[klickitat jim]

I have 6 brand new never used spigots. I don't like the idea. I use an auto siphon

[riceral]

What is your routine for sanitizing the spigot?  I have one of the 30s and have been a bit paranoid about using it as it hangs around the bottom of the fermenter and is likely somewhat nasty.


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I run star san through the spigot. As long as I am putting star san in the fermenter, it's easy to run some through the spigot.

[pete b]

What is your routine for sanitizing the spigot?  I have one of the 30s and have been a bit paranoid about using it as it hangs around the bottom of the fermenter and is likely somewhat nasty.


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I run star san through the spigot. As long as I am putting star san in the fermenter, it's easy to run some through the spigot.

This is why I don't like the idea of spigots on a fermenter. The wort/beer is sitting in the spigot with all that weight of its own forcing it to get as far into the gaskets and valve as possible then people just run star San through it. The stars an will just coat the outer surface of what's in there for a little while and bofore evaporating leaving behind all that organic material. The physical activity of it passing through will get most off but it won't touch what's in the crevices. I always take apart and clean the spigot from my bottling bucket after rinsing it and there is stuff in there that would have been left there if I merely rinsed with Sanitizer. You need to take the spigot apart and soak in cleaner each time before sanitizing.

[klickitat jim]

That last sentence...

Even if you take it apart and clean it, sanitize it, put back together,  then what? Fill with beer, right. Then you wait a couple weeks to a month. Its time to rack. How do you clean it before you rack?

Anyway,  im not trying to start an anti-spigot revolution. I'm just a clean freak and spigots give me the willies.

[JT]

I still like my carboys, but if I used a spigot I'd be putting a sandwich bag or plastic wrap over it after cleaning/sanitizing that would stay on until racking time.  But then I still need to sanitize the tubing I'm going to rack with so at that point I don't see any advantage over an auto-siphon. 

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[ynotbrusum]

I have 2 sixty liter Speidels and would not trade them for the world (used on lager beers usually).  I use the spigot, typically - I hit it with generous spray of iodophor or Star San before connecting up the tubing.  I take them fully apart to clean with typical keg cleaner each time and soak them in iodophor or Star San each time, as well.

As to size, my chest freezer works for the height, as long as the fermenters are not in the dead center, as there is a protrusion of the lid that gets in the way there on the 60L's.  I can fit both 60L's and two 6.5 gallon Better Bottles (or four corny kegs) in there at once, so it becomes a holding tank for quite a few brews.

I try to avoid extremely hot cleaners with these, but they handle temperatures that are as hot as my water heater can get, all without any problems.

[beersk]

I'm wondering, how does one go about harvesting yeast out of the Speidels?

I've recently switched back to buckets after fermenting in kegs for a couple years. I'm very happy with them.

[MerlinWerks]

I believe this is still relevant to the OP's initial question about Speidel fermenters in general, if not, my apologies 

When I reassemble the spigot I spray the individual pieces with starsan and put it together. Spray the threads on the fermenter and attach the spigot. The spigot itself has a small collar that fits in the fermenter opening, once tightened up I doubt there is any wort that contacts the actual gasket. The inside of the spigot body is smooth and rounded with no crevices and made from the same material as the fermenter itself. The hole in the spigot body is oval and probably 1/2 in sq in area and that is the only spot where wort contacts the actual orange spout of the spigot.

I put about a gallon of sanitizer in the fermenter and put on the lid using the solid cap. Roll and swish for a few minutes, then open the spigot and empty a bit of the starsan, close it, then dump the remainder back into my starsan bucket from the top. Invert the fermenter on an empty 5 gallon bucket and cover the the spigot with a piece of foil to keep dust out until I'm ready to rack.

Once brewing is complete, pump the wort into the fermenter, aerate with O2, pitch and put on the lid with stopper, airlock and thermowell. Replace the foil with a sandwich bag secured with a rubber band and place in the fermentation chamber.

On kegging day, move the fermenter to my table, remove the plastic bag and visually inspect the spigot to ensure it is still clean, so far it always has been. Spray starsan inside and outside the nozzle, open the spigot and drain about a half pint to clear any accumulated yeast/trub into a pitcher. Slip on a 3 1/2' piece of sanitized 1/2" silicone tubing, the other end goes to the bottom of the sanitized and purged keg. Loosen the collar on the lid a bit to vent, open the the spigot and fill the keg in 3 - 4 minutes.

This has worked for me for the 40 or so batches I have done with the Speidels so far and I am completely comfortable with this procedure, but I ensure that I do not become complacent or careless...

[MerlinWerks]

I'm wondering, how does one go about harvesting yeast out of the Speidels?

I've recently switched back to buckets after fermenting in kegs for a couple years. I'm very happy with them.

I harvest yeast often. Once I'm done kegging there is always enough beer left over to swirl the yeast in to a slurry. Then I simply fill sanitized mason jars from the spigot.