping the beer in the bucket for the CO2 in the keg - beer goes bucket to keg, while CO2 goes from keg to bucket. it's all gravity powered, no pressure used (prior to transfer, the purged keg is bled until it's at about normal atmospheric pressure - if is it any higher, when i connect the keg to the bucket the pressure will quickly blow out the bucket, per my last post).

 

[Alex4mula]

I'm using my Anvil for 1st time on my 5th brew. I used glass before to learn what was going on. On this one I am also using my new Tilt hydrometer. All is going very good according to the Tilt. Fermenting at 66°F. I'm interested to learn how to do a closed transfer at the end.

 

[sweetcell]

I'm using my Anvil for 1st time on my 5th brew. I used glass before to learn what was going on. On this one I am also using my new Tilt hydrometer. All is going very good according to the Tilt. Fermenting at 66°F. I'm interested to learn how to do a closed transfer at the end.

View attachment 614725

cool, so the stainless isn't blocking the signal from the tilt?

 

[Thorrak]

cool, so the stainless isn't blocking the signal from the tilt?

It won’t block it - it just might make it weaker.

They’re releasing a Bluetooth “repeater” soon as well to help with this that can sit just outside of the fermenter/fermentation chamber and repeat the Bluetooth signal so as to enable maximum range for whatever you’re reading it with.

 

[Schlenkerla]

i'm doing what i call "closed loop" transfer. while the beer flows down to the purged keg, it is displacing CO2 so that CO2 has to go somewhere - that "somewhere" is back to the anvil bucket. so in essence i'm swapping the beer in the bucket for the CO2 in the keg - beer goes bucket to keg, while CO2 goes from keg to bucket. it's all gravity powered, no pressure used (prior to transfer, the purged keg is bled until it's at about normal atmospheric pressure - if is it any higher, when i connect the keg to the bucket the pressure will quickly blow out the bucket, per my last post).

Yeah, how did you get the hose on the ball valve to the keg connection. What fittings. Looks like two hoses. That step down to keg inlet of 1/4 or 3/16.

 

[Franktalk]

Here is my solution for closed transfer using the Anvil Bucket: 1-2 psi (at the most) in the fermenter via a bottle carb QD into a drilled stopper, only enough to replace the space in the fermenter.

I also bought a Blichmann 1/2" NPT female X 1/4" hose barb on the end of which I put a flared connection for a ball-lock QD.

Check out my transfer process.

 

[sweetcell]

Yeah, how did you get the hose on the ball valve to the keg connection. What fittings. Looks like two hoses. That step down to keg inlet of 1/4 or 3/16.

ah, got it. yeah, it's a pretty ugly McGuyver'ed system made with whatever hose i had laying around. big hose is 1/2", smaller braided hose is beer line that came with my used kegerator. it's pretty thick, so it just fits inside the 1/2" and fits over the gas in barb. hose clamps to make sure everything stays snug.

 

[Alex4mula]

cool, so the stainless isn't blocking the signal from the tilt?

Works ok about 10’ around. I have an old phone with wifi only next to it sending data to the google sheet. Works perfectly.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Here is my solution for closed transfer using the Anvil Bucket: 1-2 psi (at the most) in the fermenter via a bottle carb QD into a drilled stopper, only enough to replace the space in the fermenter.

I also bought a Blichmann 1/2" NPT female X 1/4" hose barb on the end of which I put a flared connection for a ball-lock QD.

Check out my transfer process.

Can I get a close up of the ball valve to hose connection?

You too @sweetcell... BTW thanks for the above picture.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I was watching this video. For bladder kegs filling and saw how they use a scale. That's what I need to do with my closed transfer to estimate it's fill vs just picking it up thinking its heavy.

I feel stupid and smart at the same time since the scale is less than six feet from where I fill kegs.

 

[sweetcell]

I was watching this video. For bladder kegs filling and saw how they use a scale. That's what I need to do with my closed transfer to estimate it's fill vs just picking it up thinking its heavy.

I feel stupid and smart at the same time since the scale is less than six feet from where I fill kegs.

i used the scale method too. i go to about 50 or 51 pounds, depending how full i want to get the keg. 51 is pretty damn full, not much headspace for CO2 at that point.

 

[sweetcell]

Can I get a close up of the ball valve to hose connection?

You too @sweetcell... BTW thanks for the above picture.

here is a close-up of my setup: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/attachments/closedtransf1-jpg.583017/ (it's a big image, click to zoom in depending on your browser).

that's a 1/2" piece of tubing connecting the beer-line to the ball valve. fit is so tight i didn't even need a clamp.

 

[Alex4mula]

here is a close-up of my setup: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/attachments/closedtransf1-jpg.583017/ (it's a big image, click to zoom in depending on your browser).

that's a 1/2" piece of tubing connecting the beer-line to the ball valve. fit is so tight i didn't even need a clamp.

So I'm guessing that in that setup as beer is going into keg the CO2 is pushed into the Anvil? Thus the "close" transfer? What if the keg is already filled with CO2?

 

[Staticsouls]

The excess co2 will equalize into the fermenter, and the siphon/ close transfer should work the same. Ideally the keg should be purged of o2 and filled with co2.

 

[sweetcell]

So I'm guessing that in that setup as beer is going into keg the CO2 is pushed into the Anvil? Thus the "close" transfer?

correct and correct.

What if the keg is already filled with CO2?

it is filled with CO2. i use the "fill to the very top with star san and push out with CO2 from a tank" method to purge the keg. right before i'm ready to transfer the beer into the keg, i use the PRV to drop the pressure inside the keg to almost ambient.

 

[Alex4mula]

correct and correct.


it is filled with CO2. i use the "fill to the very top with star san and push out with CO2 from a tank" method to purge the keg. right before i'm ready to transfer the beer into the keg, i use the PRV to drop the pressure inside the keg to almost ambient.

Well but in that case it is the O2 that went into the keg after purging that will go into the Anvil.

 

[Schlenkerla]

correct and correct.


it is filled with CO2. i use the "fill to the very top with star san and push out with CO2 from a tank" method to purge the keg. right before i'm ready to transfer the beer into the keg, i use the PRV to drop the pressure inside the keg to almost ambient.

I vent my anvil fermenter to the beer line to purge the keg. Then swap hoses at filling time.

Purging:
(Anvil airlock out) to (Beer_Line_Out)
(Keg_Gas_Line_In) to a Blow-off Growler

I'm doing my with gravity fill. I am using 1/4MFL hoses so I can swap them from keg purge to keg fill.

Filling:
(Anvil ball valve out) to (Keg_Beer_Line_Out)
(Anvil airlock out) to (Gas_Line_In) ​

My problem is the ball valve connection leaks like a carburetor starving for intake air. It didn't matter how fuggin tight the hose clamp was it bubbles. I'm also wondering if the keg vent to the anvil should equal or larger to stop the ball valve connection from pulling a vacuum.

Any of you guys watch for bubbles going into your keg? Just curious.

 

[Alex4mula]

I vent my anvil fermenter to the beer line to purge the keg. Then swap hoses at filling time.

Purging:
(Anvil airlock out) to (Beer_Line_Out)
(Keg_Gas_Line_In) to a Blow-off Growler

I'm doing my with gravity fill. I am using 1/4MFL hoses so I can swap them from keg purge to keg fill.

Filling:
(Anvil ball valve out) to (Keg_Beer_Line_Out)
(Anvil airlock out) to (Gas_Line_In) ​

My problem is the ball valve connection leaks like a carburetor starving for intake air. It didn't matter how fuggin tight the hose clamp was it bubbles. I'm also wondering if the keg vent to the anvil should equal or larger to stop the ball valve connection from pulling a vacuum.

Any of you guys watch for bubbles going into your keg? Just curious.

It could be CO2 bubbles and not O2 bubbles. I saw that mentioned in a transfer video using these Bounce beer filters.

 

[WBB]

I tried doing a test run with my anvil7.5. Even at 2psi, the co2 leakage was there around the lid. You actually have to press down on the lid to get it to seal better. I know it’s not rated for pressure xfers.

I had to get a splicer on the hose between the fermenter spigot and the keg liquid out, which is still doesn’t seem right. The hose that connects to the spigot is no the same size as the ball lock hose.

What size hose are you using to connect the anvil spigot to the ball lock on the keg for beer xfer?

 

[Schlenkerla]

I tried doing a test run with my anvil7.5. Even at 2psi, the co2 leakage was there around the lid. You actually have to press down on the lid to get it to seal better. I know it’s not rated for pressure xfers.

I had to get a splicer on the hose between the fermenter spigot and the keg liquid out, which is still doesn’t seem right. The hose that connects to the spigot is no the same size as the ball lock hose.

What size hose are you using to connect the anvil spigot to the ball lock on the keg for beer xfer?

From the ball valve I took a 1/2 hose, stepped it down with a 1/2 to 3/8 hose barb. Then used a 3/8 hose with a 3/8 to 1/4 hose barb and forced a 3/16 hose onto the 1/4 barb after a soaking in boiled water. Its connected to a 3/16 SS Barb for use on a 1/4 FFL.

1/2 hose >>> 1/2-Barb Adaptor-3/8 >>> 3/8 Hose >>> 3/8-Barb Adaptor-1/4 >>> 3/16 Hose >>> 3/16 SS Barb for 1/4 a MFL Swivel nut.

The leak is in the 1/2 hose & hose clamp and its hard to get started. Once started it bubbles like a MF'r.

 

[sweetcell]

Well but in that case it is the O2 that went into the keg after purging that will go into the Anvil.

what 02 that went into the keg? there is no O2 in the system, and i don't let any in. after the keg is purged with CO2 (via the displaced star san method), i release most of the pressure just prior to transfer - but i don't let it all out, and there is still some positive pressure in there. it's close to ambient, but not quite (pressure is still a little higher inside keg). no O2 has enter the system.

 

[Alex4mula]

what 02 that went into the keg? there is no O2 in the system, and i don't let any in. after the keg is purged with CO2 (via the displaced star san method), i release most of the pressure just prior to transfer - but i don't let it all out, and there is still some positive pressure in there. it's close to ambient, but not quite (pressure is still a little higher inside keg). no O2 has enter the system.

Ok. That makes sense now. Tks