New Grainfather Conical Fermenter

[Fil]

compare against other conicals with the same basic features, jacketed, insulated, built in liquid hex and 2ndary heater, and £600 (conical tap n thermometer) is a bargain price.
these are features generally reserved for Higher end and much larger conical fermentors unless custom built.

https://www.brewershardware.com/15-...Jacketed-Conical-Fermentor-CONICAL15G-FJ.html

Very Expensive, Yes,
Does it offer any useful features beyond a brew fridge and bucket beyond looks probably not unless you into yeast harvesting, rinsing and reselling, and even then its a 1 step saving of a multi step process so could take a decade or two to pay for itself in time savings.




a£30 ebay shelf chiller can do the same job as the £850 chiller but some folk like having the matching sets of things


However if looking at a conical its a bargain compared to most of the other options at this end of the market. And being a mass market item rather than built to order or JIT quality issues shouldnt be the hassles some have had with small conical purchases.

 

[BeerCat]

I think it can only chill to 4c.

 

[nibber]

Can cool to -5 Deg C according to their Youtube video

 

[Alside101]

compare against other conicals with the same basic features, jacketed, insulated, built in liquid hex and 2ndary heater, and £600 (conical tap n thermometer) is a bargain price.
these are features generally reserved for Higher end and much larger conical fermentors unless custom built.

https://www.brewershardware.com/15-...Jacketed-Conical-Fermentor-CONICAL15G-FJ.html

Very Expensive, Yes,
Does it offer any useful features beyond a brew fridge and bucket beyond looks probably not unless you into yeast harvesting, rinsing and reselling, and even then its a 1 step saving of a multi step process so could take a decade or two to pay for itself in time savings.




a£30 ebay shelf chiller can do the same job as the £850 chiller but some folk like having the matching sets of things


However if looking at a conical its a bargain compared to most of the other options at this end of the market. And being a mass market item rather than built to order or JIT quality issues shouldnt be the hassles some have had with small conical purchases.

any links for the £30 shelf chillers?

 

[Fil]

any links for the £30 shelf chillers?

ebay and patience.. and expect a rusty case, fwiw ive had 2 x ebay chillers both still in service (occasionally) 1(2 x product, agitator, no name brand) cost £20 + 200 mile round trip to collect from a pub carpark and needed some hacking to bypass dodgy agitator speed control, the 2nd was on my doorstep and a very clean and tidy 4 x product coil recirc 310 worth the lil extra @ £50 just to save the petrol.

Both took at least a month of ebay watching to nab, the trick is to set a upper bid limit and stick to it for at least 6 months if you can..

Also i picked them both up a at least 5 years ago now, so perhaps £30 was a tad optomistic, but £40-£50 should still be realistic if your as tight as me..

the g/f premium chiller will also service upto 4 fermentors at one time, a shelf chiller would struggle with a 2nd fv!

 

[chewie]

At those kinda prices it looks to be more aimed towards someone who is thinking of going commercial with a nano brewery and wants/needs stainless for ease of use, consistency and longevity, there also imported and with poor sterling exchange rate that won't help either. Maybe in due course bundle deals will appear that offer some sort of cost reduction but to tempt punters in sheds/kitchens around the country it would need to be significant. To really justify that pricing i would be wanting something with nearer 100l capacity and control.

 

[Braufather]

and doesn't look as good style wise, compared to the brew tech and Spiedel conicals. How much would a similar chilling set up be with the SS brewmaster edition chronicals?

 

[Braufather]

any links for the �£30 shelf chillers?

or links to buy a new one?

 

[Fil]

and doesn't look as good style wise, compared to the brew tech and Spiedel conicals. How much would a similar chilling set up be with the SS brewmaster edition chronicals?

afaik neither Speidell or SS Brewtech offer a jacketed conical, its not usually an option for the cheap end of the market, cheapest i found was about $1500 https://www.brewershardware.com/15-...Jacketed-Conical-Fermentor-CONICAL15G-FJ.html if considering importing dont forget to add 20% vat + upto £50 handeling fee for the courier

shelf chillers are not a domestic product and are generally sold through trade outlets direct to breweries who then install the dispensing system for their beers in the pubs/bars.. so ebay is the only real source for most of us.

Dont buy in the summer prices like open top cars and motorbikes are strong in the summer months as the demand is at its highest..

 

[Braufather]

speidel do - https://www.brewuk.co.uk/equipment/.../braumeister-systems/jacketed-fermenters.html

i also think the new SS brewmaster edition chroncicals have some typoe of jacket https://www.brewuk.co.uk/chronical-bm-7gal.html

SS also do a glycerol heater/cooler system, not sure if speidal do for 30 litres though.

Given the cost though, the brewjacket pro immersion looks good value.

 

[nibber]

The SS Chronical Brewmaster edition Conical comes with a chilling coil already fitted,you can buy a heating/cooling electronic controller for ����£165 -it comes with a heat belt that fits around the conical,then an insulated jacket fits over the top-but you cant buy the SS glycol chiller over here(it is 110 volt as well)seen it on some Youtube videos-so i have bought a Cornelius maxi to fit on mine:grin:

 

[Ale]

Did anyone else get an email with a voucher for £100 off the GF conical fv or was it just me?

 

[Goldthirst]

Did anyone else get an email with a voucher for �£100 off the GF conical fv or was it just me?

I got one saying if I ordered a GF conical I would be entered into a prize draw to get a chance of winning a £100 gift voucher. No £100 off voucher though. :sad:

 

[Wrongway]

I got one saying if I ordered a GF conical I would be entered into a prize draw to get a chance of winning a �£100 gift voucher. No �£100 off voucher though. :sad:

Same here. £100 off and I might be tempted.

I have the SS brewmaster 26ltr conical fermenter but I dislike the rotating racking arm and mini ball valve arrangement at the bottom. I can see it coming loose one day.

 

[Braufather]

The SS Chronical Brewmaster edition Conical comes with a chilling coil already fitted,you can buy a heating/cooling electronic controller for �����£165 -it comes with a heat belt that fits around the conical,then an insulated jacket fits over the top-but you cant buy the SS glycol chiller over here(it is 110 volt as well)seen it on some Youtube videos-so i have bought a Cornelius maxi to fit on mine:grin:

So the brewmaster edition conical, with the heating/cooling control accessory and then a maxi (shelf cooler?), and I am good to go? How do shelf coolers work? Is it simple to set up? Any downsides?

 

[nibber]

The maxi 110 shelf cooler has an integrated water tank and pump that can chill down to approx 2 deg C.I can either pump this through the chiller coil on the chronical or i can put the the submersible pump that is included in the SS heating/cooling add on kit into the water tank on the shelf cooler see photo.Another really cheap alternative to buying a shelf cooler is to just buy a cool box drill a couple of holes in it for the hoses and fill it with water and ice and /or a couple of bottles of frozen water and just put the SS submersible pump into the coolbox attach the hoses to the SS chiller connections and you have chilled water until the ice melts.

 

[nibber]

My maxi 110 shelf cooler currently has an old non adjustable mechanical thermostat fitted- but i am going to fit an electronic Dixell controller and probe for more accurate control:mrgreen:

 

[Braufather]

Ok cheers for that. One question though, doesn't the SS brewtech kit come with temp controller and probe, why the need for the Dixell?

 

[nibber]

New Dixell controller is to control the water bath temperature of the shelf cooler-The SS electronic controller only operates the plug in 12 volt submersible pump/12 volt heating belt

 

[marlon]

So....has anyone actually bought a GF conical? :wha: