Conical fermenters

[NumbSkull]

One drawback to the Fermenator, IMHO, is that the legs are not welded to the body of the conical but are thru-bolted into the interior of the vessel. Not only is this a cheaper method of construction (for what that's worth) but is another place that requires disassembly and sanitization. If I'm wrong about this, some Fermenator owner please correct me.

Thank you for the update BeerPal. I went back to the Blichmann sight and this is what they say about the leg attachment "Patent Pending Bolted leg system - higher strength and spotless interior. New channel shaped legs offer improved strength and appearance. An exclusive welding process is utilized to install fasteners on the tank wall leaving the interior of the tank absolutely flawless and superior to TIG welded designs where weld distortion (rippling) is unavoidable. And the legs can be replaced in minutes if they are accidentally damaged!"

So I take this to mean the bolts are welded to the tank and then the legs are slid onto them as opposed to bolting through.

Mort

[Speyedr]

One drawback to the Fermenator, IMHO, is that the legs are not welded to the body of the conical but are thru-bolted into the interior of the vessel. Not only is this a cheaper method of construction (for what that's worth) but is another place that requires disassembly and sanitization. If I'm wrong about this, some Fermenator owner please correct me.

Thank you for the update BeerPal. I went back to the Blichmann sight and this is what they say about the leg attachment "Patent Pending Bolted leg system - higher strength and spotless interior. New channel shaped legs offer improved strength and appearance. An exclusive welding process is utilized to install fasteners on the tank wall leaving the interior of the tank absolutely flawless and superior to TIG welded designs where weld distortion (rippling) is unavoidable. And the legs can be replaced in minutes if they are accidentally damaged!"

So I take this to mean the bolts are welded to the tank and then the legs are slid onto them as opposed to bolting through.

Mort

That's right Mort. The bolts are welded to the tank. The legs are not through bolted and there are NO marks inside the tank where they are welded. The inside of the tank is completely smooth.

[BrotherhoodBrew]

Great pictures BrotherhoodBrew. I will be interested to hear how that smaller dump port works for you. I have the big one with the butterfly valve and I had a hard time getting the yeast cake out of the fermeter without applying any pressure.

(Also I see on your brew blog that you are going to the Blubonnet Brew Off... I just shipped my beer for that competition yesterday! Luckily I am not competing against yours though...)

If I had my choice I would have probably got the larger port for the dump valve but when it is free I can not be picky. Well hopefully all of our beers do good then!.

[NumbSkull]

There is this device or something similar.
http://morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=16613

I was looking at this piece of equipment and was a little unclear on its operation. Do you hook an oxy bottle to the stone thingy? Does that then force a vacuum to move the wort or do you have to also pump the wort?

Mort

[Speyedr]

There is this device or something similar.
http://morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=16613

I was looking at this piece of equipment and was a little unclear on its operation. Do you hook an oxy bottle to the stone thingy? Does that then force a vacuum to move the wort or do you have to also pump the wort?

Mort

You hook an O2 bottle up to it, and then you have to either pump the wort through on the way tot he fermenter or use gravity. It does not help the transfer of the wort. It only oxygenates it on the it's way through.

[NumbSkull]

How would you know how to juggle the flow rate and the amount of oxygen to get the right amount?

Mort

[Speyedr]

How would you know how to juggle the flow rate and the amount of oxygen to get the right amount?

Mort

That's a DAMN fine question Mort. All I can add is that on past shows they've talked about using pure O2 in a carboy for no more than 30 seconds to a minute if I recall correctly. So, if you pumped it through that thing you'd probably end up with enough O2, though you'd need a dissolved oxygen meter to check. I'd be concerned about too much O2 as opposed to not enough O2 though.

You can always e-mail support@morebeer.com. They are very helpful.

Rob

[NumbSkull]

OK, I sent them an e-mail. I will let you know what they say.

Mort