Fermentasaurus, Fermzilla or Fast Ferment. Which to buy?

[Chippy_Tea]

I'd hope so given the amount of advertising there has been from various sources.

All posts have been removed pending the upgrade the member wasn't aware they were breaking the advertising rules here. (TBH they are fairly hidden you wouldn't fine them without looking)

 

[Brew_DD2]

Good to have another sponsor on board. And I am genuinely excited about seeing their products hit the UK. If they could do that Fermenter King Jnr slightly bigger, I'd be all over it like a cheap suit.

 

[foxy]

Good to have another sponsor on board. And I am genuinely excited about seeing their products hit the UK. If they could do that Fermenter King Jnr slightly bigger, I'd be all over it like a cheap suit.

Better off with the Snubnose and use the junior as a keg, maybe he will send a couple of extra goodies to have as a give away, or one at least.

 

[QED]

I've just ordered a Fermzilla All Rounder. Most of the reviews of them seem really positive. I went for the 'All Rounder' due to it being a bit less complicated than the conical with the collection jar so less to go wrong!

Up until now i've fermented in "Better Bottles" as I like to be able to see what's going on. That said, my Better Bottles need replaced so I went for a standard bucket (Better Jugs) for an interim solution and I just cant seem to get a seal so my bubbler does nothing! It ferments fine but i keep having to open the bucket to take a reading and see what's going on. So it's back to a clear fermenter for me with the Fermzilla.

The PET of the Fermzilla is (meant to be) non porous compared to the Better Bottle so I shouldn't have to replace it as often.

 

[Dave Parry]

Just wanted to give a quick update from my earlier review on the FastFerment 7.9 gallons. I reported in the thread above that I have had problems with a broken trub bulb tap and a cracked lid. I had failed to find spares in the UK.

I did talk about having contacted the manufacturers in Canada and whilst a little slow in responding they have kept the thread going. This evening, to my surprise, they have offered to buy me a completely new unit from Amazon and have it delivered to my house free of charge.

We can all have our opinions on the quality of the product, but you can’t beat service like that.

 

[Session]

Better off with the Snubnose and use the junior as a keg

I agree - if I didn’t already ferment in corny kegs I’d definitely go for a snubnose or all-rounder. Do you know whether the snub can pressure ferment foxy? I really miss being able to see the yeast do their thing!

 

[foxy]

I agree - if I didn’t already ferment in corny kegs I’d definitely go for a snubnose or all-rounder. Do you know whether the snub can pressure ferment foxy? I really miss being able to see the yeast do their thing!

Yes the Snubnose is a pressure fermenter and comes with the kit ready to go, as does the Junior.

I've just ordered a Fermzilla All Rounder. Most of the reviews of them seem really positive. I went for the 'All Rounder' due to it being a bit less complicated than the conical with the collection jar so less to go wrong!

Up until now i've fermented in "Better Bottles" as I like to be able to see what's going on. That said, my Better Bottles need replaced so I went for a standard bucket (Better Jugs) for an interim solution and I just cant seem to get a seal so my bubbler does nothing! It ferments fine but i keep having to open the bucket to take a reading and see what's going on. So it's back to a clear fermenter for me with the Fermzilla.

The PET of the Fermzilla is (meant to be) non porous compared to the Better Bottle so I shouldn't have to replace it as often.

The only thing I have read where they have a problem is it's difficult to get the lid off.

 

[Session]

Yes the Snubnose is a pressure fermenter and comes with the kit ready to go, as does the Junior.

Thanks foxy. The main thing that I disliked about the FermZilla is that the pressure ferment kit is an optional extra... how annoying is that?! The big reason I would consider the FZ (and I was looking at it for quite a while before going down the keg route) would be to pressure ferment. Maybe their target market has different priories to me (or if I’m being cynical maybe they just want to sell more pressure kits).

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

I've got the fermentasaurus and the fermzilla 27liter. I'm very happy with the fermzilla, it's so much easier to clean than the fermentasaurus. But I do have some negatives with it also. The collecting jar... Its 1 liter. To big i think. Should be 1/2 liter, also its much much harder to get of than the bottle on the fermentasaurus. On the other hand, the fermentasaurus is harder to get leak free, have to use grease and tighten hard, while the fermzilla is plug and play. Also the fermzilla has the ability to purge the jar when dryhop ping or after collecting trub etc. What the hell. I love them both. Hehe

 

[phildo79]

Still think I will hold out for an Australian one.

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this thread. I do appreciate it. So difficult to make the right decision with homebrew equipment sometimes. We are all here for each other so let's keep that going and make each other aware of the ***** that's out there.

Slan

 

[B2B]

Hi guys

After seeing us mentioned I think it's time we joined in with this thread and confirm that we'll be getting the full range of Keg King fermenters in as quickly as possible, just waiting to collect the container and they'll be on the high seas. We'll be getting the Fermenter King Jnr, the new G3 Fermenter King which replaces the Fermentasaurus G2, both the 35ltr and 60ltr Snub noses and the 60ltr Fermenter King Max. There'll be other goodies on their way as well including the clean in place kits, grainary's and a few other bits and bobs.

I can feel another giveaway coming can you?!?!?

 

[rolando]

Wow awesome @Brew2bottle Homebrew and @CEO Keg King !! I'm in between jobs, but will certainly be ordering something soon!!

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

I learned the hard way that you need to lube the collection jar on the fermzilla... Couldn't get it of when I wanted to collect my horningdal yeast. Used the provided tool and BAM! Yeast everywhere. It broke in half. The whole jar.

Imagine my floor and the dace of my better half. So...use lube.

 

[rolando]

Used the provided tool and BAM! Yeast everywhere. It broke in half. The whole jar.

Imagine my floor and the dace of my better half. So...use lube.

I've seen this SO much with Fermzilla! It's really put me off them. I can't wait for Keg King to arrive in the UK!

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

I've seen this SO much with Fermzilla! It's really put me off them. I can't wait for Keg King to arrive in the UK!

Don't let this in any way put you of owning one. It's a really good piece of kit. The fermzilla and the fermentasaurus both. This happened because I wasn't informed on how to use the jar correctly. From now on I'll use some keglube and it'll be fine. Its all about what you need. If you just want a Plastic keg that can be pressurised then a king Jr is fine. If you want to have the opportunity to collect your yeast, we'll then the others are great in both their ways. Though the fermzilla is easier in use. Fermenting under pressure is for me now a must. So much better beer. The reason I posted the pic was to show people what can happen when you don't use lube. I've already bought a new jar. It's going into use already today.

 

[phildo79]

I do like the idea of harvesting yeast but I have heard of a lot of issues with these collection jars across multiple devices. Would there be anything wrong with adding new wort on top of the yeast cake from the previous batch in a snubnose? Let's set aside the issue of yeast profiles for a moment and pretend you are making the same beer twice. I believe Dr Hans did something similar with the trub collected in a Fermentasaurus jar for a whole year and said the beers came out just fine.

 

[QED]

Would there be anything wrong with adding new wort on top of the yeast cake from the previous batch in a snubnose?

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

I do like the idea of harvesting yeast but I have heard of a lot of issues with these collection jars across multiple devices. Would there be anything wrong with adding new wort on top of the yeast cake from the previous batch in a snubnose? Let's set aside the issue of yeast profiles for a moment and pretend you are making the same beer twice. I believe Dr Hans did something similar with the trub collected in a Fermentasaurus jar for a whole year and said the beers came out just fine.

Yeah you could do that, no problem. Most people use more or less the same yeast for everything anyway. I brew my beers with Kveik. Have done so for a long time. I like to harvest. The fermentasaurus is by far the easiest to use, but the hole is very small. I emty it twice or three times each batch, but I cand purge the o2 out like I can with the fermzilla. Also the holes is much bigger and better suited for dryhopping. I know I could just open up the top and insert the hops through the lid but I like that no o2 is introduced during or after making the beer. Also I sometimes use the fermzilla/fermentsaurus for serving. Taking the beer of the yeast cake without ever touching the beer. It's just made my beer much tastier. Which is for me the biggest selling point. No more hoses or bottling wands or multiple buckets. I also transfer from the these to a keg. No o2, no nothing just beer. Its well spent money in my opinion.

 

[Brew_DD2]

I've been hanging fire on picking up another fermenter to go with my Fermzilla but the Snub Nose and Fermenter King Jnr still don't appear to readily available in the UK market. Shame. Think I'll pull the trigger on the Fermzilla all-rounder.

 

[rolando]

@Brew2bottle Homebrew any idea when the keg king equipment arrives ??