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EdWort

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OK, all you conical users out there. How are you maintaining proper fermenting temps? Pics please!

Any recommendations on keeping the Blichmann 14.5 gallon conical on temp during the hot Texas summer?
 
joebou4860 said:
newbie hijack: :off:
what are the benefits of conicals?

back to your regularly scheduled thread:

you can pull the trub and yeast cake out of the fermenter this eliminates the need of racking to a secondary fermenter OR:

some have racking ports above the bottom that allows the beer to be pulled out but leave the trub and yeast cake behind.

Also the blichmann allows you to pressurize it and rack up to 6 ft. above the bottom of the fermenter. Pressurizing and racking with Co2 keeps contact with oxygen to a minimum so the beer stays fresher longer.

Also the stainless steel units like Blichmann keeps light out.
 
abracadabra said:
you can pull the trub and yeast cake out of the fermenter this eliminates the need of racking to a secondary fermenter OR:

some have racking ports above the bottom that allows the beer to be pulled out but leave the trub and yeast cake behind.

Also the blichmann allows you to pressurize it and rack up to 6 ft. above the bottom of the fermenter. Pressurizing and racking with Co2 keeps contact with oxygen to a minimum so the beer stays fresher longer.

Also the stainless steel units like Blichmann keeps light out.

off topic but...they just had a taste test they did on basic brewing radio or brew bubbas, on how different vessels can impart different flavors. If I remember right I think the stainless steel one had the worst flavor of the bunch they used. They did stainless, plastic, glass, and glass with open top (no airlock)
 
mot said:
off topic but...they just had a taste test they did on basic brewing radio or brew bubbas, on how different vessels can impart different flavors. If I remember right I think the stainless steel one had the worst flavor of the bunch they used. They did stainless, plastic, glass, and glass with open top (no airlock)


Don't most commercials use SS, even the craft and micros? I've fermented in SS, glass, and plastic and can't say that I can tell the difference in taste, though they to have their +'s and -'s elsewhere.
 
mot said:
off topic but...they just had a taste test they did on basic brewing radio or brew bubbas, on how different vessels can impart different flavors. If I remember right I think the stainless steel one had the worst flavor of the bunch they used. They did stainless, plastic, glass, and glass with open top (no airlock)

With that train of thought, beer sitting in stainless kegs for weeks to months ought to tast bad when compared to bottled beer.

What's the difference in sitting in a stainless fermenter for a few weeks opposed to sitting in a stainless corny for 2 months?

I don't see the difference.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
See "brew closet" in my signature for info on my temperature controlled fermentation closet.

Sweet setup! How did you wire in the Ranco controller to the window AC unit?
 
Wow, 10 threads and no pics of conicals (unless you count Yuri's link). I guess there aren't many with these conicals...or this scared them away:
Brewing Clamper said:
Yes, please make me even more jealous of you ufcks that have conicals...:drunk:
:cross:
 
desiderata said:
Wow, 10 threads and no pics of conicals (unless you count Yuri's link). I guess there aren't many with these conicals...or this scared them away::cross:

Sheesh, well I guess I'll have to just build a cold room in my brew hut for my conicals (ala John Beere). :D

MyBrewHut.jpg


I intend to have faucets coming through the wall on the porch. Kinda like TapMyBrewHut. :D
 
EdWort said:
Sheesh, well I guess I'll have to just build a cold room in my brew hut for my conicals (ala John Beere). :D

MyBrewHut.jpg


I intend to have faucets coming through the wall on the porch. Kinda like TapMyBrewHut. :D

Holy It-Shay Batman!

That's your brew hut? Daaaaaaaaaaaamn! :rockin:
 
No, not yet, but some day. I've got room on my 4 acres and SWMBO's approval, so it's just a matter of $$$. It will house the brewery, a walk in cool room, and a nice German eckbank table similar to this below.

4.jpg


And a cot :D
 
Hey Ed, I've searched for log cabins and cannot find this particular model. Do you have a direct link to the manufactuer?


EdWort said:
Sheesh, well I guess I'll have to just build a cold room in my brew hut for my conicals (ala John Beere). :D

MyBrewHut.jpg


I intend to have faucets coming through the wall on the porch. Kinda like TapMyBrewHut. :D
 
OK, guess I'll be the first to post a photo. I use a 7gallon conical from Morebeer. I made a few very minor alterations to a Kenmore Elite 4.9cuft minifridge. With a digital temperature controller and thermowell, I get very precise and consistent fermentation temps for both ales and lagers. The wrap you see is a Fermawrap heater which helps maintain ale temps when ambient temps are not warm enough. This setup ran me less than $600, which is a far cry from the $1400 that Morebeer charges for an externally heated/cooled conical.

fermenter.jpg
 
Very nice. Thanks!

See folks, was that so hard? All right now, those with the 14.5 gallon setup can now come out of the woodwork. Brewing Clamper won't bite (though he will be jealous) :D
 
EdWort said:
Sweet setup! How did you wire in the Ranco controller to the window AC unit?
I bypassed the thermostat on the A/C so that it runs continuously with power applied. Then I just plugged it right into the two-stage Ranco along with a small space heater.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
I bypassed the thermostat on the A/C so that it runs continuously with power applied. Then I just plugged it right into the two-stage Ranco along with a small space heater.

OK, is bypassing the thermostat difficult on an AC unit?
 
Please show us how it is done. Or is it possible to simple plug the AC unit into a wired Ranco unit and run it the way you do a frig?
 
ebeer said:
OK, guess I'll be the first to post a photo. I use a 7gallon conical from Morebeer. I made a few very minor alterations to a Kenmore Elite 4.9cuft minifridge. With a digital temperature controller and thermowell, I get very precise and consistent fermentation temps for both ales and lagers. The wrap you see is a Fermawrap heater which helps maintain ale temps when ambient temps are not warm enough. This setup ran me less than $600, which is a far cry from the $1400 that Morebeer charges for an externally heated/cooled conical.

fermenter.jpg

Sweet. We are graced with the presence of Mr. Beer. Sorry Erik, I am not stocking you. Just happened to hear you on a Brewing Network archive recently. I love the web page.
 
EdWort said:
OK, is bypassing the thermostat difficult on an AC unit?
Nope - make sure you get a fairly cheap unit that doesn't have digital controls (you want a mechanical thermostat). Take it apart enough to get to the thermostat (on mine, it was physically attached to the temperature control knob). There are probably three wires coming out of the thermostat housing. One is likely a ground - it's usually green and connected to the frame or some other grounded metal component. Cut the other two wires and connect them together.

Now, test it. Plug it into a switched outlet (or power strip with a switch) that's turned off. Turn the power on momentarily. If it starts uneventfully and begins to blow cold air, you're done. If there are sparks, funny smells, melted plastic, or fire, turn the switch off really fast. You screwed it up. Start over.
 
[SIZE=-1]Dankeschöne Kemo Sabe![/SIZE]

Yuri_Rage said:
If there are sparks, funny smells, melted plastic, or fire, turn the switch off really fast. You screwed it up.

That would be a really big Doh! :cross:
 
There still has to be more conical setups out there. I'm surprised no one posted setups like these.

%5CdbImages%5C7222_1.jpg
 
Brewpastor said:
Please show us how it is done. Or is it possible to simple plug the AC unit into a wired Ranco unit and run it the way you do a frig?

In my walk-in cooler thread, I detailed what needs to be done pretty well. Here is a link to the Zymurgy article: http://deepsixbrewery.com/misc/article.pdf

I should be done with phase 2 of my garage brewery in the next month or two. I'll be sure to post photos of my conicals then.
 
mot said:
off topic but...they just had a taste test they did on basic brewing radio or brew bubbas, on how different vessels can impart different flavors. If I remember right I think the stainless steel one had the worst flavor of the bunch they used. They did stainless, plastic, glass, and glass with open top (no airlock)


Well, I don't see how SS could cause bad flavors. What can cause a difference in flavor is fermentation vessel shape. Vessels with a high height to width ratio produce less esters than shallow vessels. Good for clean lagers, bad for Belgians.

When many old breweries switched to tall conicals, they noticed significant flavor changes. The Trappists only fill there conicals half full to lower the height to width ratio. This is an issue for Micros that have grown to the point of expansion and have need for larger fermentors.

Home brewer conicals are not that high so they ratio is fairly low.

An open fermetation allows more contact with oxygen which can change the flavor profile, actually lowering esters.
 
Here is how I keep mine cool in the Arizona heat:
temp%20control.JPG

temp%20cont%202.JPG


The conical is a hopper from TMS with an old stainless pool filter housing welded on as a jacket. The cooler/heater was $64 on ebay. I took out the control board and added a PID.

So far in will hold temp outside in the 107deg heat.

If I do it agian I will use a SS coil inside. Welding on the jacket was a real pain in the ass.
 
<--------I'd post mine, but I think everyone's aware of my conicals. :D

I just keep mine indoors under AC.

Keeps them around 70 no matter what.

Of course, I live in IL, not in AZ or TX
 
RonInPHX said:
Here is how I keep mine cool in the Arizona heat:
temp%20control.JPG

temp%20cont%202.JPG

Wow! This looks like something out of scifi movie. Very cool. R2D2 hooked up for a recharge. :D

Ingenious way of keeping cool. You are fortunate to have the skills to do this. Congrats.
 
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