Stainless Steel Conical Fermenter

[Agentgonzo]

As i have already discussed Chemsan here I will ask this in the thread -

When you have mixed your 10ml in 5 litre of water do you use gloves or is it safe for you to put your hands in the Chemsan to lift your stuff out?

It's "safe" in that it won't give you chemical burns or anything like that. But it's still a pH 3 mild acid that's designed to kill stuff, so it'll do a little bit of damage to your hand, and if you have and cuts it'll sting like a bitch.

If I need to put my hands in my in the beer, I'll spray them down down starsan, do the thing then wash them. But I try to avoid contact if possible

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Thanks i will make sure wash it off.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Bottling day today and everything went to plan (well nearly), the bottle washer and bottle drainer (below) and chemsan made sanitising the bottles much faster and pouring chemsan down the little bottler and tube using a small funnel was also a time saver,

Another big plus using the conical which i had hoped for was the sediment had settled below the top tap so the wine was crystal clear from the first bottle onwards, the only balls up was i forgot to take the Bung an airlock out of the fermenter lid so i will be drinking a few ml of already diluted chemsan watered down in another 750ml of wine in my first couple of bottles, i am sure we will be fine.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I am loving the SS conical fermenter i wish i had bought it years ago.

Could i ask members who use SS what they use to scrub the stubborn crud off the inside if their gear, i used a dishcloth as i didn't want to risk scratching the SS as you can imagine it took me a while to get it all off.

 

[An Ankoù]

I am loving the SS conical fermenter i wish i had bought it years ago.

Could i ask members who use SS what they use to scrub the stubborn crud off the inside if their gear, i used a dishcloth as i didn't want to risk scratching the SS as you can imagine it took me a while to get it all off.

This is what you need.
https://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/chemipro-wash-2kg-p-5007.html?cPath=3_201

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Thanks AA.

I only make wine so there is never much crud to shift its only really a thin line at the top i was thinking of something like a scouring pad type of thing that is SS friendly, i already have some Bar Keepers Friend.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I am loving the SS conical fermenter i wish i had bought it years ago.

Could i ask members who use SS what they use to scrub the stubborn crud off the inside if their gear, i used a dishcloth as i didn't want to risk scratching the SS as you can imagine it took me a while to get it all off.

Great to hear (same here, I wish I'd moved from plastic many year earlier).

I just use a dishwashing sponge (that I keep separate for brewing so it has no grease/detergent on it). The kind with the 'milder' white scrubby surface, rather than the coarser green one. This, with water is normally sufficient to clean the insides and scrub the dried yeast/crud without scratching the surface.

If I want a deeper clean, then I soak in some VWP, but this is rarely done.

If I want to do a "deep sterilise" then I open the valves, invert the whole thing over a pot of boiling water on the stove and leave the steam to sterilise it for 5 minutes. It's all SS so it can handle the heat fine, plus nicely conducts the heat into all the parts of the valves etc. Quick and effective

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I just use a dishwashing sponge (that I keep separate for brewing so it has no grease/detergent on it). The kind with the 'milder' white scrubby surface, rather than the coarser green one

Thanks i will get a one of those.

 

[Deadhead]

Hi @Chippy_Tea I use similar to these non-stick scouring pads

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Scrub daddy sponge works well, although on my plastic conical used for wine making a soak in cold water or warm with PBW and a microfibre cloth gets it clean.
Maybe the crud bonds better to the SS? which I doubt.

 

[JockyBrewer]

I just use a dishwashing sponge (that I keep separate for brewing so it has no grease/detergent on it).

Good point - best to keep brewing kit separate from kitchen/cooking gear to avoid oil and other contamination.

The kind with the 'milder' white scrubby surface, rather than the coarser green one.

On stainless steel you can happily use green pads, or even a metal scourer. Steel is very tough.

The white pads are to avoid scratching the PTFE coating on pans or other plastics.

If I want a deeper clean, then I soak in some VWP, but this is rarely done.

Be careful with VWP on stainless. It contains chlorine, which can corrode stainless steel as it removes the passivation layer of the metal.

At the correct dosage it should be ok, but there are safer alternatives such as Chemclean/PBW etc that are highly effective at breaking down sugary deposits.

If I want to do a "deep sterilise" then I open the valves, invert the whole thing over a pot of boiling water on the stove and leave the steam to sterilise it for 5 minutes. It's all SS so it can handle the heat fine, plus nicely conducts the heat into all the parts of the valves etc. Quick and effective

Heat is probably the most effective sanitiser of all.

I’d also recommend that if you have ball valves on your fermenter that you learn how to disassemble them. Liquid often gets trapped in ball valves as they’re not easy to clean out completely unless disassembled. Then the wort/must/beer/wine goes all mouldy and infects anything it touches.

 

[hoppyscotty]

I am loving the SS conical fermenter i wish i had bought it years ago.

Could i ask members who use SS what they use to scrub the stubborn crud off the inside if their gear, i used a dishcloth as i didn't want to risk scratching the SS as you can imagine it took me a while to get it all off.

Well my process that seems to work fine is to immediately use the most focussed water jet from my hose nozzle to wash off the majority of the Krausen ring off the sides and it gets rid of the vast majority of it. I then run my CIP with VWP at 80 degrees C and that removes the last of the remnants. I do run my CIP with a powerful water pump rather than my rather asthmatic brewery pump, so the impingement of it probably helps.

In the past before I CIP'd I used a non stick scouring pad to directly scrub off any crud. I was paranoid about putting scratches onto the surface.

 

[Druncan]

As soon as i keg I open up the FV and do a "rough clean" with a spray nozzle and my own non-stick scrubbies. Most of the crud should come straight off. I use a caustic 60* CIP wash next and then rinse. I am paranoid and dismantle all valves and take seals out clean and leave to air-dry. It only needs a PAA CIP after re-assembly and I'm ready to go!!

 

[Agentgonzo]

I also have a silicone tube attached to the tap. I can turn it on and pinch the end and then it acts like a mini jet washer

 

[Agentgonzo]

Good point - best to keep brewing kit separate from kitchen/cooking gear to avoid oil and other contamination.



On stainless steel you can happily use green pads, or even a metal scourer. Steel is very tough.

The white pads are to avoid scratching the PTFE coating on pans or other plastics.



Be careful with VWP on stainless. It contains chlorine, which can corrode stainless steel as it removes the passivation layer of the metal.

At the correct dosage it should be ok, but there are safer alternatives such as Chemclean/PBW etc that are highly effective at breaking down sugary deposits.



Heat is probably the most effective sanitiser of all.

I’d also recommend that if you have ball valves on your fermenter that you learn how to disassemble them. Liquid often gets trapped in ball valves as they’re not easy to clean out completely unless disassembled. Then the wort/must/beer/wine goes all mouldy and infects anything it touches.

Thanks.
I've had it a couple of years and not done this, so might do it this weekend. Have you got a guide you can recommend?

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Heat is probably the most effective sanitiser of all.

I heard radiation was the best!

 

[JockyBrewer]

Thanks.
I've had it a couple of years and not done this, so might do it this weekend. Have you got a guide you can recommend?

Most two piece ball valves just need a spanner on the hex bit at each and and then turn them anti clockwise. Once in two pieces you can pop the ball and seals out. Getting it undone first time can be hard - I've had to wedge one spanner in something while applying my body weight to the other end. Once they've been undone once you can do it up hand tight and that's enough.

Here's a video:




'Mini' ball valves that are more compact and don't have an obvious external seam need an allen key up one end and a spanner on the outside, but are otherwise the same.