[TXFlyGuy]

Well, our brew team has purchased 3 FermTanks from Delta Brewing Systems.
Very nice stainless, conical, with thermowells and a means to rack off the from above the yeast bed, and then to easily harvest the yeast.

My previous experience was with a flat bottom converted beer keg, in which we did "open air" fermentation.

These are much nicer! Anyone here use these, or a similar model?

https://www.deltabrewingsystems.com/products/the-fermtank-8-gallon

[denny]

I use Grainfather conicals with their glycol unit.

[TXFlyGuy]

I use Grainfather conicals with their glycol unit.

Delta Brewing offers a glycol option. Instead, we went with three 7 cu ft chest freezers, with Inkbird digital temp control. These are nice as we know the actual temp of the beer, vs. just the freezer inside temp.

[denny]

I use Grainfather conicals with their glycol unit.

Delta Brewing offers a glycol option. Instead, we went with three 7 cu ft chest freezers, with Inkbird digital temp control. These are nice as we know the actual temp of the beer, vs. just the freezer inside temp.

When I ferment in a chest freezer, I attach the probe to the outside of the fermenter.  Testing has shown that to be remarkably accurate.

[Richard]

Putting the temperature probe in a thermowell inside the beer has a problem: the outside air must get much colder than you want before the probe in the middle of the beer registers cold enough to turn off the freezer. Then all the cold air continues to cool your beer well below the temperature you wanted.

Do as Denny suggests, and make sure that the temperature probe is reading the temperature of the fermenter and not the air by taping it solidly to the conical and putting insulation outside it to isolate it from the air. Putting in a small fan to circulate the air may also help to give better heat transfer from air to fermenter.

[TXFlyGuy]

Putting the temperature probe in a thermowell inside the beer has a problem: the outside air must get much colder than you want before the probe in the middle of the beer registers cold enough to turn off the freezer. Then all the cold air continues to cool your beer well below the temperature you wanted.

Do as Denny suggests, and make sure that the temperature probe is reading the temperature of the fermenter and not the air by taping it solidly to the conical and putting insulation outside it to isolate it from the air. Putting in a small fan to circulate the air may also help to give better heat transfer from air to fermenter.

To date, this has not been an issue. We have the probe sealed in the thermowell with masking tape, so to prevent chilled air from the freezer entering the thermowell. Thus the reading we get is actual beer temp.
The differential between beer temp vs. freezer is 1 degree or less.
The Inkbird controller is so cool! We have it programmed to maintain the beer temp at +/- 1 degree from our set temp. And we have a compressor delay programmed in so it won't be continuously cycling on/off.

Once the beer temp stabilized at our desired setting (49 degrees F), the actual freezer temp has not varied by more than one degree. We have been watching it very closely, and it is spot on.

[narvin]

Putting the temperature probe in a thermowell inside the beer has a problem: the outside air must get much colder than you want before the probe in the middle of the beer registers cold enough to turn off the freezer. Then all the cold air continues to cool your beer well below the temperature you wanted.

Do as Denny suggests, and make sure that the temperature probe is reading the temperature of the fermenter and not the air by taping it solidly to the conical and putting insulation outside it to isolate it from the air. Putting in a small fan to circulate the air may also help to give better heat transfer from air to fermenter.

I don't have this problem unless I'm trying to chill the beer 30+ degrees, which I rarely have to do.  Air is a good insulator, so don't let the fermenter touch the freezer wall.  It doesn't really matter what the air temperature is, so just measure the beer.

Besides, if taping the probe to the side with a piece of insulator is that accurate, it wouldn't be much different from using a thermowell in this respect.

[ynotbrusum]

I like a thermowell reading, when available, because it measures the beer temp and that will include the exothermic heat of active fermentation.  But, for me a chest freezer controller (Inkbird or JOHNSON) is plenty accurate enough, whether taped to the fermenter or measuring the internal air temp of the chest...especially when coupled with a Tilt hydrometer that has been calibrated for temperature and gravity.

Cheers!

[TXFlyGuy]

I like a thermowell reading, when available, because it measures the beer temp and that will include the exothermic heat of active fermentation.  But, for me a chest freezer controller (Inkbird or JOHNSON) is plenty accurate enough, whether taped to the fermenter or measuring the internal air temp of the chest...especially when coupled with a Tilt hydrometer that has been calibrated for temperature and gravity.

Cheers!

For sure. The Inkbird is spot on accurate. We have stand alone thermometers strategically placed in the freezer, and they confirm the accuracy of the Inkbird.

After the temps have stabilized, the thermowell temp vs. the free air temp is pretty close, normally within 1/2 degree or so.

This is our first experience with SS conical fermenters. So far, they are a joy to use. With easy racking and a rotating racking tube, plus the yeast dump valve on the bottom.

[goose]

I like a thermowell reading, when available, because it measures the beer temp and that will include the exothermic heat of active fermentation.  But, for me a chest freezer controller (Inkbird or JOHNSON) is plenty accurate enough, whether taped to the fermenter or measuring the internal air temp of the chest...especially when coupled with a Tilt hydrometer that has been calibrated for temperature and gravity.

Cheers!

For sure. The Inkbird is spot on accurate. We have stand alone thermometers strategically placed in the freezer, and they confirm the accuracy of the Inkbird.

After the temps have stabilized, the thermowell temp vs. the free air temp is pretty close, normally within 1/2 degree or so.

This is our first experience with SS conical fermenters. So far, they are a joy to use. With easy racking and a rotating racking tube, plus the yeast dump valve on the bottom.

+1  that is why i have a half barrel and 5 gallon SS Brewtek conicals

[HopDen]

I have a 1BBL and a 1/2 BBL from Spike Brewing. Homemade glycol chiller thrown in the mix and it basically completed my system.