Turning your Fermonster into a complete closed transfer system for cheap!

[Noob_Brewer]

Any chance you could post a picture of this? I was kinda..hoping that I might be able to figure out how to use this a Blowtie Spunding valve, connect an elbow duotight connector, and pop the airlock right into the elbow...but...I don't think that is going to fit as the largest their lines get is 3/8"

when Im not using fermentation CO2 to purge a keg of star san (because I don't have a keg ready if they are all in use) this is my air-lock setup. Pretty simple. When I am purging a keg of star san, I have a different tube with gas QDs on each end and then a liquid QD from the keg to a bucket which receives the star san. After all star san is purged from the keg, the bucket essentially becomes the "airlock" as it just bubbles the same way the mason jar in the picture does.

 

[Knightshade]

Just trying to make things more complicated than I have to..seems to be my MO. Thanks for highlighting there is indeed an easier way.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Just trying to make things more complicated than I have to..seems to be my MO. Thanks for highlighting there is indeed an easier way.

thats par for the course lol. When you are the one trying to figure something out, its always more complicated than the eventual solution Ive found out myself. lol.

 

[Yesfan]

When I still had my Fermonsters, I did this a lot but with a stainless racking can vs the floating dip tube. I drilled two holes, one for a gas post and another big enough for a #2 stopper and the cane. Worked perfect.

An idea I had was using a 1.5" TC bulkhead to add some sort of dryhopping port to the lid. You could fit a TC gas post on top of the port for your gas side and just use a run of the mill post for the liquid side and floating diptube to save on the lid's limited amount of space. I'm sure adding that would run up the total cost you'd have in it, but if you are already using those connections elsewhere in the brewery, why not?

I had planned on modifying the solid lid a bit more so I could run one of those "twister" temp coils Kegland sells for their Fermzilla vessels. After getting my Flex+ and conical, I decided against that and sold all my Fermonsters to a friend of mine who's started back up in the hobby.

I kinda regret it now.

 

[Amadeo38]

After getting my Flex+ and conical, I decided against that and sold all my Fermonsters to a friend of mine who's started back up in the hobby.

I kinda regret it now.

As someone with a Fermonster saving up for the Flex+ with pressure transfer accessory, why do you regret not keeping your fermonster? Just want to know what I’m getting myself into when/if I pull the Flex+ trigger.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

As someone with a Fermonster saving up for the Flex+ with pressure transfer accessory, why do you regret not keeping your fermonster? Just want to know what I’m getting myself into when/if I pull the Flex+ trigger.

The flex+ does look sexy for sure, but Ive certainly enjoyed my fermonster setup. AFTER I built my fermentation systems with the fermonster with modified lid, I saw the fermzilla all-rounder. The all-rounder is essentially the exact same setup that we have here with the fermonster with modified lid and floating dip tube. The BIG two advantages of the all-rounder over the fermonster that I see are: 1) the all rounder is pressure rated up to ~30PSI? and 2) the all-rounder is 7.9gallons. So its a commercial version of what peeps here made with the fermonster. Its only about ~$85 too for the all-rounder with pressure kit. The catch for me? The allrounder is 13.9" in diameter so it won't fit into my minifridge like the fermonster does as its only ~11.5" diameter. So "upgrading" to the all rounder would cause a rabbit hole for me to then go and figure out either how to add a collar to my mini fridge to make it bigger (which I really don't want to do) or seek and spend more $$$ on a chest freezer or bigger fridge to house the all-rounder. So for now, because I get most of the functions out of the fermonster setup that I want, I won't change the fermenter I am using due to the inevitable "rabbit hole" of other expenses that comes with changing the fermenter Im using.

 

[Yesfan]

As someone with a Fermonster saving up for the Flex+ with pressure transfer accessory, why do you regret not keeping your fermonster? Just want to know what I’m getting myself into when/if I pull the Flex+ trigger.

Mainly because it was something I already had and paid for. It's apples to oranges comparing the Fermonsters to the Flex+. I don't regret buying the Flex+. At the time of purchase, I wasn't thinking about getting rid of my Fermonsters. I wanted more space in my garage and since I haven't been brewing as much as I would like (and doing more 10 gallon batches which take longer to drink), I figured I needed to start scaling back. So I sold them to a friend of mine at work who started making mead again and was needing some carboys.

Off topic.

I have both the Flex+ and Spike's 10 gallon conical. IMO, I would look and see how much more you're going to be out of pocket with the CF5 conical vs the Flex+. It's a $175 difference between the two, but once you start adding accessories, the gap closes fast. The CF5 gives you the ability to dump trub/harvest yeast plus gives you two additional ports for a sample valve and thermo. If I were buying today, I'd go with the CF5. The Black Friday sale last year was when I bought mine, so the difference in price was much greater so I went with the Flex+ Hope this helps.

 

[Amadeo38]

Mainly because it was something I already had and paid for. It's apples to oranges comparing the Fermonsters to the Flex+. I don't regret buying the Flex+. At the time of purchase, I wasn't thinking about getting rid of my Fermonsters. I wanted more space in my garage and since I haven't been brewing as much as I would like (and doing more 10 gallon batches which take longer to drink), I figured I needed to start scaling back. So I sold them to a friend of mine at work who started making mead again and was needing some carboys.

Off topic.

I have both the Flex+ and Spike's 10 gallon conical. IMO, I would look and see how much more you're going to be out of pocket with the CF5 conical vs the Flex+. It's a $175 difference between the two, but once you start adding accessories, the gap closes fast. The CF5 gives you the ability to dump trub/harvest yeast plus gives you two additional ports for a sample valve and thermo. If I were buying today, I'd go with the CF5. The Black Friday sale last year was when I bought mine, so the difference in price was much greater so I went with the Flex+ Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info! I live in Florida so I’m not really fermenting much at room/basement temp (since we don’t have basements) except when I use kveik. The CF5 is 29” tall, which doesn’t fit in any standard fridge or chest freezer (at least none of the ones I have). The Flex+ fits in all of them. My all-in price for the Flex+ with thermowell and pressure transfer kit is the same as the starting price of the CF5. I would love to be able to harvest yeast, though!

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Has anyone tried coldcrasing with this fermonster setup? I think I'm about to order everything I need and this seems to be my final hesitation. Cheers!

 

[Amadeo38]

Has anyone tried coldcrasing with this fermonster setup? I think I'm about to order everything I need and this seems to be my final hesitation. Cheers!

Yes - I have done it two ways.
1. Mylar ballon filled with co2 taped to a QD.
2. co2 tank connected directly to the lid at 2psi

#1 is much cheaper since the balloon is $1 and you can fill it for free if you connect it to the lid during fermentation. Reusable.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Has anyone tried coldcrasing with this fermonster setup? I think I'm about to order everything I need and this seems to be my final hesitation. Cheers!

yes, as long as you have the proper setup to perform a closed transfer, you can certainly cold crash with this setup as well if you have a CO2 tank attached to the gas ball lock when cold crashing to prevent/minimize O2 sucking in when dropping temps. Its been working well for me

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

so, when crashing you dont leave everything set up? Fermonster, to keg, to bucket of starsan? Or is the concern that you would end up sucking starsan back into the keg and kinda defeating the process of flushing the keg with fermentation CO2?

 

[Noob_Brewer]

so, when crashing you dont leave everything set up? Fermonster, to keg, to bucket of starsan? Or is the concern that you would end up sucking starsan back into the keg and kinda defeating the process of flushing the keg with fermentation CO2?

No, I don't leave the "airlock" (mason jar or purged keg) setup when cold crashing. I just hook up the CO2 tank (with regulator) to add CO2 to the fermonster so that when temps drop in the fermenter, CO2 will go into the fermenter as needed rather than sucking in air/oxygen.

 

[wsmith1625]

Brewed 5 gallons of Caray's Celebration Pale Ale this Sunday and got to put my new Fermonster to use. Thanks for all the help getting to this point.

I followed DGallo's suggestions and bought the Fermentasaurus pressure kit to get the parts for the build. He mentioned using 7/8" or 1/2" inch drill bits, so I tested both sizes on an old juice bottle lid. The 7/8" hole was too snug and stretched the plastic a bit. The 1/2" was perfect and matched the size in the Fermentasaurus lid. I used a paddle bit which created really clean holes. I started on the top of the lid and finished on the bottom for burr free holes. Assembly went as expected. Then I filled the Fermonster with hot tap water and Oxyclean to give it a good wash. This was also a good pressure test and it did fine.

Initially I wasn't sure why no one was adding the PRV to the Fermonster lid, but when I got the parts I could see there was no easy way to add it. I did a quick search and found a weldless bulkhead that could be used, but not worth the time or trouble. Also, don't use the PRV for your corny's since it's only rated to 35psi.

On brew day, I was concerned about sanitizing the floating dip tube as I didn't want to waste co2 pushing StarSan through it. Turns out it quite simple to take the hose off and soak it in a bucket of StarSan with the rest of my cold side equipment. Reattaching is no trouble at all.

This is my first batch in a clear fermenter and using a blow off tube. I love this setup. So wild to see the yeast in action and get a good look at the krausen. I can't wait to do a closed transfer to my corny and see how this improves the taste of my beer.

Thanks again!

 

[QTikiBrew]

An idea I had was using a 1.5" TC bulkhead to add some sort of dryhopping port to the lid.

Has anyone tried this using the standard fermonster lid, which can take a #10 stopper? That hole is supposedly 43mm, and the hole requirement for this port is 41mm - is that 2mm difference enough to make this no longer air tight, or is there a way of gasketing the connection?

 

[Yesfan]

Has anyone tried this using the standard fermonster lid, which can take a #10 stopper? That hole is supposedly 43mm, and the hole requirement for this port is 41mm - is that 2mm difference enough to make this no longer air tight, or is there a way of gasketing the connection?

Never would have thought about possibly using the standard lid. I would think 1mm wouldn't make that much of a difference. Cool part, if it works, you could use a 1.5" TC gas post to clamp to it so you'd only need to drill a second hole for the liquid post (if there's enough space for it).


The guy I sold my Fermonsters to, I may hit him up to see if he'll sell one of them back to me. LOL!

 

[k-os]

Never would have thought about possibly using the standard lid. I would think 1mm wouldn't make that much of a difference. Cool part, if it works, you could use a 1.5" TC gas post to clamp to it so you'd only need to drill a second hole for the liquid post (if there's enough space for it).


The guy I sold my Fermonsters to, I may hit him up to see if he'll sell one of them back to me. LOL!

You could also put a TC tee on top and use one side for gas and one side for the liquid with floating diptube.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Never would have thought about possibly using the standard lid. I would think 1mm wouldn't make that much of a difference. Cool part, if it works, you could use a 1.5" TC gas post to clamp to it so you'd only need to drill a second hole for the liquid post (if there's enough space for it).


The guy I sold my Fermonsters to, I may hit him up to see if he'll sell one of them back to me. LOL!

These are all pretty cool ideas for sure. I have the modified lid the way @Dgallo describes here. My thinking is that with any sort of TC fitting, T fitting, etc, if you can't configure some sort of dry hopper to add to it and you still need to unscrew the fermonster lid in order to dry hop, I don't think that setup would be any better from a minimizing oxygen point of view. Certainly curious to see what other setups peeps come up with though.

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

I have all the items in my cart right now. 2 final questions before I complete my order:

i) Has fermonster redesigned the O-ring on the lid? I had a fermonster years ago and quit using it because that thing is such a POS...
ii) When buying the pressure kit - is the floating dip tube included/harvestable from it or does that need to be purchased separately?

I can't wait to get this going so I can try and get a NEIPA truly dialed in...Cheers!

 

[Dgallo]

I have all the items in my cart right now. 2 final questions before I complete my order:

i) Has fermonster redesigned the O-ring on the lid? I had a fermonster years ago and quit using it because that thing is such a POS...
ii) When buying the pressure kit - is the floating dip tube included/harvestable from it or does that need to be purchased separately?

I can't wait to get this going so I can try and get a NEIPA truly dialed in...Cheers!

Yes the floating dip tube is harvestable. The oring isn’t the best by any means and can fall out of not properly installed. I actually put the oring in the freezer for about 10 mins before I insert it. That way it’s stiffer and can be pushed into the lid easier and tighter.

I modified the lid specifically to brew NEIPAS. if you haven’t had a way to close transfer or coldcrash without o2 pick up previously, than you Are going to see night and day improvements in your ipas

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Yes the floating dip tube is harvestable. The oring isn’t the best by any means and can fall out of not properly installed. I actually put the oring in the freezer for about 10 mins before I insert it. That way it’s stiffer and can be pushed into the lid easier and tighter.

I modified the lid specifically to brew NEIPAS. if you haven’t had a way to close transfer or coldcrash without o2 pick up previously, than you Are going to see night and day improvements in your ipas

Thanks for the quick response! Now if only I can complete the order without the wife seeing what I'm doing we'll be in business!

Does line size matter at all? I wouldn't think so as long as it fits on the QD barbs, right? Also, just to make sure, I need 2 each of the Gas and Liquid QDs for this to function. Correct?

Thanks again, Cheers!

 

[Yesfan]

These are all pretty cool ideas for sure. I have the modified lid the way @Dgallo describes here. My thinking is that with any sort of TC fitting, T fitting, etc, if you can't configure some sort of dry hopper to add to it and you still need to unscrew the fermonster lid in order to dry hop, I don't think that setup would be any better from a minimizing oxygen point of view. Certainly curious to see what other setups peeps come up with though.

True, but my past experiences with mine were the lids can be a bit of a b!tch to unscrew, even if you lightly tighten them. The TC fitting seems easier as it would be just a matter of undoing the clamp and removing the cap (or gas post), pitch the hops, then reclamp.

Of course, I'm not suggesting to buy a Fermonster and a bunch of TC fittings to fab up a dry hopper and all that. You might as well just splurge for a few more dollars and get a SS Brew Bucket or Flex (or maybe even the Fermzilla). If you already have those parts because they are used in other parts of your brewery, then yeah have at it and give it a whirl.

 

[Amadeo38]

I’ve found the lids really hard to open after ferm starts as well. Going to throw one of these into my cart on my next order:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/f...V3tJmZoQtKx5q1p0nyxe0jnjwV0snq5xoCFiAQAvD_BwE

 

[Noob_Brewer]

I’ve found the lids really hard to open after ferm starts as well. Going to throw one of these into my cart on my next order:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/f...V3tJmZoQtKx5q1p0nyxe0jnjwV0snq5xoCFiAQAvD_BwE

Yup I think these are necessary. Have one myself and makes for a nice uniform torque on the lid. However I just noticed that morebeer states these should not be used to tighten, only loosen, because the oring makes the seal. Hmm. I always give a tiny screw with this tool once it’s hand tight when sealing it up.

 

[Amadeo38]

Funny because I barely even hand-tighten mine before ferm (just enough to seal) and it’s always like I cranked it on as hard as possible after ferm.

 

[Noob_Brewer]

Funny because I barely even hand-tighten mine before ferm (just enough to seal) and it’s always like I cranked it on as hard as possible after ferm.

Yeah I don’t even come close to cranking on it after hand tight. It’s usually not much of anything really. But when I go to dry hop after fermentation is over it’s like I cemented the darn thing shut lol

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Is there any reason I couldn't use my speidel to do this? I could screw the solid cap on the top and drill my holes for the QD right in the shoulder of the fermentor...? What are the issues I could run into doing this? Other than drilling holes into a $60 fermentor, that is..

 

[Dgallo]

Is there any reason I couldn't use my speidel to do this? I could screw the solid cap on the top and drill my holes for the QD right in the shoulder of the fermentor...? What are the issues I could run into doing this? Other than drilling holes into a $60 fermentor, that is..

As long as the cap has enough real estate it should be absolutely fine.

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

cap

The cap is pretty limited. I was wondering about mounting the QDs onto the shoulder of the fermentor itself. The more I think about it though the more I think it is a silly idea so I will likely just stick to the Fermonster as I had planned. Thanks again for answering my questions and posting this 'How-to' in the first place. I haven't been this excited about something in quite a while! (I live a pretty boring life lol) Cheers!

 

[bleme]

The cap is pretty limited. I was wondering about mounting the QDs onto the shoulder of the fermentor itself. The more I think about it though the more I think it is a silly idea so I will likely just stick to the Fermonster as I had planned. Thanks again for answering my questions and posting this 'How-to' in the first place. I haven't been this excited about something in quite a while! (I live a pretty boring life lol) Cheers!

The only problem I see is that by mounting on the shoulder, you loose about 1.5" of headspace. Most of the Speidel's look like they have room on the lid though.