Upgrade fermenter help please

[Willy]

Congratulations!

Sounds like a great haul, and better yet an understanding wife! All huge bonuses while we pursue our hobbies!

Thanks @OakIslandBrewery !!! A sweet haul!!

The wonderful wife quit drinking about 3 years ago... Just bored with it, nothing serious that required draconian action. Ha. But recently she has moved from let me try a sip... To ... Can we split one? Thankfully - she does her own hobbies to insanity levels ... So she gets it. (We have enough canned food from the garden to last most of the winter and making bread at master baker levels is a weekly thing)

I hope everyone is as fortunate as me on finding someone great to share life's fun.

 

[Willy]

Looking into the Mini Uni more one thing that gets me is that it is completely bare bones. Whereas, most of the conicals these days come with almost all accessories to start using it out of the box.

So by time I add all the fittings, valves, apr, neoprene sleeve I'm getting close to $8-900 anyways. Maybe not as budget friendly as I initially thought. Still curious about them though...

Am I missing something or do you have to spend a lot of money on more fittings and whatnot for conical too? Looks like they all come with just about everything...

@GoeHaarden -
Lots of add-ons for the Spike conicals ... One can easily add over a few grand on add-ons. (Temperature control, PRV spunding valve, extension legs and base, glycol chiller alone is 1k, and on and on. )

 

[Willy]

Fait accompli? ...will we see any pics soon when you get it home and look forward to your next thread about the larger ferm-chamber?

@Broken Crow - the trigger was pulled yesterday and yup, fait accompli. You called it.

 

[Broken Crow]

Looking forward to the pics when you have it set up and the follow up pics of it in use.

 

[Willy]

Looking forward to the pics when you have it set up and the follow up pics of it in use.

Give me some time. Waiting for the 3 port lid so I can use the crazy amount of accessories. Really looking forward to a oxygen free hop drop and doing 10 gallons batches.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Give me some time. Waiting for the 3 port lid so I can use the crazy amount of accessories. Really looking forward to a oxygen free hop drop and doing 10 gallons batches.

So the three port lid is an upgrade?

When I bought my CF10 there was no lid like that, I bought one separate a couple years ago. I thought the three port would be standard now.

 

[Willy]

So the three port lid is an upgrade?

When I bought my CF10 there was no lid like that, I bought one separate a couple years ago. I thought the three port would be standard now.

The 3 port is standard in Spike Conicals now... The one I got is a few years old - comes with a single 1 1/2" tri-clamp port.

 

[Willy]

I created a new thread - glycol chiller DIy for less $ ... Which will detail my attempt at using a small freezer as my cooling engine... And also a heat exchanger to help re-cool the glycol after it returns from the CF-10 fermenter.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/building-diy-glycol-chiller-for-less.733780/

 

[Deadalus]

Well.... I pulled the trigger yesterday and brought the beautiful Spike CF-10 home. So many add-ons - I think I hit the jackpot and saved myself a bunch of pain by not needing add-on accessories. In addition to the fermenter - I got a 1 1/2" tri-clamp 1) sample valve, CIP, carb stone, sight-glass, butterfly valve for hop drops, PRV gas post, ... Temperature control system and a full jug of glycol new and 2 gallon of glycol/water mix, silicone hoses (so many bonus hoses, tubing!) submersible pump for cooling, a few really nice pumps for transfers, jacket... Extra clamps and gaskets... I added it all up and it was well over 2k of spike gear, and about 1k of misc stuff (glycol, ~120' of misc. silicone tubing - brand new still in original bag.

My only upgrades were - the newer 3 port ( w/ 3 1 1/2" ports) and a few inexpensive items for connectors. Total outlay? $700.

Today and tomorrow will be spent in deep cleaning. (It has sat idle for a year) ... Pictures coming soon - be patient. Got get get my girl Coney the Conical looking spiffy.
Then I will need to finish up the cooling set-up using my keezer (set at 40° F) as cooling source, just need to drill a few holes in the collar and run power to sub. pump and tubing.

Thanks everyone for your help and advice. I suspect that a new Spike Brewing maniac has been created out of the trub ooze. And Spike is from Milwaukee. Bonus.

Comment from the better half... Who said it was okay but when I brought it home... OMG that thing is huge! What is this? A science lab? Oh ... They are from Milwaukee ... Cool.

You're golden if you stick to the red power tools, "Honey I have a new table saw, wouldn't you know it, it came with a miter saw!"

 

[Willy]

Finally got the used CF-10 cleaned thoroughly to Milwaukee Brew Day levels of sanitary perfection. Hey, it's beer and that means it is important. And yes, she has a name:
Kona the Beerbarian.

So ... Yesterday was Kona's brew day since being rescued from FB marketplace. Since I am still waiting for some quick connect fittings for temp control, I decided to brew using kyveik (Voss) in the garage (expected temps 70-93°F) . Currently doing the job of day 2 yeast blastoff.

 

[Willy]

Just finished my second fermentation in the used Spike CF-10 and it went great. Even though we had crazy hot weather the cooling coils/diy glycol chiller worked perfectly holding 68°F without any difficulty. I did not try and cold crash since I had no room in the keezer to serve but that will change soon as a couple cornys are running low. I am just going to slowly cold crash the corny for 7 days to do the final cleanup before serving.

Having tried both chilling methods - I prefer having a dedicated fermentation chamber as opposed to the glycol chiller. Main reasons would include cost and simplicity. One a corporate scale - yeah, of course go big or go home. But for a home Brewer I suspect most of us would prefer an old upright freezer that works great with an inkbird and a heating pad. Easier and way less money. (And the extra money is helpful because grains and hops have gotten pretty expensive lately.

 

[shoengine]

Nice, that looks great. I read the whole thread and had some thoughts.

After buying a conical new and one used, I don't think I'll ever go new again unless I want something very specific. Not that there is anything wrong with new, but brewing equipment has very high depreciation. I bought most of my equipment used and for the most part it has worked out well. With that said, I love my jacketed conical and I'll never not love it, even if it was stupidly expensive.

I'd throw out the used hoses though and buy new ones. I'll wear used pants, but not used underwear.

You posted earlier that you think a conical can improve your beer. My experience is a conical can improve your process, which can lead to better beer, although it is not a given. Plenty of excellent beer has been made in buckets, which shows the process was good. I think conicals can make it easier to handle beer better.

On dump valves, I never use mine with beer in the fermentor. Without using one I usually have one or two quarts of beer still in the cone after racking. Dumping would increase that amount. However, cleaning is trivial when using the bottom valve, which is nice on the 85lb fermentor, but a tactic I picked up from a probrewer was when pumping wort into the fermentor, pump in from the bottom valve. No splashing, no mess.

Lastly, accessories can get out of hand. I have no regrets.

 

[Broken Crow]

Nice, that looks great. I read the whole thread and had some thoughts.

After buying a conical new and one used, I don't think I'll ever go new again unless I want something very specific. Not that there is anything wrong with new, but brewing equipment has very high depreciation. I bought most of my equipment used and for the most part it has worked out well. With that said, I love my jacketed conical and I'll never not love it, even if it was stupidly expensive.

I'd throw out the used hoses though and buy new ones. I'll wear used pants, but not used underwear.

You posted earlier that you think a conical can improve your beer. My experience is a conical can improve your process, which can lead to better beer, although it is not a given. Plenty of excellent beer has been made in buckets, which shows the process was good. I think conicals can make it easier to handle beer better.

On dump valves, I never use mine with beer in the fermentor. Without using one I usually have one or two quarts of beer still in the cone after racking. Dumping would increase that amount. However, cleaning is trivial when using the bottom valve, which is nice on the 85lb fermentor, but a tactic I picked up from a probrewer was when pumping wort into the fermentor, pump in from the bottom valve. No splashing, no mess.

Lastly, accessories can get out of hand. I have no regrets.

View attachment 859013

Sweet! Though; Haven't we yet talked you into swaging 6.35mmID EVABarrier over your 5/16" or 3//8" barbs?

 

[Willy]

Nice, that looks great. I read the whole thread and had some thoughts.

After buying a conical new and one used, I don't think I'll ever go new again unless I want something very specific. Not that there is anything wrong with new, but brewing equipment has very high depreciation. I bought most of my equipment used and for the most part it has worked out well. With that said, I love my jacketed conical and I'll never not love it, even if it was stupidly expensive.

I'd throw out the used hoses though and buy new ones. I'll wear used pants, but not used underwear.

You posted earlier that you think a conical can improve your beer. My experience is a conical can improve your process, which can lead to better beer, although it is not a given. Plenty of excellent beer has been made in buckets, which shows the process was good. I think conicals can make it easier to handle beer better.

On dump valves, I never use mine with beer in the fermentor. Without using one I usually have one or two quarts of beer still in the cone after racking. Dumping would increase that amount. However, cleaning is trivial when using the bottom valve, which is nice on the 85lb fermentor, but a tactic I picked up from a probrewer was when pumping wort into the fermentor, pump in from the bottom valve. No splashing, no mess.

Lastly, accessories can get out of hand. I have no regrets.

View attachment 859013

Before I got the conical I started brewing in larger sized corny kegs and like the benefits of closer transfers, fermenting under pressure and other potential options like a hop drop. That's what I was referring to - I will always be a bucket man because I have made some really good beers in buckets and nothing is easier (at least in my experience).

 

[shoengine]

Sweet! Though; Haven't we yet talked you into swaging 6.35mmID EVABarrier over your 5/16" or 3//8" barbs?

Hit a guy while he's down, I see how it is!