plastic vs steel conical fermenter

[FSR402]

yea true but i think you could dump the trub out first and when the yeast is gone you could rack from the bottom. Just my opinion.

Yes that is what I thought the whole point of these things. If I wanted to use a racing cane I would just stick with a cheap buckets.

 

[insnekamkze86]

true thats what i was getting to the bottom of. But you still have to transfer the beer to another vessel for bottling unless one has a additional valve for bottling on the tank. Unless someone here thinks im wrong about the idea.

 

[Red Clay]

Of course, (as several people prefer to continuously point out for some reason) you could ferment with plastic buckets, or carboys, or old kegs as well. One of the 'benefits' of a conical fermenter is in dropping the trub and easy racking while maintaining the yeast cake. If you aren't planning on doing one of those two things I personally don't see the appeal of a conical. I don't think the 'magic' of 60 degree walls will make your beer better.

At least for me, I want to try a conical to see if I find the whole fermentation process more pleasant. I went with a plastic version to give it a test go for a reasonable cost. The dump valve and racking cane are important for me as they are key parts of the conical experience. I'd like to try making a small beer, dropping the trub, racking the beer off and pouring a big beer on the yeast bed thing. I might also try collecting yeast for future batches. I think a conical might facilitate those experiments. Besides, I like playing with new beer toys.

If I love it, I'll either upgrade to a SS version or keep my plastic if its working. Otherwise, I'll stick to my carboys.

 

[Cape Brewing]

Totally agree with the above.. I ferment in old 1/2 sanke kegs and carboys in additional to my conicals. The only reason I got the conicals was volume. They're 30 gallon conicals that I got for $100 a peice. I wasn't going to find anything else that large for that cheap... unless I simply went with a garbage can (which also works).

The dump valve on the bottom is a nice-to-have as you can get the beer off the trub pretty easily.

As I was posting above, I haven't bothered with a racking arm because I have a large autosiphon that is just as easy.

 

[tdiowa]

As someone who has two ten gallon plastic fermenters from Tank Depot and has posted several times on the building of the fermenter I guess ignorance is bliss. When I bought my fermenters my intention was to always have a racking port. I simply measured up from the bottom where the one gallon mark would be and drilled a 1/2 inch hole using a hole saw and did the following:

Threaded through the hole a 1/2" - Stainless steel pipe nipple. 1.5 inch long.

Then on the inside of the fermenter put over the threads a 1/2" O-ring and attached - 1/2" - Stainless Steel Locknut straight threaded with groove for o-rings on the threads and hand tightened it.

On the outside I placed another 1/2" O-ring over the threads and put several washers over the threads and the tighened everything up by putting a 1/2 ball valve on. Tested it for leaks. Had none and the fermeter was ready.

They’re really isn't that much to putting in a racking port. When the beer is ready to keg I attach a adapter with nipple to the threaded portion of the Ball valve, attach my hose with racking cane and keg away. The port sits about 1 inch above the trub so I don't get any back wash and if I do it is because I haven't dumped my yeast during the fermenting process

If anyone has any questions fire away.

TD

 

[insnekamkze86]

true it doesnt take much to put one on but for the people that dont want to do that with the tank. Could we transfer from the bottom valve or siphon form the top of the tank?

 

[tdiowa]

Yes you could do both without much problem.

You could siphon from the top.

You could bottle from the bottom after all the trub and yeast had been dumped.

TD

 

[FSR402]

I think the racking port people are talking about are the ones where it rotates.
I like your way, simple and efective. You know you are going to leave a gallon behind so just make sure you brew an extra 1.5.

 

[RonRock]

You know you are going to leave a gallon behind so just make sure you brew an extra 1.5.

Brings a tear to my eyes.

 

[insnekamkze86]

true but thats why we are using these tanks to make high voulme of beer so if we have to lose a gallon or two it wont matter because your making 20 to 40 gallons of beer.

 

[Cape Brewing]

... or you can just siphon it off.



Is this thing on?? (tapping my microphone) TESTING... testing... CHECK one... CHECK one.

 

[Red Clay]

Yep, it's working and I think we (or at least I) understand that one can just siphon from the conical. There's no reason it won't work just fine. Of course, there's no reason an old garbage can won't work just fine as a fermenter if you seal it, clean it and sanitize it. Sometimes it's just fun to play around with stuff even if it isn't "necessary." I think that's what people are saying about the rotating racking port. I'm working on a design for one to put one on my plastic conical. I do this thing "not because it is easy, but because it is hard." Or something like that

 

[Cape Brewing]

Totally agree... I was just saying that because of the posts saying that you would lose a gallon of beer without the racking arm.

That's crazy-talk. Just siphon it if the racking arm is either not there or doesn't rotate.

Just letting a gallon sit there and go to waste didn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

[Red Clay]

Just letting a gallon sit there and go to waste didn't make a lot of sense to me.

+1 I'm with you on that!

 

[lehr]

I have a racking arm and dont lose a gallon but mine runs pretty close to the bottom of the fermentor. I drop trub and then run my racking valve for a second to clear it then fill the kegs. Simple no cleaning a racking cane no opening the top of the fermentor.

Pat

 

[FSR402]

Totally agree... I was just saying that because of the posts saying that you would lose a gallon of beer without the racking arm.

That's crazy-talk. Just siphon it if the racking arm is either not there or doesn't rotate.

Just letting a gallon sit there and go to waste didn't make a lot of sense to me.

when I brew a 37 gallon batch losing one gallon really doesn't keep me up at night.

 

[insnekamkze86]

im either going to get the 15 gallon one or the 30 gallon one not sure yet. Im mostly going to be brewing mead so if i get one i have to seal it because mead takes longer than a month to be fully done. but when i go to brew beer i wont have to worry about that so much.

 

[Red Clay]

when I brew a 37 gallon batch losing one gallon really doesn't keep me up at night.

You know your mother would remind you of how wrong it is to not empty your fermentor when there are thirsty beer lovers in other countries who don't have enough to drink!

 

[Landshark67]

I picked up a 30gal plastic conical two weeks ago. Mine has a 2inch threaded opening so I ordered a stainless 2" NPT/tri-clamp fitting. I've added a 90deg elbow and reducer (mostly for clearance). I plan on harvesting yeast and then racking right from the bottom.

www.home-distiller.com sells the fitting.

Plastic is definitely the economical way to go. I suggest incorporating tri-clamps (over time) to build up your inventory of equipment so if/when you switch to some stainless gear, you'll be ready to go full tri-clamp. Smaller $$ amounts over time.

If you do want to move towards stainless, I suggest contacting Toldeo Metal Spinning and have them make your conical hoppers with welded fittings.
IMO - This is a little safer than drilling a second hole for racking. My concern is adding any internal ridges/edges for bacterial buildup.

 

[jawsbc]

It seems to me that if you are going to spend $200 or more on a plastic conical, then spend the extra and get stainless! All it takes is a few scratches and you have wasted $200+. If you are going to brew in plastic, stick with a $15 brewing tub. Plastic conicals are a waste of $$ IMHO.

 

[khiddy]

im either going to get the 15 gallon one or the 30 gallon one not sure yet. Im mostly going to be brewing mead so if i get one i have to seal it because mead takes longer than a month to be fully done. but when i go to brew beer i wont have to worry about that so much.

These 15 & 30 gallon plastic conicals from Tank Depot really aren't what you want if you're talking a long-term primary or secondary fermentation. The plastic material that they are constructed from is not impermeable to oxygen, so you run the very real risk of oxidization during a long-term fermentation.

If you're doing mead, you want either one of the Minibrew plastic conicals or a stainless conical that can take pressure, from what I can gather.

 

[mnadamn]

Concering oxygen permiability would t be possible to coat the exterior of the plastic connical in say a layer of epoxy or something else that oxygen won't go through?

 

[insnekamkze86]

yeah but how well will that be on the plastic fermentors

 

[Landshark67]

IMO- Epoxy is not the way to go. That would be a mess and you would need to research potential leaching effects.

You could wrap the conical in a plastic-type wrap if the o2 permeation was keeping you up at night.

Otherwise, use the conical for primary fermentation and then rack into a different storage vessle for long term aging. Stainless corny, whatever. The plastic conical is best for primary fermentation, not as a conditioning or brite tank.

 

[insnekamkze86]

how well will it do if i was keeping beer in it for a month as the primary fermatation?
I think i will go with the minibrew if i doing it for mead because it needs a long conditioning unlike beer. For beer though i think these plastic tanks will be good for beer.

 

[khiddy]

A month shouldn't be too much of a problem. Longer than that, I'd consider stainless or glass, whether it's beer or mead or wine. Why run the risk of oxidation?

(Though I will say I've seen that Better Bottles have an oxygen permeability that is pretty darn low; but we're not talking about Better Bottles here.)

 

[insnekamkze86]

beer doesnt need longer than a month in order to produce great results does it?

 

[goose1873]

are carboys fine to use as a primary?

 

[arturo7]

are carboys fine to use as a primary?

The short answer is yes.


The long answer is yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeess, depending on the size and how you rig the blow off.

 

[goose1873]

is it ok to leave beer in primary for long periods or like wine should it be racked after main fermentation dies down...I know this is wrong section but was wondering...