Pros and cons of "fast ferment" ?

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I have it and love it . Mine isnt attached to the wall though. I have the stand for it . As for wort chilling are you talking about keeping this cool during fermentation?

I've done dry hopping in it with 0 issues
 
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Something like the SSBrewtech Brew Bucket would be my first choice as it also has temperature control options.
Second would be Anvil Fermenter which just added temp control options.
Sovereign Fermenter is a good one, that's what I currently use. You can adapt the Anvil's cooling coil for this, so still technically can be temp controlled without too much hassle. It's also 8.5 gallons so blowoff is never an issue.
Catalyst from Craft-A-Brew is also a great choice. Has the same bottom dump feature but a MUCH larger valve, and you can change the trub jar to any size you need. Cons are no easy temp control options, it's only 6.5 gallons so blowoff is common.

The fast ferment I felt was a tough shape to deal with and it's quite tall so you'd need a bigger fridge to use as ferm chamber since there are no real temp control options other than piecing one together. Also I didn't like the small bottom dump valve due to clogging potential. I also worry about if it's kinda top heavy once full. Any ways thats my 2 cents.
 
Only had 1 clog in that small opening . That is the only down to this fermenter , unless you wanna put it in a fridge. I have the jacket for it that I've put frozen bottles inside to keep it at 68-70 in a 90* room. I got tired of the frozen bottle thing and I just use a portable ac that keeps it nice and cool in summer.
 
I don't own one, but I read the reviews of the small one on amazon, and at least with that one there is/was apparently a pattern of the valve breaking off, resulting in an uncontrolled flood. Not sure if the same might be true for the larger version you are considering, as I haven't read those particular reviews.

At least with costco you can probably return it if it proves to be defective.
 
The one nice thing about the fast ferment is that the valve is attached to the very bottom, so it seems (?) you could flush out your lees with the turn of a knob and maybe not have to rack and re-rack. Some of the other ones, like the brew bucket, don't have the valve on the very bottom.
 
NeverDie said:
The one nice thing about the fast ferment is that the valve is attached to the very bottom, so it seems (?) you could flush out your lees with the turn of a knob and maybe not have to rack and re-rack. Some of the other ones, like the brew bucket, don't have the valve on the very bottom.
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It definitely comes in handy . I always rack at 7 days . Takes a few minutes.
 
Jag75 said:
It definitely comes in handy . I always rack at 7 days . Takes a few minutes.
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Do you mean you just flush out the lees (keeping the wort or must in the fast ferment) or that you actually do transfer to another container?
 
NeverDie said:
Do you mean you just flush out the lees (keeping the wort or must in the fast ferment) or that you actually do transfer to another container?
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No I just dump the yeast , trub or lees from the collection ball . Easiest and fastest racking . Some people dont like racking because of oxidation and because it can be a pain. I always rack either with my fast ferment or carboys. Never had any problems with oxidation , even in NEIPA . I've never even cold crashed . Just utilize a secondary for conditioning and always have nice clear beer unless it's a hazy . So with the FF you dont move the beer to a clean vessel
 
I Used a FastFerment for 2years until I dropped it and broke the valve off the bottom. The size and shape make temp control a bit of a challenge. I built a stand in a small freezer with a collar as a fermentation chamber. That worked well but getting it out while full was another challenge. To bottle directly from the fermenter I used a picnic tap and short hose off of the sample port. Works like a charm. You can also do a closed transfer to a keg off of the sample port using a short hose and liquid QD. I also run a line from the gas post to the airlock hole. As the beer fills the keg it pushes co2 out of a purged keg back into the fermenter for a totally O2 free transfer.
 
Hey VTX did you drill a hole in where the thermometer goes?
Nvm I see you drilled in a different area. Looks like a good area to put it in
 
Jag75 said:
Hey VTX did you drill a hole in where the thermometer goes?
Nvm I see you drilled in a different area. Looks like a good area to put it in
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The hole for the thermowell was in from factory. I did have to drill the hole for the sample port. I highly recommend adding one of you haven't already.
 
VTX1300 said:
The hole for the thermowell was in from factory. I did have to drill the hole for the sample port. I highly recommend adding one of you haven't already.
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Been thinking about it and its gotta be easier using that then reducing a hose for the bottom valve . Thinking I will definitely do this.
 
VTX1300 said:
The hole for the thermowell was in from factory. I did have to drill the hole for the sample port. I highly recommend adding one of you haven't already.
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One other thing. If you are using a stand, place the FF in the stand and then mark where you want to drill for the sample port. I didn’t do that and where I ended up with sample port didn’t allow it to sit level in the stand. Not a terrible situation but one that you can easily avoid!
 
I have one and use it often. It works great. I have it mounted to the wall for fermenting but on brew day, I bring it upstairs with me to clean and sanitize. It sits almost perfect in my 6.5 gal bucket with the collection ball attached. So I use my wort chiller with my kitchen sink and transfer to the FF while it is sitting in the bucket.

I will say that depending on what you brew, the trub does not always flow well into the collection ball. I finished an imperial pumpkin ale recently with lots of pumpkin in suspension and I had 4 collection balls worth of trub and a couple times had to stick my paddle in the top to scrape the trub off the sides. On this batch, it did clog the hole once too. I will probably not brew another pumpkin ;)

On the other side of the spectrum, I brewed a Miller Clone and very little trub.

Sometimes the screw-on adapters get stuck- usually when attached wet(sanitized) and then they dry. It takes one person to hold the value and another to twist the adapter off. I should invest in some paraben or something to fix that.
 
David I know what ya mean about unscrewing the adapter and valve. What I've found is if you crack the valve a tad then start to unscrew. Once it starts to unscrew close the valve and continue to unscrew it. It's almost like a pressure thing.
 
VTX1300 said:
I Used a FastFerment for 2years until I dropped it and broke the valve off the bottom. The size and shape make temp control a bit of a challenge. I built a stand in a small freezer with a collar as a fermentation chamber. That worked well but getting it out while full was another challenge. To bottle directly from the fermenter I used a picnic tap and short hose off of the sample port. Works like a charm. You can also do a closed transfer to a keg off of the sample port using a short hose and liquid QD. I also run a line from the gas post to the airlock hole. As the beer fills the keg it pushes co2 out of a purged keg back into the fermenter for a totally O2 free transfer.
Click to expand...

This is brilliant. I've been planning on moving to an oxygen-free transfer but never considered capturing the displaced keg gas to feed back into the fermenter. Thank you!
 
Spikybits said:
Love my fastferments - i have two 3gs. :) currently building an immersion coil for one of them for lagering - SS brewtech style.
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I've been considering buying a temperature control loop from Ball and Keg. It's made for a carboy, however, due to the depth of the conical, it would work for a FastFerment as well. It would require modifying the lid with a new hole to hold the stopper.

https://ballandkeg.com/temperature-control-loop.php
 
I am half way through my first fermentation with this tank. Pro: You can mount on wall or put it in a stand. Also, it can ferment a fairly large volume easily. It also comes with everything you need.

Con: Leaks. I had to go through several iterations of leak testing on it. The thermowell is particularly problematic. I had to use bees wax in the end. Also, the lid is apparently quite problematic with gas leaks. My brew is going well, but I believe the lid wont seal properly, so the bubbler was rendered useless. Next brew, I am going to do the bees wax trick around that.

Also consider that this IS plastic. So you must be very careful not to scratch anything inside it while cleaning. Scratches harbor contaminants.

Another tip: I use a seed warming electric pad to keep my fermentation warm during the winter. It was cheap! like 20-30 on Amazon. Stuck it on using duct tape. Red neck as hell, but its working!

Next weekend will be another test to see how messy/easy it is to remove the yeast bulb at the bottom and replace it with the draining parts.
 
I bought one of the 3 gal FF units to do half-batches. It works fine once you understand how to work around it's issues. It's a PitA to get it water-tight to start with but I have learned using about 5 layers of plumbing tape on the threads where the valve attaches to the bulb and it won't drip. Also, I had issues where the valve body would not detach from the jar unit without causing a leak. I had it screwed down so tight it didn't want to unscrew again w/o loosening other connections that needed to stay tight. I had to siphon out of it because it wouldn't come apart once. After that I started using keg lube on all the o-rings and they come apart without leaking now. Keg lube also helps the leaky screw top o-ring seal like it should. It makes good beer when you get it tweaked, but its kind of a ***** getting there. You gotta leak test the crap out of it without screwing the bits together too tight. I think I paid about 45 bucks for it. Doesn't strike me as a long term piece of equipment. I'd have paid twice that if it was built better.
 
Jag75 said:
I have had zero issues with mine leaking . I've had it for 2 to 3 yrs now
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I think its a hit or miss thing. Plastics manufacturing can be like that. This is why I pointed to quality control, where such faults should be detected prior to shipment.

Once this batch is done, I am going to send it back. perhaps an exchange will be sufficient. Hopefully my next one is correct.
 
Erik Rodriguez said:
I think its a hit or miss thing. Plastics manufacturing can be like that. This is why I pointed to quality control, where such faults should be detected prior to shipment.

Once this batch is done, I am going to send it back. perhaps an exchange will be sufficient. Hopefully my next one is correct.
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I have three FFs, one from the first generation and two from the second generation. The key to keeping them from leaking is not too much nor too little Teflon tape. I do two 450° wraps, only enough to go around once plus a bit to hold the ends together. One wrap goes high and one goes low, such that they overlap on their edges in the middle. This is sufficient with a proper tightening to stop leaks every time.

I found that if I overdid the tape, it would prevent me from screwing the components fully together, thus creating leaks. I mean, they go and go and go when screwing together. I can imagine people stop, as they might be afraid they’re going too far.

The other trick is knowing how to break down the valve into parts to clean and sanitize it. Once I’m done with a batch, the ball is disassembled, cleaned, and kept in parts until the next batch. I then sanitize it with One Step or hydrogen peroxide (since the ball will trap liquid), and put it back together.

If you do find that your new one leaks less, let us know.
 
That was the deal killer for me, I brew outside and ferment in bottom level. No way to transport it. I love the bottom and iirc they redesigned bottom to be bigger. Love the idea of dumping yeast into ball and tossing in fridge for next brew.
Jag75 said:
Not very easily lol. I use my cf5 most of the time now . Occasionally I'll use the FF and its awkward to walk from where I brew to where it ferments
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applescrap said:
How do you carry it?
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I put mine in its stand and then pull the carrying strap up over both the FF and stand. I can then walk around easily with the pair. I’m not sure I’d want to navigate stairs with it.

I also found a rolling stand for it on Craig’s List. Someone welded together a light metal stand with wheels that has the FF metal holders. I can place a FF in it and roll it around. I don’t use it for transportation but instead for garage fermentation. I only have wall space for two FF, so if I brew a third I’ll use it to ferment in the walkway, rolling it out of the way if needed.
 
Positronic_Matrix said:
I've been considering buying a temperature control loop from Ball and Keg. It's made for a carboy, however, due to the depth of the conical, it would work for a FastFerment as well. It would require modifying the lid with a new hole to hold the stopper.

Ball and Keg: Home Brew Keg Level Indicator
Click to expand...

Got my ball and keg temp control loop two weeks ago. Plan to use in fastferment as well. Do you or anyone know if fastferment sells a lid without a pre drilled hole in it? Would like to drill a hole for a stopper in the center for the control loop but air lock bung is off center toward the edge of their lids. Can make due if needed just figured they might sell a plain lid but I can’t find one. Either way excited about the ball and keg purchase. Can’t wait to use it.
 
cskid said:
Got my ball and keg temp control loop two weeks ago. Plan to use in fastferment as well. Do you or anyone know if fastferment sells a lid without a pre drilled hole in it? Would like to drill a hole for a stopper in the center for the control loop but air lock bung is off center toward the edge of their lids. Can make due if needed just figured they might sell a plain lid but I can’t find one. Either way excited about the ball and keg purchase. Can’t wait to use it.
Click to expand...
Fantastic! Let me know how that system works for you.

As far as I know FastFerment doesn’t sell a lid without a hole. I purchased a small rubber plug that keep in mine when I have the airlock off for sampling. I use commercial pipettes to pull out small samples for the hydrometer while fermenting.
 

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