Stainless Conical Budget of £500 to £800 Best One

[bigrichlock]

Now your comments have put the cat among the pigeons so to speak!

I have been holding out for the Willis conicals, and have been ringing Willis every couple of weeks and all i have been getting is call back in 2 or 3 weeks time, I am after the jacketed version but from what you have just said i may just go for the more beer conicals and put a cooling coil through the lid?

decisions decisions

Cheers

Rich

[Aleman]

I have been holding out for the Willis conicals

Me too I'll be after a 150L jacketed one. Just waiting for a PPI claim to resolve itself and then I'm ordering one

[barneey]

Now your comments have put the cat among the pigeons so to speak!

I have been holding out for the Willis conicals, and have been ringing Willis every couple of weeks and all i have been getting is call back in 2 or 3 weeks time, I am after the jacketed version but from what you have just said i may just go for the more beer conicals and put a cooling coil through the lid?

decisions decisions

Cheers

Rich

Well if your ever down Broadstairs way your welcome to pop in to compare the two yourself.

[barneey]

I have been holding out for the Willis conicals

Me too I'll be after a 150L jacketed one. Just waiting for a PPI claim to resolve itself and then I'm ordering one

I would definately ask them about the thermometer housing if its still threaded or a welded triclover fitting, seems a little strange not have made it triclover on the version I have, the same is true of the lid tap fitting.

One other thing I didnt mention with the ballvalves, the hose connection makes up part of the actual 3 piece valve itself, all my other triclover fittings I have, use a separate fitting.

If I get time over the Easter I`ll post a few pictures..

[Deller12]

I have been holding out for the Willis conicals

Me too I'll be after a 150L jacketed one. Just waiting for a PPI claim to resolve itself and then I'm ordering one

I would definately ask them about the thermometer housing if its still threaded or a welded triclover fitting, seems a little strange not have made it triclover on the version I have, the same is true of the lid tap fitting.

One other thing I didnt mention with the ballvalves, the hose connection makes up part of the actual 3 piece valve itself, all my other triclover fittings I have, use a separate fitting.

If I get time over the Easter I`ll post a few pictures..

When i got my Willis it had one of these thermometers in it



I made this stainless steel thermowell

At somepoint i will get the converted over to a tri clamp set up.

I also had this made for the top of the conical as i only had a thread on the top of the lid

[bigrichlock]

The screw threads are not the best design feature and was not something i expected to see on a product described by Willis as professional quality/design. Will the new ones have em?

I have just done a pricing exercise and to get 2 of the 27 gallon morebeer conicals to the UK, the freight bill from UPS is $380 which is pretty reasonable, just a case of how much VAT and the import duty will be.

I guess the other option is to import the cone and the domed top and then get it all welded up here, i can see that option geting expensive but at least i would end up with what i actually want, a conical with 120L working volume and 150L total volume. decisions decisions, good job im not in a rush!

Cheers for the info chaps

Rich

[barneey]

Deller that looks exactly the same thermometer I have, complete with staining.

Its a shame because I can live with the screw thread at the top, and as you say can be changed over to a triclover fitting at a later date, its just the screw thread for the new thermowell I will have to pay particular attention to when cleaning. For a little more attention at manufacturing stage they would end up with a good product.

[Deller12]

Deller that looks exactly the same thermometer I have, complete with staining.

Its a shame because I can live with the screw thread at the top, and as you say can be changed over to a triclover fitting at a later date, its just the screw thread for the new thermowell I will have to pay particular attention to when cleaning. For a little more attention at manufacturing stage they would end up with a good product.

Those thermomters are very bad quality indeed.

I have fitted my modified thermowell in and not yet taken it out . I have now brewed at least 15 times and never had an issue with any kind of infection.I set the steamer up let the conical hit 100 Deg and let it steam for 15 mins shut the valves it seems to work for me. I hate using chemicals so steam is the way i go

[darkonnis]

What steamer do you use Lee? I'm using chemicals at the minute but I'm debating using a combination of the two.

[Deller12]

What steamer do you use Lee? I'm using chemicals at the minute but I'm debating using a combination of the two.

I use a wallpaper stripper cost £20 from B & Q . I also steam the corni kegs I have use any chemicals since buying the steamer. I also steam the plate chiller hoses

[Derby Dabbler]

I'm keen to buy a 100L or greater conical too. The heating and cooling situation is one of the things I'm not sure of. I don't want to buy the more beer heated and cooled one as it costs a fortune, plus its not gycol cooled just fan as far as I can tell. I would like something which keeps screw threads from the beer (although I haven't worked out which ones these are). I need to ferment and condition such large volumes in the outhouse. This of course has the tendency to be cold in winter (3c today) and hot in summer (26c before now). My smaller volumes are fermented in a fridge but clearly I need to find a method for cooling and heating the large conicals.

I wondered about getting a non jacketed SS conical and using one or two of these http://www.inncellar.co.uk/Pages/CoolingJackets.aspx
Then I could use heat mats on the other side of the heater cooler situation.

Or alternatively wait and see what the Willis ones end up like. The question about these is if inside the jackets its coiled pipes I'll never be able to get enough heat in via a heat mat. I definitely do not want a whole load of risky pipes going in and out of the actual beer as it just seems like a recipe for infection sooner or later.

Anyone got any ideas.

[Deller12]

I keen to buy a 100L or greater conical too. The heating and cooling situation is one of the things I'm not sure of. I don't want to buy the more beer heated and cooled one as it costs a fortune, plus its not gycol cooled just fan as far as I can tell. I would like something which keeps screw threads from the beer (although I haven't worked out which ones these are). I need to ferment and condition such large volumes in the outhouse. This of course has the tendency to be cold in winter (3c today) and hot in summer (26c before now). My smaller volumes are fermented in a fridge but clearly I need to find a method for cooling and heating the large conicals.

I wondered about getting a non jacketed SS conical and using one or two of these http://www.inncellar.co.uk/Pages/CoolingJackets.aspx
Then I could use heat mats on the other side of the heater cooler situation.

Or alternatively wait and see what the Willis ones end up like. The question about these is if inside the jackets its coiled pipes I'll never be able to get enough heat in via a heat mat. I definitely do not want a whole load of risky pipes going in and out of the actual beer as it just seems like a recipe for infection sooner or later.

Anyone got any ideas.

I made a coil from stainless 10mm tubing its around 600mm long 150 diameter . This sits in the beer and when needed a small solar pump sends warm water round the coil to keep the beer at 18 deg.I never had any issues so far.

[Deller12]

Have a look at the thread below I copied this guys idea
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=54080

[darkonnis]

Finally got myself sorted, and got my conical into a place it can be used for beer brewing



Can't decide how to keep it warm, I have heat belts and the such but I don't know if its worth bothering with. Should keep warm all by itself shouldnt it?
Gonna use a steel tube with a copper end stop to put the temp probe in and then sit it through the rubber stopper.

*and theres my missing bloody tea cup! Bugger*

[barneey]

It looks like you have been trimming a few bits of the inside of the door? to make thing fit

As for heating I normally just use the tried and tested tube heater for the fridge, but will be moving over to the belt heaters for the other one. Most importantly though you are measuring the actual wort temp.

I will finally get my maxi 110 chiller in use for the willis one + will follow the link Deller gave above for the operation of the temp.

Cheers + nothing wrong with cold tea