Using my new conical

[hubbs]

I just received a new 12.5gal conical fermenter, I am psyched to try it out. I am not 100% certain of the best way to go about business. My current plan of action for using the conical is as follows:

Fill conical and run fridge at fermentation temps (or maybe a little cooler) without pitching. After a couple of hours, drain trub/break from bottom, then pitch yeast and aerate.

After a couple of days, drain yeast sample, this will be week, undesirable yeast and should be discarded. After another couple of days, drain more yeast - this should be the good stuff and should be kept for repitching into a new batch.

Continue to drain yeast and discard every other day till fermentation is complete. Right before racking, drain last yeast/trub and discard.

Rack into keg, carbonate and enjoy!

Does this sound about right? Just wondering how often you want to drain the yeast and which samples you can keep to reuse. Also, I don't want to pull it of the yeast straight away as I worry there won't be enough to complete fermentation. A little confused.

Also, I have looked into repitching slurries and the 'correct' amount of slurry to use, however I know that those volumes take into account for an expected quantity of trub and break material. The yeast I pull out of the conical fermenter should be more densely packed and thus less should be required. Right?

Thanks

 

[Cyclman]

Conicals, the ultimate brewers bling toy, I am jealous.

I obviously don't have one (yet). But, and I am guessing a bit, I would be concerned about dumping yeast at different times in the fermentation. Dumping early, you are throwing out your most flocculent yeast. Dumping late and saving, you are saving the most flocculent yeast. Over generations, I would think this would change the flocculency of the yeast, potentially changing fermentation characteristics.

Dumping trub is a huge conical advantage. But once you get to the yeast, I would think as long as the cone is cooled adequately, avoiding autolysis, you would want to save all the yeast, preserving the yeast's overall qualities. Washing it a couple of times would clear out the dead / bad yeast.

Am very interested in hearing opinions from experienced conical owners.

 

[cfrazier77]

I think I can help, I have been using a conical for two years now. First, are you using a temp controller for your fridge? If you are attach the sensor to the conical or in a thermowell if you can. The reason is that the fermenting beer temp during primary can be much higher than the fridge temp. I try to keep all the hop trub out of the fermentor by using a hop spider. After you fill your prechilled conical you can dump your trub after 4 or 6 hours. That is what I do but all the trub in mine is cold break. I don't start dumping yeast until my blow off tube quits. I pull off about half a pint first and don't keep it. I then pull one pint a day. I have a bunch of mason jars ready that I sterilized in a pressure cooker. I put the jars in the fridge and leave them alone if I am going to use that yeast again soon and if not I dump out the beer after the yeast settled out and fill with boiled (deoxygenated) water.

Is your conical tryclamp? If so I would recommend a glass sight tube on your dump port.


The tube is on the bottom and came from brewershardware.com What is nice about it is that you can visually see when the trub is settled and the same with yeast. I have a valve above and below, but that is overkill, you don't need a valve between the sight glass and conical.

If I did not answer all of your questions feel free to PM me.

 

[evandena]

cfrazier77, couple of questions, as I am looking to order a similar setup to yours.

1. How are you monitoring temps? Is there a thermowell somewhere?
2. How do you fill your kegs from the fermenter?
3. Have you looked at closed system fermenting?
4. What's your cleaning regiment?

thanks!

 

[cfrazier77]

cfrazier77, couple of questions, as I am looking to order a similar setup to yours.

1. How are you monitoring temps? Is there a thermowell somewhere?
2. How do you fill your kegs from the fermenter?
3. Have you looked at closed system fermenting?
4. What's your cleaning regiment?

thanks!

1. I had Brewhemoth put in a triclamp port for a thermowell in the back. I have a 6" thermowell that I bent at 45 degree angle 3 inches down. I rotate it so that the end, where the sensor is, will be in the middle of the beer.



2. I used to fill kegs with a 1/2 silicon hose on a 1/2 triclamp barb. I hooked it up to racking port and it works well. I just made ball lock connections so I can transfer under pressure to a purged keg. This way the beer is not in contact with oxygen. I can also hook a plate filter in between, I did that last time and it worked well for 10 gallons.





The condensation is because I cold crashed it to the low 40s to clear the beer.

3. A spudering valve is next on my list of projects. I
see it adding a lot of benefits.

4. Cleaning is easy. The first thing I do is put a bucket under it, open the trub dump valve, and spray the inside down. I have a high pressure spray nozzle on the hose and it knocks a lot of the crud ring off. I then hook up my spray ball and fill the bucket with 3 gallons of hot water and generic oxyclean. I hook up large diameter hoses to the ports and put them in the bucket. I let it run for 15 to 30 minutes. Drain, rinse with the hose, add 3 gallons clean water and run that for 5-10 minutes, drain, and run with 3 gallons of water plus Star San. I have never had any problems with this procedure.





Also, I am currently dumping yeast out. Here is what it looks like in the sight glass, this is how I know when it is time to dump.



It also is interesting watching fermentation through it. If you click on the image below it will launch a video of it.



The clumps going up and down are yeast and the bubbles are CO2.

I hope all this helps, if there is anything else I can do let me know.

 

[evandena]

Thanks for the info! I think I might have to splurge soon.

How are you holding temps? I see a cooler, is there ice and a cold plate or something? Is this adequate? What's in the chiller lines?

I'm actually looking to buy your exact setup, with the thermowell too. Anything you'd do differently?

 

[cfrazier77]

Thanks for the info! I think I might have to splurge soon.

How are you holding temps? I see a cooler, is there ice and a cold plate or something? Is this adequate? What's in the chiller lines?

I'm actually looking to buy your exact setup, with the thermowell too. Anything you'd do differently?

There is a SS coil in the conical that is attached to the cap. My temp controller powers a cheap submersible pump in the cooler. I fill the cooler with frozen water bottles. For maintaining 66 degrees, the ice lasts 4 or 5 days before I have to change it. If I am going for cold crashing temps I replace the ice every day. If it is in the winter I put a small aquarium heater in the cooler and hook the pump to the hot side of the temp controller. I also put a heating belt around the conical if the ambient is just below my target temp. The fluid is plain water.

Since I only brew ales this has been more than adequate. If I was lagering, not the fermentation stage but the lagering stage, I would attach external insulation and glycol below freezing cooling fluid. (Now put a sleeping bag over it when I cold crash.) One day I would like to get another one and insulate it for lagering. Now, I would lager in my beer fridge in a carboy.

Differently? I went with 4 legs instead of 3, 1 foot longer, and SS. I did all the polishing myself. The only thing I would consider changing is going back to 3 legs, you cannot fit a standard bucket in between the legs to get it directly under it. I use a 45 and a hose to get to the bucket in front of it.

Something I would change would be the cooling coils. I would go with a bigger diameter tube. Also, I would have the coils stretched out so they are not touching for cleaning and more coils (longer tube.)

 

[evandena]

Did you consider putting the Brewhemoth in an upright fridge/freezer instead of the coil?

 

[hubbs]

Thanks for the replies. I love the Brewhemoth, that in fact was going to be my first choice for a fermenter. I just happened to get a killer deal on the one I have now, it probably worked out to be 60% of the cost.

It is a tri clover, I will have to invest in a sight glass, that looks pretty awesome.

I have an English bitter going now, I had planned on waiting a couple of hours to dump the trub, but after a long brew day I just wanted to pitch the yeast and go to bed. I dumped a little creamy mess out of the bottom, but when I took a sample out of the racking port th get a gravity reading, it was 90% trub, so clearly I did not drop enough. Fermentation has been going for a few days now, I think I am going to try and dump solids.

I have mine in a commercial fridge with a STC1000 temperature controller, I don't have a thermonwell so I just have the probe taped to the side of the conical. I am thinking about installing a thermonwell in the lid, for more accurate temperature control.

 

[cfrazier77]

Did you consider putting the Brewhemoth in an upright fridge/freezer instead of the coil?

I choose not to from the beginning because I wanted to look at it. That is why I did all the polish work and the SS legs. A fridge would have been easier and possibly cheaper. I guess it is all what you want to get out of it.

 

[cfrazier77]

Thanks for the replies. I love the Brewhemoth, that in fact was going to be my first choice for a fermenter. I just happened to get a killer deal on the one I have now, it probably worked out to be 60% of the cost.

It is a tri clover, I will have to invest in a sight glass, that looks pretty awesome.

I have an English bitter going now, I had planned on waiting a couple of hours to dump the trub, but after a long brew day I just wanted to pitch the yeast and go to bed. I dumped a little creamy mess out of the bottom, but when I took a sample out of the racking port th get a gravity reading, it was 90% trub, so clearly I did not drop enough. Fermentation has been going for a few days now, I think I am going to try and dump solids.

I have mine in a commercial fridge with a STC1000 temperature controller, I don't have a thermonwell so I just have the probe taped to the side of the conical. I am thinking about installing a thermonwell in the lid, for more accurate temperature control.

Before you take a sample, or transfer, from your sample port you have to dump that trub that was sitting in it. I pull off a little and then take a sample and it is normally clear.

 

[TrickyDick]

I've only used my conical a few times, trying to get into lager brewing, but have occasionally used it with ales as well.


I use a thermo well kit I bought with my Johnson digital temp controller and a double drilled stopper through the lid stopper hole. My conical is a different brand (starts with B). In doing a lager with 11 gal, I think that the temp controller is overshooting the temp with lager. I did once with thermo well and had fermentation issues, but have tried again with taped to side. Ill be check gravity today on that brew to see if it fared any better. I don't really think this would be an issue with most ale yeast unless they like to flocculate out if they get too cold. I'm also going to try to monitor temp on the outer surface with a tape thermometer. I notice that now, the fridge will cycle on within a few seconds when I open the door (probe taped to side). Before it would not come on as the probe was immersed in many gallons of fermenting wort!
Not sure what best. All the pros seem to think thermo well better and some semi scientific BYO/Zymurgy articles say what he said about temps being higher in the fermenting wort than at the conical sidewall.

Anyways, I like the sight glass! I might get one. I find it frustrating not knowing the volume inside the conical.

I have a lot to learn about using my conical and in collecting and dumping yeast. So replying/subscribing.

TD

 

[SavoryChef]

1. I had Brewhemoth put in a triclamp port for a thermowell in the back. I have a 6" thermowell that I bent at 45 degree angle 3 inches down. I rotate it so that the end, where the sensor is, will be in the middle of the beer.

http://s212.photobucket.com/user/cfrazier77/media/20130607_190207_zps76dd9553.jpg.html

2. I used to fill kegs with a 1/2 silicon hose on a 1/2 triclamp barb. I hooked it up to racking port and it works well. I just made ball lock connections so I can transfer under pressure to a purged keg. This way the beer is not in contact with oxygen. I can also hook a plate filter in between, I did that last time and it worked well for 10 gallons.

http://s212.photobucket.com/user/cfrazier77/media/20130526_173412_zps8ced13aa.jpg.html

http://s212.photobucket.com/user/cfrazier77/media/20130526_173350_zpsf3d18df3.jpg.html

The condensation is because I cold crashed it to the low 40s to clear the beer.

3. A spudering valve is next on my list of projects. I
see it adding a lot of benefits.

4. Cleaning is easy. The first thing I do is put a bucket under it, open the trub dump valve, and spray the inside down. I have a high pressure spray nozzle on the hose and it knocks a lot of the crud ring off. I then hook up my spray ball and fill the bucket with 3 gallons of hot water and generic oxyclean. I hook up large diameter hoses to the ports and put them in the bucket. I let it run for 15 to 30 minutes. Drain, rinse with the hose, add 3 gallons clean water and run that for 5-10 minutes, drain, and run with 3 gallons of water plus Star San. I have never had any problems with this procedure.

http://s212.photobucket.com/user/cfrazier77/media/IMG_8174.jpg.html

http://s212.photobucket.com/user/cfrazier77/media/20130607_190323_zps56a35cb4.jpg.html

Also, I am currently dumping yeast out. Here is what it looks like in the sight glass, this is how I know when it is time to dump.

http://s212.photobucket.com/user/cfrazier77/media/20130607_190139_zps418bfded.jpg.html

It also is interesting watching fermentation through it. If you click on the image below it will launch a video of it.

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc234/cfrazier77/20130529_204457_zpsc91c6b15.mp4

The clumps going up and down are yeast and the bubbles are CO2.

I hope all this helps, if there is anything else I can do let me know.

What pump is that? I have a spray ball for my conical but my pump isn't strong enough at 10 gallons a minute for a good job cleaning

 

[cfrazier77]

It is a generic 1 HP submersible dirty water pump. I got it on Ebay 3 years ago.