Fermzilla 30L All rounder ?
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Bertie Doe
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Many thanks Jerry, that'll do the job nicely. It's obviously small enough, not to sink the float-ball. Regards Paul.
Matt_W
Well-Known Member
out of stock at BrewKegTaphttps://brewkegtap.co.uk/products/floating-dip-tube-filter-kegland?_pos=2&_sid=196aac2ab&_ss=r&variant=32876909002833
I can’t remember where I got mine from but likely AliExpress
Bertie Doe
Well-Known Member
I ordered from fleabay, cheap as chips. Location "London" but business address is in China. So I might get it in a week ...... or three
I have 2 All Rounders and I love them.
Here are some of my lessons learned:
1. If you buy the small filter, make sure you get the Kegland one, as some of the Chinese copies don't have the small eyelet on them which is needed to attach it to the ball/dip tube.
2. I recommend using food grade lube for the lid as it's a bugger to get off. You can pop it off with CO2 but that's such a pain.
3. The collar around the lid can also be a bugger to release but you can buy a cheap rubber lasso gadget to remove it.
4. Buy another carbonation cap, either a yellow or metal one, for the liquid post and then use a red one on the All Rounder to signify gas. It can be difficult tell liquid from gas during fermentation and having 2 red caps is the problem.
5. The tape that marks litres/gallons is inaccurate. If you care, then measure the liquid level yourself and use a marker on the All Rounder. But remember that when your wort is under pressure, the measurements will fluctuate.
6. Fermenting between 10psi and 15psi will naturally carbonate your beer. You can also harvest CO2 for free if you have multiple kegs. If you use a Float or Tilt check what pressure it can handle or it could do pop.
7. A spunding valve with a pressure gauge (I use the version 2 from Kegland) is a must and remember to tweak it during fermentation. And make sure that the spunding valve is the right way around (arrow pointing away from the carbonation cap) otherwise it will suck rather than blow!
8. You can add a tube from the spunding valve to a bottle of water if you want to see active fermentation. But the it's not necessary and the novelty soon wears off.
9. You can add a heat belt to control temps (a pad won't work due to the shape).
10. The metal stand keeps the AR stable but works better when the wider opening is facing up. That also reduces the head room needed in a fridge.
11. If head room in a fridge is an issue, you can ditch the metal stand and use a piece of plastic tubing as a stand to get an inch or two lower.
12. To test for pressure leaks, fill the AR with CO2 and place it upside down in a bucket to check for bubbles.
13. Only ever hand tighten the carbonation caps and never use a screwdriver to open the lid, as you'll break it or compromise the seal.
14. Kegland sell a harness for the AR which secures it to it's stand to make lifting the two much easier. I didn't buy one at first but then regretted it because having one makes it much easier to move them into a fermentation fridge.
15. I bought all the Fermzilla AR parts on Kegland's Aliexpress site (sorry local brew shops) because they are so much cheaper.
16. The T-Piece is great for adding finings under pressure if you want clear beer.
17. I use magnets and hop bags for dry-hopping rather (which some people frown upon) rather than open the difficult to remove lid. And you can slide the bag slowly down the side and under the wort without having to add weights inside.
I think that's it!
Here are some of my lessons learned:
1. If you buy the small filter, make sure you get the Kegland one, as some of the Chinese copies don't have the small eyelet on them which is needed to attach it to the ball/dip tube.
2. I recommend using food grade lube for the lid as it's a bugger to get off. You can pop it off with CO2 but that's such a pain.
3. The collar around the lid can also be a bugger to release but you can buy a cheap rubber lasso gadget to remove it.
4. Buy another carbonation cap, either a yellow or metal one, for the liquid post and then use a red one on the All Rounder to signify gas. It can be difficult tell liquid from gas during fermentation and having 2 red caps is the problem.
5. The tape that marks litres/gallons is inaccurate. If you care, then measure the liquid level yourself and use a marker on the All Rounder. But remember that when your wort is under pressure, the measurements will fluctuate.
6. Fermenting between 10psi and 15psi will naturally carbonate your beer. You can also harvest CO2 for free if you have multiple kegs. If you use a Float or Tilt check what pressure it can handle or it could do pop.
7. A spunding valve with a pressure gauge (I use the version 2 from Kegland) is a must and remember to tweak it during fermentation. And make sure that the spunding valve is the right way around (arrow pointing away from the carbonation cap) otherwise it will suck rather than blow!
8. You can add a tube from the spunding valve to a bottle of water if you want to see active fermentation. But the it's not necessary and the novelty soon wears off.
9. You can add a heat belt to control temps (a pad won't work due to the shape).
10. The metal stand keeps the AR stable but works better when the wider opening is facing up. That also reduces the head room needed in a fridge.
11. If head room in a fridge is an issue, you can ditch the metal stand and use a piece of plastic tubing as a stand to get an inch or two lower.
12. To test for pressure leaks, fill the AR with CO2 and place it upside down in a bucket to check for bubbles.
13. Only ever hand tighten the carbonation caps and never use a screwdriver to open the lid, as you'll break it or compromise the seal.
14. Kegland sell a harness for the AR which secures it to it's stand to make lifting the two much easier. I didn't buy one at first but then regretted it because having one makes it much easier to move them into a fermentation fridge.
15. I bought all the Fermzilla AR parts on Kegland's Aliexpress site (sorry local brew shops) because they are so much cheaper.
16. The T-Piece is great for adding finings under pressure if you want clear beer.
17. I use magnets and hop bags for dry-hopping rather (which some people frown upon) rather than open the difficult to remove lid. And you can slide the bag slowly down the side and under the wort without having to add weights inside.
I think that's it!
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I bought Keg King's Apollo, eliminates all the above fits easily into a fridge the yeast settles into a cone don't need a spunding valve using the 10 or 15 PSI pressure relief valve. I don't understand what number 8 is a blow off tube needs to blow off into a StarSan mix, not a novelty feature but necessary.
If you have a spunding valve attached then you don't necessarily need a blow off tube as the valve is one-way, I use a blow off tube initially into an old pop bottle with starsan in whilst the yeast does it's mental phase to collect any **** and then swap that for a liquid to liquid line connected to a keg with a spunding valve on the gas side for fermenting under pressure and collecting CO2 for either the transfer or as a pool for cold crash.
The sliding idea is great! Could then also slide out again at the end of 3-4 days of dry hopping and leave undisturbed for conditioning and cold crash. My main issue is the head room for a large bag of hops, don't really want them to get damp/soggy from the krausen rising up.On my last brew I just could not get them to stay up high enough so ended up removing the bag and chucking it in later once SG was down to 1.020 and then fished out with sterilised tongs 3 days later, both of those involved several purges of CO2.
I use 2 bags and 2 sets of magnets for large amounts of dry hopping and I also do as you mentioned for cold crashing so that I avoid any off flavours. Works like a charm as long as the magnets are strong enough ;-)
The Kegland spunding valve is one-way, so it allows the CO2 to escape and no oxygen to get in. I used to use a blow off tube inserted into the spunding valve and then put the other end into a bottle of water (no starsan needed) just see if the fermentation was active. Now I just rely on my Float device to see if the ferment is active and I harvest the CO2 into my keg (pushing out starsan into another keg ready for the next brew).
The OP asked about the All Rounder, so I was just sharing my experience as I've never tried any Keg King products but they look great.
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But with a PRV at a set pressure eliminates the need for a spunding valve altogether. 15 PSI is all you need for pressure fermenting, no more. A 10 PSI PRV will take care of the carbonation. He did ask about the all rounder having used both products I thought it only fair to give a comparison.
Also having the cone on the Apollo reduces the area the beer is in contact with the dead yeast.
@foxy, not heard of the Apollo, maybe it’s sold under a different name in the UK, there is the Snub nose, is that the same thing? Was looking at one of those but it was considerably taller than the all rounder plus no one had them in stock.
Get Er Brewed did have the all rounder in stock for £49.
Get Er Brewed did have the all rounder in stock for £49.
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Here is a pic of them side by side, the Apollo is about 120 mm smaller, the new Snubnose has the larger opening too.
RoomWithABrew
Landlord.
@stripeyjoe
Using several bags is often necessary for large hop bills. I do vacuum seal the magnet to protect it from the wort / beer. I stitched the bag magnet into the hop bag, this means I can trap the hop bag with hops above and below the magnet, rather than it all dangling which happens otherwise and you will get premature dry hopping ( soon becoming wet hops ).
I use Computer hard drive magnets on the outside and some normal magnets on the inside. It seems much easier than opening, gassing etc.
I think that the Apollo is the snub nose variant of the fermentasaurus from KEG KING wheras the snub nose is from Keg Land their variant of the troublesome fermzilla, lot of politics / acrimony between those two companies.
Using several bags is often necessary for large hop bills. I do vacuum seal the magnet to protect it from the wort / beer. I stitched the bag magnet into the hop bag, this means I can trap the hop bag with hops above and below the magnet, rather than it all dangling which happens otherwise and you will get premature dry hopping ( soon becoming wet hops ).
I use Computer hard drive magnets on the outside and some normal magnets on the inside. It seems much easier than opening, gassing etc.
I think that the Apollo is the snub nose variant of the fermentasaurus from KEG KING wheras the snub nose is from Keg Land their variant of the troublesome fermzilla, lot of politics / acrimony between those two companies.
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Keg King not Keg Land has the Snubnose, Keg Land tried to copy the Snubnose but as they don't make any PET fermenters (they purchase them from a company in China) the best they could come up with is the All rounder. Apollo is just another variation made in Australia by Keg King.
But you are right the FermZilla is an extremely troublesome unit.
RoomWithABrew
Landlord.
@foxy right got my nomenclature wrong. Possibly a patent issue or two out there as well.
Glad I stuck with my now growing collection of fermentasaurus. Picked one up the other week for 25 pounds equiv with pressure kit, bargain but they had assembled it all wrong and had an oring missing so they must have thought it a pretty rubbish product.
Glad I stuck with my now growing collection of fermentasaurus. Picked one up the other week for 25 pounds equiv with pressure kit, bargain but they had assembled it all wrong and had an oring missing so they must have thought it a pretty rubbish product.
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I have had the all rounder for a 18months and had no issues. Just got a second one as found for a good price. I had been looking at a Keg King Chubby and the Snub Nose as alternatives( but no stock for last couple of months in UK) but I like the look of the Apollo.
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The Apollo is the thickest material of all, probably because they are using the same forms and it is smaller.
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Hopefully this will get released over here too. Is it 27-30l?
I your photos with all the fermenters lined up is that an air conditioned room?
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Its 30 litre, the air conditioner is reverse cycle it is on heating now a comfy 18 C in the room and 10 C outside in the depths of winter at the moment.
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In peak summer does it keep at the temps you are after?
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