Fermentors.

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Exactly. Definitely not food safe. Plus it'd invalidate my guarantee.

Was that really a serious suggestion?

 

[thepatchworkdoll]

It was only a suggestion and OK possibly not superglue but some kind of adhesive. Im sure there are food safe adhesives on the market. It surely could'nt be any worse than what it is right now. Alternatively just send it back.
Regards
Patch

 

[Agentgonzo]

I can't imagine that cutting a seal would work. You'd have trouble making sure that you had sealed the join in the seal properly

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Definitely wouldn't ever do that lol

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

So two emails now sent to the shop and no acknowledgement whatsoever.

All it needs is 'sorry about that I'll send you another seal out', and I'd be satisfied, assuming it's the right seal. Will probably cost them 0.5p.

Getting quite angry now actually. I'll give them one more day to respond and then I'm going to take action. I won't be treated like this.

Sending out goods which are not fit for purpose is bang out of order. Starting to wonder if that's why they were on sale.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I now have a reply and I've asked for a new seal sending. We'll see what happens.

 

[Lunesdale Brewer]

I have fermented in plastic buckets for 40 years but just over two years ago I bought a Grainfather GF30 Conical Fermenter and I am very pleased with it.
I brew in a garage that gets cold in winter and I have always used either a fishtank heater or brewbelt to maintain 20*C for Ales. The Grainfather has integrated heating, has a well thought out yeast dumping facility and a drain tap that allows me to bottle directly from the fermenter.
I also bought the cooling pump kit and use that with a coolbox as a coolant reservoir, that has allowed me to brew lagers during winter.
It is an expensive option but works very well for me with my setup and I can wait until one fermentation has ended before starting another brew. Just as well because it has spoilt me and I will avoid using anything else and I don't want to buy another.
Luxury.
Not an affordable option for many people but I am very impressed with it.

 

[Siscokid85]

I have fermented in plastic buckets for 40 years but just over two years ago I bought a Grainfather GF30 Conical Fermenter and I am very pleased with it.
I brew in a garage that gets cold in winter and I have always used either a fishtank heater or brewbelt to maintain 20*C for Ales. The Grainfather has integrated heating, has a well thought out yeast dumping facility and a drain tap that allows me to bottle directly from the fermenter.
I also bought the cooling pump kit and use that with a coolbox as a coolant reservoir, that has allowed me to brew lagers during winter.
It is an expensive option but works very well for me with my setup and I can wait until one fermentation has ended before starting another brew. Just as well because it has spoilt me and I will avoid using anything else and I don't want to buy another.
Luxury.
Not an affordable option for many people but I am very impressed with it.

Hi Lunesdale,

I have been looking at the GF conicals recently. I too brew in the garage, do you find the GF integrated heating can sustain ale fermentation temperatures in a garage in normal UK winter temperatures? I have seen they do an insulating cover (not just a jacket). I imagine this would help in winter if you kept it off the concrete floor maybe stood it on some Celotex PIR insulation board.

This is probably the main reason I have been hesitant and not pulled the trigger as yet.

Thanks.

 

[Deadhead]

Hi Lunesdale,

I have been looking at the GF conicals recently. I too brew in the garage, do you find the GF integrated heating can sustain ale fermentation temperatures in a garage in normal UK winter temperatures? I have seen they do an insulating cover (not just a jacket). I imagine this would help in winter if you kept it off the concrete floor maybe stood it on some Celotex PIR insulation board.

This is probably the main reason I have been hesitant and not pulled the trigger as yet.

Thanks.

I'm not Lunesdale, but I have a GF conical and the temperature control is top notch on the built in system. I don't use in a garage, but the back room its in is usually around 10-12C and it has no issues keeping constant temperature (hot or cold if you're using the glycol chiller) -
I have the temperature control system for buckets too (saving up for an additional fermenter) and it works quite well too, considering the heat belt is on the outside stuck on.

 

[gyurmaember]

I'm not Lunesdale either, but when I did some brews with kveik(pfhhh), they were able to keep the temperature 10-12 degrees above ambient temperature, with the normal insulation, I guess they're performing better with the thicker insulation coat or jacket or whatever the marketing department named them.

@Tess Tickle's Brewery my f80 came with a lot of spare seals. TMM has a few left

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Thanks @gyurmaember

Perhaps I'll go and sell my soul so I can afford one

 

[gyurmaember]

Thanks @gyurmaember

Perhaps I'll go and sell my soul so I can afford one

Don't do that, a kidney will enough.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

Seriously though,, they look a bit daunting and complex to me.

 

[gyurmaember]

Seriously though,, they look a bit daunting and complex to me.

It's a bit intimidating, and fiddly to put the initial order together, and I was worried my dishwasher will break under the weight of the lot of fittings.
But since then, I love her, and I still give her a hug when I get to my beer and tool room.

 

[Deadhead]

Don't do that, a kidney will enough.

Ha. Believe it not, I gave a lot of blood to get mine....

I work in a medical device company and we need blood to test and release product. Employees get paid to donate a few times a month so that we have a steady supply. So I saved up all my blood donation money over a few years (and sold off old equipment to get me over the line) and was able to purchase the GF fermenter and glycol chiller unit.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

That's amazing, love that!

 

[Lunesdale Brewer]

Hi Siscokid85,
My experience is that it will cope.
The ambient temperature is currently +1.5*C in my garage and the fermenter is maintaining my target temp of 10*C (within 0.5*C) for my current lager fermentation.
I normally brew ales @20*C and have not had any difficulty, I was fermenting at that temperature before Christmas in a very cold spell when it was -10*C outside and below zero in the garage. I do have the insulated jacket and used it but it would probably have been ok.
I would not buy the jacket to start with just use the fermenter and see how you get on, you can always wrap it in an old blanket/sleeping bag if you have an extremely cold spell.
Paradoxically I bought the jacket to help with cooling - my garage has a15m2 south facing black roof so the solar gain is considerable in summer and the roof radiates heat in to the garage. I have now fixed that by covering it with a sedum green roof.
To get workable access to the drain valve and dump valve you need to place the fermenter on a bench or table, mine is on a 50cm high low bench, it allows me to run off directly from the fermenter into King Kegs and with a bottling wand directly in to bottles. It also allows convenient sampling for gravity measurements to check the progress of fermentation.
It is worth spending some time thinking about your workflow before purchase and set up your equipment in a suitable configuration.
I had brewed for years with home made equipment but decided that it was time to make life easier and safer for myself by eliminating lifting heavy vessels, I bought a Brewzilla Gen 3 at the same time so I now pump the cooled wort from the Brewzilla through silicone tubing directly into the fermenter. Once the yeast is pitched it is never opened again until I have bottled/kegged and need to clean it.
Cleaning is very easy too.

Hope that helps

 

[Lunesdale Brewer]

Forgot to say that the Brewzilla is mounted on a dolly with lockable castors so that I can easily move it to transfer the wort.

 

[Siscokid85]

ught a Brewzilla Gen 3 at the same time so I now pump the cooled wort from the Brewzilla through silicone tubing directly into the fermenter. Once the yeast is pitched it is never opened again until I have bottled/kegged and need to clean it.
Cleaning is very easy too.

Hope that helps

Thanks Lunesdale,

That is really helpful, I need to have a good think about where I would put it in the garage and height etc like you say.

They look a nice piece of kit.

 

[Stevieboy]

Fermentor