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Author Topic: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?  (Read 4823 times)

Offline BrewBama

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #15 on: March 18, 2016, 04:29:41 pm »
I use a SS Brewbucket. Not a true conical but kind of a hybrid conical/bucket. I really like it. 

Offline Indy574

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #16 on: March 18, 2016, 07:31:17 pm »
I have a stainless 12 gal Blichman conical and the only reason I switched to it was the fear of broken glass. Having brewed in carboys for about 3 years, I recognized that I was playing with fire and the potential for debilitating injury persuaded me to switch. Unfortunately, plastic was not a material that is suited for breweries. So stainless steel was it.

I use plastic buckets for fermentation and then carboys for my secondary. When I do the switch over to the secondary I use milk crates to haul my carboys around. Little easier on my back and a whole lot safer.

Offline dkfick

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #17 on: March 18, 2016, 11:28:50 pm »
I have a stout stainless 14.5 gallon conical,  a stout stainless 7.3 gallon conical (won in a raffle), a minibrew plastic 8 gallon conical, a fastferment conical bulb thing with stand, a Onderbrew plastic conical (cone goes on to of a bucket and you flip the bucket)... So....  I guess I like conicals.  Mostly I like them to dump trub and to harvest clean yeast easily.

I'm going to be honest... The mini-brew conical is probably the one I use the most.  I like the shape and lightness of it so it's easy to move around. The 7.3 gain conical is new.  I have a batch of cider in it now,  but it's the only batch that I have had in there.  It could be a new favorite... I like both the spot conical designs.   I normally do 6 gallon batches and I have no issues doing one of those in the 14.5 gallon conical.  Only issue with the sixth of it with smaller batches has come while attempting to lager in it... Too much headspace for all that.
Edit: is late and I typed all that on my phone... Could be some auto corrects... I'm not proofreading lol.
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Offline jmitchell3

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #18 on: March 19, 2016, 01:21:29 am »

I use a SS Brewbucket. Not a true conical but kind of a hybrid conical/bucket. I really like it.

Ive used a brewbucket for a few months now and love it. Beats the heck out of plastic and/or carboys. 

considering adding a peltier stout tank fermenter (haven't acted yet though). Advantages would be standalone temp control, closed co2 transfers to kegs, sanitary design, and yeast harvesting...


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Offline JJeffers09

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #19 on: March 22, 2016, 02:52:11 pm »
Stay away from plastic conicals. They are not worth the price. There are some advantages with stainless conicals but not much on the homebrew level. If you can get an actual stand alone temp control conical then I would say that it is worth it. If not, buckets, carboys, spiedels - those are the better options for homebrewers.

+1 Speidel makes a conical too. and there is fastFermenter 7.9 gallon fermenters for under $100
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Offline denny

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #20 on: March 22, 2016, 02:58:46 pm »
I got prcing on the Genesis fermenter if anyone is interested....

MSRP is $54.99.
That includes:

    (1) Genesis Fermenter
    (1) Genesis Fermenter Lid
    (1) Genesis Fermenter Lid Gasket
    (1) Genesis Fermenter Inner Liner
    (1) Rubber Stopper, with Airlock Hole
    (1) S-Shape Airlock
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RPIScotty

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #21 on: March 22, 2016, 05:19:41 pm »
I own one of the BrewDemon 2.5 gal conical fermentors. Came with a kit. It's nice. I have extended the legs and put a dump valve on but haven't used it since I was still using extract.

At $40 it's not exactly a steal buts it's durable, they offer replacement parts that are always in stock and the customer service is fantastic.

Offline braufessor

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #22 on: March 23, 2016, 07:54:41 am »
I use SS Brew Buckets.  I really like them - drops yeast/trub into cone below the spigot.  Easy to transfer clean beer.  Easy to save and harvest yeast.  Love the durability of stainless.  Easy to clean.  Would prefer a little better access for spigot cleaning..... but it is manageable (and I boil my spigots from time to time just in case).  Never had a problem in 2 years.
That said - the exact same things can all be done with a normal bottling bucket (or spieled type fermenter).  I still use bottling buckets a lot when my SS Buckets are full. 

Offline gymrat

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #23 on: March 23, 2016, 09:53:43 am »
I remember someone advocating fermenting in a new garbage can liner a few years ago. As long as that bag is leak free, that seems like it could be a good option for a fermentation vessel. Placing some sort of flat plate over the top of the container should serve to keep infectors out.

I would be very leery of doing this. A lot of garbage liners are manufactured with insecticide in them to prevent fly problems.
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Offline jthaworth

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #24 on: March 25, 2016, 08:33:23 pm »
I use SS Brew Buckets.  I really like them - drops yeast/trub into cone below the spigot.  Easy to transfer clean beer.  Easy to save and harvest yeast.  Love the durability of stainless.  Easy to clean.  Would prefer a little better access for spigot cleaning..... but it is manageable (and I boil my spigots from time to time just in case).  Never had a problem in 2 years.
That said - the exact same things can all be done with a normal bottling bucket (or spieled type fermenter).  I still use bottling buckets a lot when my SS Buckets are full.

Totally agree.  I wondered about the spigot...thanks for the suggestion.

Offline narcout

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Re: Conical fermenters, anyone use them in this forum?
« Reply #25 on: March 26, 2016, 07:47:04 am »
Ive used a brewbucket for a few months now and love it. Beats the heck out of plastic and/or carboys. 

considering adding a peltier stout tank fermenter (haven't acted yet though). Advantages would be standalone temp control, closed co2 transfers to kegs, sanitary design, and yeast harvesting...

You can pull off closed CO2 transfers to kegs with the brewbucket.  I have one too and really like it.
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