Domed lid for SS Brewbucket 7 Gal

[Braufather]

Thinking of getting this upgrade as the smaller port will be good for dry hopping and as i understand it also for closed transfer. has anyone got one? What else do else do you need? there seems to be numerous adds on around it but not sure what's essential.

I'm thinking the lid, tri clamp and gasket. in terms of a pressure relief valve is there an out of box solution? also its not clear how the blow off works.

I've got board waiting for the Apollo to come out so thinking about upgrading the BB in the meantime.

Has anyone done this upgrade?

 

[YeastFace]

I have and am happy with it although there are some annoyances.

The domed lid has a PRV included, but so does the pressurised transfer fitting for the triclamp port. This is surely overkill. I got the Brewtech one (Hose Barb | Pressurized Transfer Fitting 1.5” TC) from TMM. Perhaps there are others available without the additional PRV.

There are other fittings with keg gas posts available but they are a fair bit more expensive.

Not sure if solely due to the above but they also seem quite hard to seal, so don't expect any blow-off action.

However it does what it's intended to perfectly. No more lifting the fermenter out of the fridge and upsetting the trub. Just hook up gas whilst it's still in the fridge, fix up to the keg and away you go.

I used a secondary regulator but the PRV releases about 2psi in any case, so as long as you're not trying to put loads of pressure through it this may be surplus to requirements.

I don't really brew hazy IPAs etc anymore so eliminating oxygen wasn't really my aim, but it's a good bonus.

 

[Braufather]

Cheers for the Feedback YF

im looking at the 3 inch one so i can dry hop through it. i imagine that has a prv too then.

can I ask what do you mean hard to seal? are they not air tight?

also does it maker cold crashing easier?

 

[YeastFace]

On first use part of the spring on one of the PRVs must've twisted around so the PRV washer wasn't flush with the top surface of the lid, allowing some pressure to escape. Once I fixed that I did get some audible/visible blow-off activity for the rest of that brew.

I made sure this wasn't the case on my second use, but had no signs of blow-off activity. That was with Wyeast 1007 German Ale which is siad to be pretty aggressive fermenter.

The seal itself seems fine, but some users suggest manual bending of the clamps to ensure a fully snug fit.

II don't think that the 3" TC version has the additional PRV so imagine you should be fine.

I will probably blank one of the PRVs off when I get around to measuring the hole and ordering some bits.

 

[Braufather]

On first use part of the spring on one of the PRVs must've twisted around so the PRV washer wasn't flush with the top surface of the lid, allowing some pressure to escape. Once I fixed that I did get some audible/visible blow-off activity for the rest of that brew.

I made sure this wasn't the case on my second use, but had no signs of blow-off activity. That was with Wyeast 1007 German Ale which is siad to be pretty aggressive fermenter.

The seal itself seems fine, but some users suggest manual bending of the clamps to ensure a fully snug fit.

II don't think that the 3" TC version has the additional PRV so imagine you should be fine.

I will probably blank one of the PRVs off when I get around to measuring the hole and ordering some bits.

cheers once again. not sure what comes with what- will i need both of these?

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/lid-3-tc-7-gal-and-brewbucket/
and

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/cap-3-tc-with-12-blow-off-and-prv/

 

[YeastFace]

Yes, then the gasket and tri-clamp.

You will need a way to connect the 1/2" hose fitting to your regular 3/8" gas pipe.

When I was looking I discounted the 3" domed lid as I thought I would have needed a Triclamp reducer to use the 1.5" transfer fitting and cost just got silly.

Just had another look and Brewtech themselves say to use a few fittings to create a tube/pipe reducer which is probably more cost-effective (https://ssbrewtech.zendesk.com/hc/e...rb-and-PRV-as-a-Pressurized-Transfer-Fitting-)

 

[Braufather]

Cheers, that looks simple enough.

One worry I have is with any potential blockages. I’ve done a few closed transfer with my junior fermenter king that went well, but have always used gravity with the brewbucket , into the beer port. i do tend to get the odd blockage though when racking, and given the low presure threshold could see this being problemagic.

I’ve stopped using the racking arm as it causes more problems than it solves and just rack from the tap.

 

[Mayor of Simpleton]

I thought about going down this route for closed transfer. I ended up getting a Fermzilla all rounder rather than upgrading my brew bucket. It means I have extra FV capacity

 

[Braufather]

I thought about going down this route for closed transfer. I ended up getting a Fermzilla all rounder rather than upgrading my brew bucket. It means I have extra FV capacity

I was actually going to get the apollo, but have been waiting so long I thought may as well look into this as I love using the BB.

I’ve got a fermenter king junior but I think I’ve scratched the life out of trying to clean a Krausen line. Much prefer the BB.

 

[Braufather]

I thought about going down this route for closed transfer. I ended up getting a Fermzilla all rounder rather than upgrading my brew bucket. It means I have extra FV capacity

Out of interest, between the two, which do you now prefer using?

 

[Ossiary]

I use a BB for fermentation and closed transfer, but don’t have the domed lid. I use the 90 degree Hose Barb with a silicone blow off tube for all my fermentations, and then for chilling insert a smaller tube into that and hose clamp a Brüloon full of CO2 on to prevent air being sucked in. For transfer I change to a different small rigid tube which I also hose clamp into the larger silicone blowoff tube. This has a stainless steel Carbonation Cap inserted and allows me to clip in my CO2 bottle to the blowoff tube. 2psi of pressure helps transfer beer out of the rotating racking arm directly to purged corny keg with no air access. No floating dip tube with this, but I’m sure something could be set up to the racking arm. My fermentation fridge won’t fit the domed lid, so this was by necessity rather than design, however works so well I won’t bother looking to change, other than perhaps too something I can properly pressure fermenter in.

 

[Mayor of Simpleton]

Out of interest, between the two, which do you now prefer using?

I have only done a couple of brews in the all rounder and I got it for ability to do closed transfers - which it does well. My NEIPAs are so much better now I have the all rounder.

For its simplicity, bulletproofness, ease of handling and taking samples, the conical base etc the brew bucket wins hands down.

I would think about getting a 2nd BB with closed transfer kit now I have seen the improvement in specific styles. I just couldn't justify the cost for it when I was experimenting.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

I have two dome lids with 3" triclamp connectors . The biggest advantage I find is the extra freeboard , which means I can fill a bit extra into the brewbucket and not have carryover through the blow off tube. I had fitted blow off elbows to the original flat lids, in place of the original bung and airlock, I drilled a couple of 3" Tri clamp blanks and fitted the blow off elbows to these.
I also bought a couple of 3" triclamp pressure transfer kits from Ali Express. It's important to mark which post your using for gas and liquid , as the connections are reversible and you can, as I did the first time, get it wrong and by applying gas to the liquid post , blow the filter off the end of the flexible dip tube . I use green and red coloured O rings on the posts now , (G for green and Gas) to prevent it happening again.
You'll need a sensitive regulator as it only requires about 1 or 2 psi to drive the transfer , any more bends the lid clamps and will affect the sealing of the lid for future fermentations. There's a video on the SS website about repairing the clamps by bending them back into the correct shape . I managed to buy 4 new clamps in from the states as they're seldom in stock in the UK outlets , which to me seems to indicate that I'm not the only one to have bent the clamps . If anything the lid clamps are the weakest link and will bend long before the prv operates .

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

One other point , don't use the hard PTFE white triclamp seals , as they don't seal the triclamp fittings properly . I find the soft silicon seals are far superior

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

€ 24,35 | 3"Tri Clamp(91mm OD) Ball Lock Convert Lid with Gas Post Beer Post PRV 60cm Silicone Hose Homebrew Kegging Equipment
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLJ79kiThese are the pressure transfer kits I use

 

[Braufather]

I have only done a couple of brews in the all rounder and I got it for ability to do closed transfers - which it does well. My NEIPAs are so much better now I have the all rounder.

For its simplicity, bulletproofness, ease of handling and taking samples, the conical base etc the brew bucket wins hands down.

I would think about getting a 2nd BB with closed transfer kit now I have seen the improvement in specific styles. I just couldn't justify the cost for it when I was experimenting.

Noticed that Malt Miller have an offer in BBs at the moment and I was considering getting a second although it would be good to have a deducted closed fermenter with decent pressure capabilities. I was leaning to another BM myself as whilst I love highly hoppedhazy pales I tend not to dry hop for than 150g and usually around 100g. Not sure what the threshold is for needing a full closed transfer v semi closed in to a fully purged keg.

however after reading SPs points above I’m not so sure.

 

[Braufather]

€ 24,35 | 3"Tri Clamp(91mm OD) Ball Lock Convert Lid with Gas Post Beer Post PRV 60cm Silicone Hose Homebrew Kegging Equipment
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLJ79kiThese are the pressure transfer kits I use

cheers for all that feedback. So the PRV won’t save the clamps when inevitably the presure surges a bit at some stage. That’s sounds like a lot of unnecessary hassle. I much more an out of the box solutions brewer than a DIYer. Maybe I’m back to waiting for the Apollo!

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

https://ssbrewtech.zendesk.com/hc/e...ay-to-adjust-the-lid-clamps-on-a-Brew-Bucket-

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

cheers for all that feedback. So the PRV won’t save the clamps when inevitably the presure surges a bit at some stage. That’s sounds like a lot of unnecessary hassle. I much more an out of the box solutions brewer than a DIYer. Maybe I’m back to waiting for the Apollo!

It's not really complicated to pressure transfer from the brew bucket , the main thing is to have the regulator set at its lowest setting when you begin, and gradually increase the pressure by adjusting the regulator to one or two psi. If you apply for example half a bar pressure initially you'll hear a loud pop as the lid clamps bend (don't ask how I know this :) )
The main thing for me is that my lower back thanks me everytine I pressure transfer , rather than throwing a full brewbucket up onto worktop to gravity transfer .
With the low pressures transfer there's little or no splashing , so less chance of O2 pickup, as the beer fills slowly into the keg . I pre purge the keg with co2 but there could always be some 02 in the with the co2

 

[Braufather]

If you apply for example half a bar pressure initially you'll hear a loud pop as the lid clamps bend (don't ask how I know this :) )

Haha. I would probably be super careful to begin with that but it wouldnt be too long before that happens to me!