Speidel fermenter space

[Arbe0]

Just bought a 7.9 gallons Speidel fermenter, I do 5.5 gallons in my normal fermenter. That leaves 2.4 gallons of dead space above the wort in the Speidel. Is that too much?

 

[Beer-lord]

I usually do 6 gallons in my fermenters but I've never had any problems with the extra head space. But I don't leave my beer in the fermenter too long either.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I got one awhile back and have put two beers through it 5.5 - 6 gallon batches. Seems fine thusfar but I agree I have been thinking about upping the final batch size for beers going into the speidel. More is more right?

 

[Jag75]

My fastferment is 7.9 gallons. I only do 5 or 5.5 gallon batches . Never an issue . Your good to go imo.

 

[WBB]

That’s why they make that size and not a 6 gallon one. You never know when a ferm is going to be enthusiastic. I have a 7.5g anvil ferm and one time...kaboom! The notty yeast decided to have a party with the wort.

 

[Arbe0]

ya I have heard that at least you don't need to have a blow off because there is room for expansion in most cases.

 

[user 30639]

My fastferment is 7.9 gallons. I only do 5 or 5.5 gallon batches . Never an issue . Your good to go imo.

Agreed. I have 3 of the 7.9 gallon Speidels and haven't noticed an issue. It's nice not needing the blow off tube no matter how active your fermentation is.

 

[Zooksta]

Just bought a 7.9 gallons Speidel fermenter, I do 5.5 gallons in my normal fermenter. That leaves 2.4 gallons of dead space above the wort in the Speidel. Is that too much?

I had a few of these, total capacity is actually around 9 gallons. They worked good for me, the extra head space was nice, I always put 5.5 gallons into them.

 

[DatsyukianDeke]

Agreed. I have 3 of the 7.9 gallon Speidels and haven't noticed an issue. It's nice not needing the blow off tube no matter how active your fermentation is.

Not true. I recently brewed a hefe in my Speidel with WLP380 and within the first couple days the kraeusen blew right through the airlock. It was another day or two before it finally calmed down.

That being said, I haven't had any issues fermenting 5.5 gallon batches in there.

 

[thehaze]

I have 5 of those and usually aim for 6-6.5 gal of beer. At times, I did end up with 5 gallons and only had 5.5 to start with, but that never posed any risks or issues. Some yeast strains - like hefe - will still need a blowout. My latest hefes errupted through the massive airlock and spilled all over the fermenter and floor.

 

[Ntwkdsnr]

I have had one of these for about 5 years now. I brew 5-7 gallon batches in it and never had an issue.