New Conical Fermentor

[enohcs]

I broke down and got the blichmann 14.5 gal fermentor, so naturally I have a few questions before I get going.

1. At what point of fermentation are people doing their first dump? I know oxidation is a concern here so I'm guessing when fermentation is about 80% complete?

2. If I've got 10 gal in the fermentor, is there a volume of yeast/trub/beer you expect to dump on the first go round? Or what are the signs of a complete dumping?

3. Are people doing many subsequent dumps? And if so, how does the volume compare to the first?

4. Anything else I should know?

 

[COLObrewer]

Wow, all this dumping seems like a waste of beer? Maybe I don't understand the question? I don't own a conical fermentor but if I did, I'm pretty sure I would only dump the trub after fermentation was complete or even after conditioning, then leave it for clearing then go to packaging?

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

I usually dump trub on day one and dump the first yeast floc on about day 3-4... after that I harvest when fermentation is about 80-90% done. Not sure about oxidation concerns... I've never had an issue though. I have a 20+ gal fermenter so I usually get about 1 pint per dump. Sometimes if I kept most of the trub in the kettle I only dump until it runs clear, which might only be a few oz. Also, get a rubber mallet and tap the cone a few times a few hours before you do a dump... it helps slide more of the yeast down the cone.

 

[enohcs]

Also, get a rubber mallet and tap the cone a few times a few hours before you do a dump... it helps slide more of the yeast down the cone.

Thanks. Good call on the rubber mallet. I had read that once upon a time, but forgot.

 

[samc]

+1 on what RiverCityBrewer said. When I used a conical I did pretty much the same thing except I used my sneaker instead of a mallet, because I lost mine years ago.