No Chill brew observations

[rcrabb22]

I chose to do my first double brew day and decided I would try no chill to save a little time. I bought 2 of the USP 6 gal Winpaks before they ran out. A few observations:

I didin't realize a times savings since I increased my boil time to 90 minutes to decrease the likelyhood of DMS. The time it takes to cool a batch is roughly the 30 minutes I added to the boil.

I never worried about aeration of wort during transfer from kettle to fermenter before and had no means to transfer the hot wort to the fermenters without some splashing. I didn't think about it until it was too late. I may have hot side aeration issues down the line.

After cooling in the basement for ~26 hours I pitched the yeast. The #11.5 bungs would not stay secure in the openings of either fermenter and kept pushing back up eventually resting in the opening. We have had carpenter ant issues this spring so I was concerned an ant would get into one or both of the fermenters. I drilled a 5/8" hole in the center of the cap and inserted a 1/2" ID, 5/8" OD blow off tube in each cap. Problem solved but if I do no chill again I need some new caps.

I haven't closed the book on the no chill technique but I need some equipment modification for hot wort transfer before I'll try it again. Oh and some new caps

 

[Tonedef131]

I don't see the appeal.

 

[The Pol]

Well, yeah that is definately something to consider with no chill, how you will perform the transfer of boiling wort.

Also, the #11.5 stoppers didnt fit? That is odd, if the hole and the stopper are DRY, mine seals up very nicely, I have used it twice with no issues whatsoever. I had the same issue on my glass carboys, Star San can be slippery and the parts need to be dried.

 

[rcrabb22]

Well, yeah that is definately something to consider with no chill, how you will perform the transfer of boiling wort.

Also, the #11.5 stoppers didnt fit? That is odd, if the hole and the stopper are DRY, mine seals up very nicely, I have used it twice with no issues whatsoever. I had the same issue on my glass carboys, Star San can be slippery and the parts need to be dried.

The tone of my OP was on the negative side but that's not to say I've given up on the technique.

Yes the bungs were wet from Star San. I actually like using the blow off tubes. I had a clogged airlock once before and the subsequent mess made me a blow off tube convert.

On the plus side I really like the 6 gal Winpaks and ordered more though they are on back order. The last post I read about a carboy shattering in someone's arms really struck a nerve (NO PUN INTENDED) and I always disliked handling them for safety reasons.

 

[The Pol]

I have used a blow off on my past 2 brews... I use a stopper, three piece airlock and a hose over the tube in the airlock. I clean and sanitize it all in one piece, and store it that way. FWIW, the airlock has the little cross-hairs cut off!