This is likely a silly question to a lot of you but I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons, no matter how minor, of a conical before I make the jump. I'm maybe too paranoid about oxidation, but one of the main selling points of conical manufacturers is less oxidation. I could actually argue the opposite: With the design of most conicals you're going to introduce oxygen, from the bottom, after you attach a second bulb and open the …
Pretty much, the title. I've done a few searches and turn up the Malt Mechanics products, but no MiniBrew. If you have Minibrew equipment and you live in Aus/NZ, where do you get your parts from?
How do people with conical (or other sealed) fermenters avoid sucking liquid from the airlock into the vessel when they take samples or remove trub through the bottom valve? Do they just remove a plug from the top and let air in to replace the liquid volume that's been lost? If so, doesn't that cause a contamination/oxidation risk?
So if/when I eventually switch to using a conical fermenter, I assume I wouldn't want to dump the entire trub/yeast cake at the bottom during fermentation. Do you typically wait until your "primary fermentation" period is over in the fermenter, and then dump all of the trub? If not, how much do you leave? How long do you wait before getting rid of some of the trub at the bottom? In most cases, would you completely avoid using a secondary …
I was looking around for some low-cost alternatives to conical fermenters, and I came across inductor tanks. Has anyone used or heard of someone using these tanks? Is there any danger/downside to using them (aside from scratching the inside and risking contamination)? They're made out of medium-density polyethylene, is this the same material "Ale Pails" are made of? For around $55 for a 15 gallon, this seems like a really cheap way to get into making larger batches (as opposed …
I'm dropping my 5 year old plastic buckets and moving fermentation over to a stainless conical. One thing I'll miss is being able to visually monitor the brew as it progresses. How can I mount a web camera inside the conical so that it is sanitary and sealed?
I've seen conical fermenters in catalogs and on the web, but I've never heard why they are better than fermenting in a glass carboy. Why would I want to use a conical instead of a carboy?
I am considering purchasing a conical fermenter but I'm not sure if it would be worth the cost. I feel like it would allow me to make better beer with less effort, but it would be nice to hear from some of you who actually own and use a conical to see if it is really worth it. I am thinking about either a 14 or 7 gallon Fermenator with sanitary tri clamp fittings.