What type of FVs to buy?

[Rock Hopper]

Hi all,

I'm in the process of buying all my equipment for AG brewing and was after some advice re: fermenters. I'm just wondering whether it's better to get some with taps for ease of bottling? To my untrained eye I think it might be better/easier to just use a bottling stick from a tap rather than go for siphon and bottling stick. Any thoughts?

Cheers.

[brewnaboinne]

I would say it's easier bottling from the tap and no difference in quality so long as the yeast deposit is well compacted.

[sbond10]

I have one with a tap and one without. The one without is my main fermenter and I Spython into the other come bottling day, add sugar solution then let the beer syphton in then bottle if you understand

[Rock Hopper]

Thanks for your help. On an added point, I've seen mixed reviews about the "Little Bottler" bottling stick. There's an option to get FV on Hop & Grape with/without a tap, but also with/without the Little Bottler.

I'm just wondering whether the Little Bottler is any better or worse than the Bottling Stick that's sold separately for half the price?

[brewnaboinne]

Or you can just connect a short length of tube to your tap so that it reaches the bottom of the bottle

[Thorbz]

It appears that the Little Bottler is identical to the bottling stick, but comes with a tap, hence the higher price.

I've used a Little Bottler for years, and don't think it's a bad bit of kit. The press valve drips a bit, and I did once manage to get a hop seed stuck in it, preventing it closing, but it's a decent option when bottling, IMO.

[Rock Hopper]

Thanks Thorbz. Part of me thinks they must all be much of a muchness, but given my lack of experience I'm not sure whether to trust my own judgment yet!

[naturals]

The Little Bottler is a great investment. For £5 or whatever they cost these days they really are worth the money. Best tip I read was to put a couple of foot of silicone tube between the tap and the LB so that you can fill bottles directly without having to lift each other up to the bucket each time.

On whether to have a tap or not, I read up a lot on the subject and opted not to. Firstly there's an additional component to sterilise and clean. The added convenience just wasn't worth the risk for me. Secondly, if you're batch priming the bottles it's often easier to add the sugared water to a bottling bucket, rack the wort off onto this sugar solution (to ensure it's well mixed in) and bottle from there (note; I have a dedicated bottling bucket with a tap on it which I then connect a Little Bottler to). Quite how you can bottle from an FV without bringing through a load of trub and hop matter is beyond me. Far better to add it to a bottling bucket then bottle; at least then you're effectively having two stages to remove the sediment.

[brewnaboinne]

Trub and hop matter don't go into the FV in the first place

[orlando]

The Little Bottler is a great investment. For £5 or whatever they cost these days they really are worth the money. Best tip I read was to put a couple of foot of silicone tube between the tap and the LB so that you can fill bottles directly without having to lift each other up to the bucket each time.

On whether to have a tap or not, I read up a lot on the subject and opted not to. Firstly there's an additional component to sterilise and clean. The added convenience just wasn't worth the risk for me. Secondly, if you're batch priming the bottles it's often easier to add the sugared water to a bottling bucket, rack the wort off onto this sugar solution (to ensure it's well mixed in) and bottle from there (note; I have a dedicated bottling bucket with a tap on it which I then connect a Little Bottler to). Quite how you can bottle from an FV without bringing through a load of trub and hop matter is beyond me. Far better to add it to a bottling bucket then bottle; at least then you're effectively having two stages to remove the sediment.

What he said.

Although it is a long thread there is a section in it on this subject so have a look here

[johnrm]

Trub and hop matter don't go into the FV in the first place

There won't be much in secondary.
Primary FV is definitely going to have trub.
If loose dry hopping, or dry hop with pellets, there is going to be hop material.

[Rick_UK]

Much prefer having a tap having made do with a siphon tube only for several brews. Its quicker, easier and less risk of infection with a long length of tubing which I never felt entirely happy about sterilising.

Never had an issue keeping the tap clean or sterile - few squits of Starsan before filling it up, no probs.

Rick

[Fil]

mount any tap High enough to avoid any trub/sediment and simply tip before the tap opening drops below the liquid level and keep it submerged with a gentle steady forward tip, absolutely no chance of bottling ad doing this so a bottling bucket is advised.. as the liquid drains the mass reduces and by the time the tip is needed the bucket/fv is much lighter and easier to tip than a full one.

BUT!!!! if you do let the liquid drop below the top of the tap it will suck in all the protective co2 and most probably air too oxidising the brew, so be warned..

Also use a long hose to drain from the tap into the bottom of the bottling bucket, i use foodsafe waddington and duval waterbut taps which fit hozelock fittings, so i use 1/2" pvc tube in a female hozelock fitting for a quick and easy drain..

the faster the drain the less time you need to keep the tip steady and the faster it can drop below the tap so stay vigilant ..


edit** repeating myself, but...
if you do it this way If you let any air in the tap inlet, stop the drain, to reduce the risk of oxidisation, any beer left behind is an acceptable loss if it means the bulk is ok, carry on draining in air and beer and the risk of ruining the batch increases..

[Capped]

My FVs say 'Dunlop' on them and they used to contain tennis balls. Had to fit the taps meself though - inconsiderate bleeders.

[rpt]

I have two identical 25L buckets, both with a little bottler style tap. While fermenting the tap allows easy samples for the hydrometer. I then syphon to the other one which is the bottling bucket.