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

[Dgallo]

Is that the 3 gallon version? I have a pair of the 3 gallon and one of the 7 gallon. (though I have not added the ball lock posts)

My 3 gallons are for my Brett’s and wild beers!

 

[NSMikeD]

Is that the 3 gallon version? I have a pair of the 3 gallon and one of the 7 gallon. (though I have not added the ball lock posts)

Yes. 3 gallon. I brew 2.5 gal batches on an Anvil 6.5 and keg in 2.5 gal torpedo kegs.

 

[tealsmoke]

I'm going to try this concept and have everything on the way. I'm a total newbie and have been absorbing all I can and have built a keezer with eva barrier tubing which I'm out of. I have some 1/4 inch vinyl tubing that is new and wanted to know if it can be used to transfer the beer from FV to the keg. TIA.

 

[kenmcchord]

Got to give thanks to @Dgallo for this great solution for the fermonster! Transferred to keg a strawberry blonde today and this worked like a champ, albeit very slowly. Got 5 gallons into keg, and I managed to stay above the strawberry mess at the bottom. Great solution!

 

[cmac62]

I just saw this pic in a different thread. LOL

 

[NSMikeD]

First time pressure transfer. The NEIPA I made (also a first)

Filled the keg with Star San and then pumped it out with CO2

and the pressure transfer using the float.

 

[NSMikeD]

Thanks @Dgallo for the thread.

so two things. The ball lock connections that came are a problem. I have to go through them when I’m done to mix and match to make sure I have connections than go on and off properly. I’m pretty sure the regular one is off sized.

secondly what ever hop debris that was floating at the last two inches above the trub clogged the connection to 5be point I had to take it apart. Or it could have also been the bad connection. I never had to struggle with content keg connections like this before (I have 4 kegs).

I have the keg in the mini fridge and the FerMonster is resting as I hope to be able to transfer that final 2 inches of beer. I’m also considering calling it a day with the maybe 2 gallons in the keg and then focusing on making sure I have good connections, as I dint know how much oxygen got into the fermentor.
on any case. I wasted a lot of CO2 and will need to refill soon.

 

[wsmith1625]

I've done several closed transfers and haven't had any issues with hop debris clogging the lines. I usually wait for 3 weeks before I keg which allows a lot of time for the yeast to drop out. If you're dry hopping, try using a mesh bag to contain the hops. I've used this method and it works well. If you prefer to dry hop loose, then cold crash for a few days to get the hop debris to settle. If you still have trouble, use a fining agent such as gelatin to aid in clearing things up before you keg.

 

[Dgallo]

I've done several closed transfers and haven't had any issues with hop debris clogging the lines. I usually wait for 3 weeks before I keg which allows a lot of time for the yeast to drop out. If you're dry hopping, try using a mesh bag to contain the hops. I've used this method and it works well. If you prefer to dry hop loose, then cold crash for a few days to get the hop debris to settle. If you still have trouble, use a fining agent such as gelatin to aid in clearing things up before you keg.

I agree. I wonder what caused the hop debris to not settle. I usually do large 8-10 oz dryhops in my NEIPAS and after cold crashing, I never have clogged it. The only time I transfer any hop debris is if I accidentally rock the fermenter to hard and the hops re suspend when I get close to the bottom. I will say that I do purposely leave 1.5 - 2 inches of beer in the fv to only transfer clean beer. I plan for this in my recipe

 

[NSMikeD]

It could be the connecting posts. 85% of the transfer went fine. It/was that last 2” above the trub. The clogs didn’t occurs in the flex tube.

I do prefer using a hop spider and mesh bags. For this brew I went bare back. I did cold crash before doing the transfer.

 

[Marco Brewing]

I just purchased a 7 gallon fermonster setup and was gifted a 6 gallon setup from my Mrs. I plan on using the smaller fermonster as a dry hop/secondary daisy chained to my primary and my keg. I sanitized everything thoroughly and placed my hops in a hop sack in the 6 gallon. Hopefully I can get a low oxygen transfer through both vessels and ending up in my keg with the proper volume (just a tad over 5 gallons). Any input on this variation of the fermonster abyss?

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I just ordered a lid and post set from MoreBeer so I can join in the fun! There is a few more hours left on their 15% off storewide sale. I have been pretty happy with doing closed transfers using the spigot, but I can see the benefit of this method. It should also make it easier/possible to run a line over to a keg to purge with fermentation CO2.

Hopefully I can get a low oxygen transfer through both vessels and ending up in my keg with the proper volume (just a tad over 5 gallons). Any input on this variation of the fermonster abyss?

What types of connections do you have setup? Got a picture to share? It seems like it should work.

 

[Marco Brewing]

I just ordered a lid and post set from MoreBeer so I can join in the fun! There is a few more hours left on their 15% off storewide sale. I have been pretty happy with doing closed transfers using the spigot, but I can see the benefit of this method. It should also make it easier/possible to run a line over to a keg to purge with fermentation CO2.



What types of connections do you have setup? Got a picture to share? It seems like it should work.

Gas line in 7 gallon to liquid line of 6 gallon. Gas line from 6 gallon to gas post keg. Liquid line from starsan filled keg to bucket of starsan. 6 gallon fermenter was purged and filled with CO2

 

[Dgallo]

Gas line in 7 gallon to liquid line of 6 gallon. Gas line from 6 gallon to gas post keg. Liquid line from starsan filled keg to bucket of starsan. 6 gallon fermenter was purged and filled with CO2

Was the 6gallon fermenter liquid purged?

 

[Marco Brewing]

Filled with starsan and drained into the 7 gallon fermonster. Tipped upside down, placed starsan treated hopsack with hops in 6 gallon, sealed up with sanitized lid, gasket and floating dip tube. Purged several times with CO2 at 12 psi. In theory, should work I hope. Just finished brewing about 3 hours ago.

 

[Dgallo]

Filled with starsan and drained into the 7 gallon fermonster. Tipped upside down, placed starsan treated hopsack with hops in 6 gallon, sealed up with sanitized lid, gasket and floating dip tube. Purged several times with CO2 at 12 psi. In theory, should work I hope. Just finished brewing about 3 hours ago.

I don’t know if that will eliminate allo2 from the 6 gallon fermenter but it’s def will minimize it. There are a few things I would suggest to you that will better you purging.

1) make two caps. This way you have one for the fermenter and then you dryhop fermenter. That’s way you can maintain a closed system.

2) then fill your dryhop keg with starsan solution(fill to the brim) and then put your modified lid on. Then hook up that to your primary fermenter and the liquid post to your bucket. Once fermentation has pushed all the liquid into the bucket , disconnect the secondary completely and set aside. Use the solution from the bucket to fill the keg and the. Connect it to the primary so that you can use fermentation to purge that too and keep it on for the remainder of ferm.

3) now that you know your secondary is 100% purged of o2 you can preload it with hops. Since you have a floating dip tube, there is no need to bag the hops as the floating dip tube was designed for this, to leave the trub and hops behind. You can hook your the secondary’s liquid post to your regulator.As you unscrew the cap to put the hops in turn your regulator up so co2 starts flowing. This will help prevent any o2 from entering your secondary as you load the hops. Once you’ve done that disconnect it. Now when fermentation is complete, you can just close transfer to a pre loaded and purged secondary.

4) when dryhoping is complete, cold crash and then close transfer to your purged serving keg.

this will be your best option for minimizing o2 to the best of this setups ability

 

[Marco Brewing]

Great suggestions on the dry hopping vessel. One question, once the dry hopped vessel is filled, can I cold crash the fermonster without venting, or will this cause the vessel to contract and possibly crack? I guess I could always use the mylar balloon method to prevent O2 ingress.

 

[Dgallo]

Great suggestions on the dry hopping vessel. One question, once the dry hopped vessel is filled, can I cold crash the fermonster without venting, or will this cause the vessel to contract and possibly crack? I guess I could always use the mylar balloon method to prevent O2 ingress.

Are you kegging? If so you can just connect the co2 post to your tank. If you don’t have that ability then yes the Mylar bag will be needed.

 

[Marco Brewing]

Sounds simple enough. Thanks for the tips Dgallo!

 

[GoodTruble]

Does anyone have a photo of the posts while detached? Or the underside of the fermonster cap with posts attached?

I ordered the wrong set (fermzilla instead of fermentasaurus (doh!)) and am wondering what the correct posts look like once removed.

Also probably now buying a fermzilla on sale somewhere to salvage that mistake. =c)

Thanks!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Does anyone have a photo of the posts while detached? Or the underside of the fermonster cap with posts attached?

Does this show what you need? I just got my kit in the mail the other day, but have not modified the lid.



I did not notice that the solid lid did not come with the gasket. Not a big deal since I now have 4 Fermonsters (7-gal + 2 x 3-gal + 1-gal) so I have plenty of lids and gaskets. I do wonder if there is a way to seal up the hole on the standard lid.

The PRV valve in the kit is a bonus for me as I needed to replace one of the PRVs in a keg. It is only 35 PSI, but that is fine for me.

 

[GoodTruble]

Does this show what you need? I just got my kit in the mail the other day, but have not modified the lid.

View attachment 731563

I did not notice that the solid lid did not come with the gasket. Not a big deal since I now have 4 Fermonsters (7-gal + 2 x 3-gal + 1-gal) so I have plenty of lids and gaskets. I do wonder if there is a way to seal up the hole on the standard lid.

The PRV valve in the kit is a bonus for me as I needed to replace one of the PRVs in a keg. It is only 35 PSI, but that is fine for me.

Thank you!

That is indeed what I wanted to see.

 

[GoodTruble]

Okay, finally got around to this (after taking a detour into the all-rounder Fermzilla, which I absolutely LOVE (and for less cost than this DIY - but no spigot)).

Two quick tips:

1. Not sure if all fermonster solid lids are the same (from photos in this thread, they don't all appear to be the same), but my two lids have an inner circle on the bottom and two small dots along the outer section on top (that I assume were injection points for the mold). Those two dots work really well as spots to drill the holes because they leave just enough room on the bottom to screw on the nuts just outside the raised inner circle.

2. As others have shown, a step drill bit works really well to drill a smooth hole and only as wide as minimally needed to thread the posts through.

Not as excited about this after discovering how much I like the all-rounder fermzilla, but I'm sure I'll find away to make use of both.

Thanks for thread!!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I am curious, what are people using the floating liquid line for?

I have several Fermonster fermenters, all with spigots. I got the kit and one solid lid a month or so ago, but have not installed it yet. I am pretty happy doing closed transfers using the spigots with help from gravity. I am thinking of just adding one of the posts to the lid and adding the other post to another lid. Then maybe using the floating dip tube on a keg. I recall seeing a pic from @Dgallo recently where he was filling a keg with the spigot.

One advantage I could see is for taking a gravity reading. I can do this out the spigot, but I need to lift the fermenter out of my chest freezer chamber.

 

[GoodTruble]

@CascadesBrewer - I can't speak for others, but I sometimes have trub build up near the spigot. So floating tube would allow me to pull from the top first and better avoid the trub.

 

[Litchbrew]

Anyone have any thoughts on how to incorporate a thermowell along with this setup? I.e some sort of fitting that would be air tight. I’m currently using the dual port ridged #10 stopper with airlock and thermowell but looking to do this mod. Might just install one ball lock fitting (gas only) since I plan to use the spigot with a filter for transfers anyway.

 

[gromitdj]

Anyone have any thoughts on how to incorporate a thermowell along with this setup? I.e some sort of fitting that would be air tight. I’m currently using the dual port ridged #10 stopper with airlock and thermowell but looking to do this mod. Might just install one ball lock fitting (gas only) since I plan to use the spigot with a filter for transfers anyway.

You could try this option from a different thread using the parts I listed in a subsequent post. (quoted below)

I am assuming that it is an 18" Thermowell and Weldless fitting that is sold @ brewhardware. You can also get a similar, single piece unit from Brewer's Hardware but the longest one they make is 12" and $24

 

[Litchbrew]

You could try this option from a different thread using the parts I listed in a subsequent post. (quoted below)

Thanks!

 

[Dgallo]

I am curious, what are people using the floating liquid line for?

I have several Fermonster fermenters, all with spigots. I got the kit and one solid lid a month or so ago, but have not installed it yet. I am pretty happy doing closed transfers using the spigots with help from gravity. I am thinking of just adding one of the posts to the lid and adding the other post to another lid. Then maybe using the floating dip tube on a keg. I recall seeing a pic from @Dgallo recently where he was filling a keg with the spigot.

One advantage I could see is for taking a gravity reading. I can do this out the spigot, but I need to lift the fermenter out of my chest freezer chamber.

Yeah I tried something different this time. I used a second purged fermonster as a dryhop “keg” so that I could agitate while dryhoping. The reason I specifically transferred through the spigot this time was because the hops were below it and my son was having a rough day so I needed a quick transfer since i knew he’d be up soon lol

 

[JawnnyO]

Could I do this with a bottling bucket instead of a fermonster?