Which fermenter to buy with my winnings.

[Mirilis]

So if I win this weight loss thing at work I'll be getting roughly $250.. I want to get a new fermentor. I'd love a 7 gal chronical but that's out of my range. I could get a brewbucket or a fastferment with stand, strap, and thermometer.. Or something else... What do you think.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Describe your brew equipment and people will make suggestions

 

[Mirilis]

6g BIAB E-Setup, 4 tap keezer, fermentation fridge, etc. pretty standard stuff i suppose.

 

[ChefDougAU]

My favorite fermenter is my 30L Speidel...

 

[jekeane]

If you really want the chronical then be patient, save your winnings and save away another $150-200 over the rest of the year or so and get it. No sense in buying something you really don't want if you can just be patient and save to get what you do.

 

[masonsjax]

Buy 12 better bottles and get a good sour pipeline going. That'd be my plan if I was set on spending it on fermentors.

 

[aangel]

get a couple 1/4 barrel sanke kegs and conversion kits, use them as fermenters.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

x2 on the sankey kegs! Brewhardware.com sells a very cheap fermenter kit to pair with it. You could get three fermenters plus kits for your hoped for $250 budget!

 

[Mirilis]

Spiedel may be ok.. But $60 seems pricey for a plastic bucket with a spigot

 

[Darwin18]

I'd skip the fastferment and get a fermenter that would fit in my fermentation chamber. I personally love my Speidel fermenter.

 

[Mirilis]

I'd skip the fastferment and get a fermenter that would fit in my fermentation chamber. I personally love my Speidel fermenter.

Im just now looking into the Speidel.. just looking at the pic it doesnt seem that impressive.. for $60 i could get 2 plastic bigmouth bubblers. Whats so special about the speidel? as far as what sets it apart?

The other thing i noticed is theres no where for me to put my temperature probe for my fermentation controller. Do they make a special attachment for the lid that has a thermowell in it?

 

[yeastylad]

Im just now looking into the Speidel.. just looking at the pic it doesnt seem that impressive.. for $60 i could get 2 plastic bigmouth bubblers. Whats so special about the speidel? as far as what sets it apart?

The other thing i noticed is theres no where for me to put my temperature probe for my fermentation controller. Do they make a special attachment for the lid that has a thermowell in it?

I'm looking to get a Spiedel myself. From what I can gather:

Pros
Durability - tougher than glass or PET
Spigot - for racking I much prefer this to syphoning
wide mouth - ease of cleaning

Cons
Opaque - you can't see the magic happening during fermentation

I read you can use a carboy hood with a thermowell and airlock. One of the sized of hood fits very well, apparently. Just swap the bung out for the hood.

The headspace is said to pretty much negates the need for a blowoff tube too, which I think is excellent.

 

[Darwin18]

Yeastylad pretty summed up the pros/cons of the Speidel for me. I don't use the comically large airlock and instead have a thermowell installed on it. I like it because of it's so durable and not thin plastic/glass like what NB puts out. There's a thread on HBT dedicated to Speidels.