Yeah, I know it's kinda corny....

[r8rphan]

... but it should work... I can now use my corny's as secondary fermenters...

Whadda-ya'-thunk?

 

[BierMuncher]

Handsome rig. I've been using my cornies to condition for a while now. I like to park them in the garage this time of year. At around 50 degrees it really helps the beers clear up nicely.

 

[r8rphan]

Do you keep them under pressure, or do you just let them sit in a sealed corny? Or do you allow the CO2 to escape with some sort of airlock?

I guess what I'm asking, is if I can let my beer condition in the corny with this little air lock device for long periods of time (ie a month or more), then just put them under pressure a couple weeks before I want to tap them, finally refrigerating them two or three days before they go into my belly?

 

[Flomaster]

as a secondary I don't think you have to worry about blow off I think it's a great idea kinda like a bright tank isn't it?

-=Jason=-

 

[r8rphan]

This is a good time to clear things up I guess..

What is the official definition of 'primary' and 'secondary' and 'conditioning'?

At what point does one become the next?

I often feel like I'm talking about something different than the next guy when using these terms... or maybe not, but I'm just operating under the wrong understanding about when air locks are required...

 

[woodstone]

Ha, I do the same thing but with tubing and a few zip ties, not the copper.

Pressurize, dump the first pint of sediment, carb, and serve! NO SIPHONING!!

 

[milldoggy]

I just mash a #3 stopper on there and put the airlock in that, much cheaper

 

[Gremlyn]

This is a good time to clear things up I guess..

What is the official definition of 'primary' and 'secondary' and 'conditioning'?

At what point does one become the next?

I often feel like I'm talking about something different than the next guy when using these terms... or maybe not, but I'm just operating under the wrong understanding about when air locks are required...

Primary fermentor: where the fermentation of wort into beer takes place.
Secondary fermentor = bright tank = conditioning tank: where you put the beer after it has fully fermented to age (or dry hop or add other things).

The term 'secondary fermentor' is mostly a misnomer as you shouldn't move the beer from the primary until it has fermented all the way out. There can be some fermentation in the secondary if you rack onto fruit or something containing sugar, otherwise it's just for ageing, clearing, and conditioning the beer.

After fermentation is over, you can safely rack to a corny keg and leave it sealed up. If you're going to add anything with sugar (other than sugar added to naturally carb the beer), you will want to have some kind of pressure relief, like your airlock.

 

[JuanMoore]

^^^ just beat me to it.