Fermzilla fermenters

[RoomWithABrew]

@Mayor of Simpleton
Try eating less spinach before cleaning the fermenter. I avoid it and can get my arm in the fermentasaurus, but warm PBW alternative and a CIP sprayball does the trick as well.

 

[foxy]

Do they? From memory the Fermzilla was considerably larger which helps with cleaning.

Yes the openings in the top are the same size, which ever brand. Any one brewing mainly 21 or 23 litres the Apollo is ideal, squat fits in a fridge easily and thicker material.

 

[Davegase]

Do they? From memory the Fermzilla was considerably larger which helps with cleaning.

You are correct, the gen 3 lids are smaller. But the new Apollo range have a larger lid (115mm diameter) for easier cleaning !! I've been looking on the brew2bottle website at the gen 3 snub-nosed but I prefer to wait until the Apollo range is available !

 

[gingerneil]

Sounds like we're very similar... I have been brewing in the bucket and bottling for about 3 years. My kit beers are OK, but definitely room to improve. I'm a big fan of hazy IPAs - Hazy Jane being the current fav. I've gone for an All Rounder, and have a corny on the way. Muntons Hazy kit coming with it - so that'll be the initial test!
When you pay £5 for a 4 pack in tesco, the extra cost of the kit to pressure ferment and keg doesnt look too bad. Wife, kids and I went to the pub on Saturday night and spent >£100 too - so altho kit costs add up, compared to a night out or two it's all pretty cheap!
Managed to get a free fridge of Facebook too, so also looking forward to controlling temp better and being able to cold crash.

 

[fgoulding]

I have 2 All Rounders and I bought them mainly for avoiding oxidisation by doing a sealed transfer of NEIPA’s etc to a keg.

They (like the KK versions) are easy to clean and, in my opinion, are a bit of a step up from a plastic fermenter (which I also still use).

You don’t need to do pressure fermenting, in fact I rarely do these days but you do need the pressure kit to transfer the beer using CO2.

I hear that Kegland are about to launch a new Fermzilla soon which will be made of steel and could extract even more money from your wallet….if you let it ;-)

 

[muppix]

Just one comment which may or may not be relevant, but if you ferment under pressure then your beer is pretty much already carbonated when fermentation is done, and bottling fermented beer can be tricky. I love my Fermzilla and use it a lot, but everything that I brew with it gets kegged, not bottled. Mostly this is hop-forward ales and lagers - when I brew darker stuff I use a stainless bucket from SS Brewtech.

 

[gavp1979]

I have an all-rounder and really like the ability to do closed transfers into a keg. I have tried pressure fermenting but mine doesn't seem to hold pressure, it builds while fermenting but as soon as it has finished the pressure drops back to zero so not sure what I am doing wrong

 

[Mayor of Simpleton]

@gavp1979. Could do with more detail around what is happening and when. Buy, have you checked everywhere for potential leaks?. When I first used mine, I had a slow loss of pressure - a couple of PSI over 24 hours. I checked all the lid seals and couldn't find anything and was about to give up when I thought to check my spunding valve - I found a poor tubing connection. Fixing that resolved the leak. It holds pressure perfectly now.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Managed to get a free fridge of Facebook too, so also looking forward to controlling temp better and being able to cold crash.

I started my temp control journey with a STC 1000 controller. Then built a brewpiless controller, this is miles better can interface with ispindels as well and if you are really getting into it can auto spund as well.
Brewpiless no more tricky to build than an Ispindel so you'll be fine.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@gavp1979
I've had trouble with the all metal type of spunding valve ( first picture ) , crack in one part ( picture 2 and 3), pressure held fine during ferment but was lost after active ferment, Only spotted it bubbling when I was using it in a different position and saw some bubbles.

I removed the broken part and replaced it and modified it to the view on the right of picture 4.

I find the left spunding valve much more reliable, some ptfe tape around the adjusting bit on the metal spunding valve has made it more stable when I adjust it but I have to say it is still overly sensitive.

The kegland spunding valve is much better.
Always check with duotights that you have rammed the tube in far enough.

 

[gavp1979]

@Mayor of Simpleton / @RoomWithABrew thanks for your replies, I have sprayed starsan around the lid and carbonation caps and can't see any obvious bubbling but don't think the sounding valve was on when I did that so it could well be the culprit so I will check all the duotight connections (it is a kegland one as shown above).

Cheers.

 

[Matt_W]

I have both the 27L conical and the 30L all arounder Fermzillas. My preference is to the all rounder as it fits easier the fridge and its easier to clean. I'm leaning towards selling the 27L as its only used when I brew beers with big dry hops (100g plus) and they're not by style. Plus 2 all rounders would just about fit in my fridge, double batches on the horizon.

I pressure ferment in both but its more about keeping oxygen out and making life easier to transfer. I dont turn the heat up and high pressure to get a fast ferment, if I want a quick turnaround I'll probably use Kveik.

I will start with less than 5 psi then move it up to about 10 near the end of the ferment so when I cold crash the sides dont cave in.

 

[gingerneil]

I started my temp control journey with a STC 1000 controller. Then built a brewpiless controller, this is miles better can interface with ispindels as well and if you are really getting into it can auto spund as well.
Brewpiless no more tricky to build than an Ispindel so you'll be fine.

Good progress with the ispindel in the fridge. I bought a tube heater from screwfix, and the temp control seems pretty spot on using a smart plug hooked up to the ispindel temp output via Home Assistant. I could prob get it tighter around a set point - but this is currently just the air in the fridge, and I expect the wort temp to be very steady compared.
I have tested similar with the cooling side.. I was amazed how much swing there was without external control, but I have that down to about a 1C swing with the ispindel. Again, the beer/wort wont react that quickly, so I expect that to remain pretty much exact.
I've not look at brewpiless at all - but with everything in the house running through Home Assistant, I'm pretty happy!
Everything is now pressure tested - so need to get my first All Rounder brew on!

 

[hoppyscotty]

Any news on the new range of Fermzilla's? apparently they're getting rid of the screw in jar arrangement at the bottom and going for a try-clamp fitting flange, which will be a game change in my opinion. Especially if they do the same at the top end too.

 

[fgoulding]

Any news on the new range of Fermzilla's? apparently they're getting rid of the screw in jar arrangement at the bottom and going for a try-clamp fitting flange, which will be a game change in my opinion. Especially if they do the same at the top end too.

Kegland are currently testing them but won’t be drawn on an exact release date but they did say that it will be second half of the year. So UK and Ireland probably won’t see them until the end of the year. But I’m really keen to see this product as well…

 

[Davegase]

So if the keg king junior, keg king chubby and the keg king snub nose all have the larger lid why do they only promote the Apollo as having a larger lid ? The larger lid on the Apollo is the only reason I am waiting for it to arrive in the UK. Otherwise I'd go for a snub nose or chubby !!

 

[Davegase]

All the KK range of fermenters has the larger opening.

So if the keg king junior, keg king chubby and the keg king snub nose all have the larger lid why do they only promote the Apollo as having a larger lid ? The larger lid on the Apollo is the only reason I am waiting for it to arrive in the UK. Otherwise I'd go for a snub nose or chubby !!

 

[Derren]

If anyone would be interested, I have three fermzilla's that I'm looking to sell. One is brand new and never used the other two used only a couple of times. Spunding valves will come with them if wanted! Sensible offers and collection from cambs / lincs. Need them gone for the space!

 

[foxy]

So if the keg king junior, keg king chubby and the keg king snub nose all have the larger lid why do they only promote the Apollo as having a larger lid ? The larger lid on the Apollo is the only reason I am waiting for it to arrive in the UK. Otherwise I'd go for a snub nose or chubby !!

Keg King chubby is a fermenting keg, the Snub Nose now has the wider opening the same as Apollo and the other generations of Fermenter King. The Fermenter King has the ability to adapt to Tri clover fittings not sure about the others. Both the Apollo and the Snub Nose continue to be a great seller.

 

[Davegase]

Keg King chubby is a fermenting keg, the Snub Nose now has the wider opening the same as Apollo and the other generations of Fermenter King. The Fermenter King has the ability to adapt to Tri clover fittings not sure about the others. Both the Apollo and the Snub Nose continue to be a great seller.

Ok, I was under the impression that the junior, chubby and snub-nose gen3 Lids were smaller than the new Apollo range and you couldn't your arm inside for cleaning ! Thanks for your clarification , maybe you could contact keg king to advise them of the confusion in their advertising campaign on their YouTube channel !