My Fermzilla has landed

[woody1959]

It arrived partially assembled, or so the instructions claimed.
What that actually meant was the butterfly valve and seals were in place but not tightened.

First thing I did was to take it all apart and generously lube evey seal with vaseline (IMHO the best and cheapest food grade lube) and put it back together again.

Both the carbonation caps were loose so the middle had to be tightened on those, I filled it 1/3rd with water, lubed the top seal and carb caps put them on the cap, lubed the top of the vessel, put the cap on and tightened it all up.

Added CO2 and cranked it up to 25PSI where it will, I hope, stay until the morning.

No obvious water leaks, no hiss of escaping gas, if the pressure does drop overnight then I'll go round with fairy liquid tomorrow, but if it doesn't then I am all good to go.

First brew? A Youngs Harvest Pilsner kit.

I will use 20l Tesco still mineral water and 10g lager yeast instead of the kit yeast, my shower room is pretty much 16c all year round, maybe at the top end of the lager temp range, but I don't think with a pressure fermenter that matters too much.

I am off on me hols next week, a week in the Canaries so I will start this brew just before I leave and hopefully it will be all done by the time I am back.

Even if it passes my pressure tests I won't fully "trust" it and it will be left inside the shower with the door closed while I am away, just in case.

 

[woody1959]

And we have a fail

As soon as I opened the butterfly valve the tub filled with water then leaked everywhere, from the seal and from the feed connections.
Feed connections easily sorted, undid them, used vaseline, redid them and they stopped leaking, however the seal, well that's a different matter altogether, I just cannot tighten the collector up enough to make a seal, it stops almost 2 turns short and no matter how much torque I give it, it won't go any further so I have around 3mm between the lip on the collector and the bottom of the valve.

I think it might be because my house is a nice warm 20c with the heating on and it may have expanded so in the morning I am going to leave it outside for an hour or so and see if that helps.

 

[foxy]

I wouldn't be using Vaseline, preferably just get some keg lube, or personal lubricant from the supermarket.

 

[Clint]

Send someone in to get the other stuff. .

 

[woody1959]

I wouldn't be using Vaseline, preferably just get some keg lube, or personal lubricant from the supermarket.

You do know that the primary ingredient in keg lube is petroleum jelly don't you?

 

[woody1959]

I put the collector in the fridge overnight, fitted it this morning and I was right, it had expanded because today it did all the way up, however it is still leaking and it's as tight as I can get it.

 

[Justin Dean]

I keep reading about this situation on fermzilla, it is the thing that is stopping me buying it. I have you used some plumbers tape on the thread? Maybe an idea as that is what i usually do for tight seal on water under pressure, should be fine?

 

[woody1959]

I keep reading about this situation on fermzilla, it is the thing that is stopping me buying it. I have you used some plumbers tape on the thread? Maybe an idea as that is what i usually do for tight seal on water under pressure, should be fine?

Yeah I have some PTFE tape around here somewhere, I'll give that a go later.

I can see the problem though, on the collector the thread isn't complete it has 5 breaks in it, I assume to account for expansion and that's exactly where the leaks are.

In among the bits is a jiffy bag marked "new thicker seal" guess I had best try that as well.

 

[woody1959]

A quick email exchange between me and the supplier and the problem is sorted, it was my fault, I was doing the collection bottle up too tightly causing the seal to deform, it only needs hand tightening then a very small bit of tightening with the tool.

Now at 15psi and holding steady :)

 

[woody1959]

Sexual lubricants such as KY.. you guys do know they are water based right? and you do know that water based lubricants will dissolve in water, right?

And brewing pressures, I read a couple of older Fermzilla threads where some suggested you brew at 35psi.. you're brewing beer not making a bomb, 12-15PSI is more than adequate to brew and carbonate in the tank.

 

[Gerryjo]

You do know that the primary ingredient in keg lube is petroleum jelly don't you?

I lube all my seals with vaseline.....and it just needs a smidgen....

 

[foxy]

You do know that the primary ingredient in keg lube is petroleum jelly don't you?

No its silicone. Petroleum based products attack rubber.

 

[foxy]

Sexual lubricants such as KY.. you guys do know they are water based right? and you do know that water based lubricants will dissolve in water, right?

Probably there are still some sex lubricants that are water based I would say most are silicone and food safe.

 

[woody1959]

No its silicone. Petroleum based products attack rubber.

That's odd cos the tube of keg lube I have here states petroleum jelly as an ingredient. Maybe it's just a typo?

 

[Pavros]

Vaseline is (and always has, as far as I can remember) been marketed as petroleum jelly in the UK. It has this clearly marked on the packaging. I used to play the trumpet and often used to split my top lip so carried a small tin in my instrument case.

 

[woody1959]

I keep reading about this situation on fermzilla, it is the thing that is stopping me buying it.?

Same, I read a few bad things about them but I also read about people who had overcome the issues.

Since I resolved mine it's been sat there at 15psi with no drop in pressure and no drop in water levels so I reckon that's it, it's passed the pressure test and I will start my brew off on Monday.

Sometimes you just have to take the plunge and go beyond the reading and try it out for yourself.

 

[cossie.j]

I’m determined to buy one of these, as i could really benefit from enclosed transfer to my cornie kegs? Also have a try at pressure fermenting too. But for the whole kit @£180 ish i can’t see why I’m trying to justify the cost to myself after just spending over £1000 on a complete Grainfather setup??? However the benefits from theses seem favorable
; )

 

[woody1959]

I’m determined to buy one of these, as i could really benefit from enclosed transfer to my cornie kegs? Also have a try at pressure fermenting too. But for the whole kit @£180 ish i can’t see why I’m trying to justify the cost to myself after just spending over £1000 on a complete Grainfather setup??? However the benefits from theses seem favorable
; )

I'd been dithering for a while and this last week decided to bite the bullet and go for it, I'll be starting my first pressure brew in a day or so, I'll keep this thread updated

 

[foxy]

I would keep the options open, look at the Fermenter King, Aussie made not Chinese. And no butterfly valve to strip and clean.

 

[cossie.j]

I'd been dithering for a while and this last week decided to bite the bullet and go for it, I'll be starting my first pressure brew in a day or so, I'll keep this thread updated

That would be great and i hope it works out well for you.