Stainless Conical Budget of £500 to £800 Best One

[barneey]

it will still leave the Mrs another 3 weeks to wrap the thing up for Xmas.

good stuff!! I can't even decide between nordic pots and conicals for mine, let alone 'which' type of conical; it must be a relief to have made the agonising decision!!

Best of luck with it,
Kev

Well if it helps the only one the homebrew boys had instock of the conicals were two 150ltr ones, didnt ask the price as they were far too large for my needs, think of all that shinynessssssss - who needs tyres anyway

[Kev888]

the only one the homebrew boys had instock of the conicals were two 150ltr ones, didnt ask the price as they were far too large for my needs, think of all that shinynessssssss - who needs tyres anyway

Oh no, the last thing I need is temptation! The car definately needs new tyres, but perhaps if I sold the car...

Cheers
kev

[beermonsta]

Kev....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6ALySsPXt0

[Kev888]

Ah thats easier; I may struggle with temptation, but I also resist orders!

cheers
kev

[mcbrew]

I have Stout conical. I managed to persuade by brother to bring it over from the States. I think they are great. The tri-clamp fittings make it very easy to clean but it is rather heavy. I am very impressed with it. It has a 14.5 US gallon capacity but I find that quite hard to fill. When I make smaller beers I just use my e-bay conical which is also very good.

I am off to the States next year and am already thinking what to bring back

[barneey]

Its great if you can get a stout one from the States, the trouble I found is that they would only ship via air a 7 gallon one, anything else (ie 14 gallon) you were into pallet shipping costs and needed to buy more than 1 to make it worth while.

[barneey]

Well just a quick update, my conical from the homebrewshop has now arrived, I was allowed to check it over briefly before SWMBO whisked it away again, apprently I`m not allowed to have it until Xmas day.

Seems a shame as I cant see the Christmas tree now, being obstructed by a rocket shaped present.

Will post picture etc when i get my hands on the thing.

[alix101]

Great stuff...did it come in on budget ? Unfortunately I can see my christma tree

[barneey]

For the 75ltr inclusive of delivery it was £378.15, so well under my original budget. It doesnt come with all the fancy taps etc (which cost money), but it should at least suit my needs to begin with.

I would like to know how the Willis ones compare Willis

As mentioned I will take loads of pictures of the welds etc good or bad to give an acurate account of the product.

Cheers

[alix101]

For the 75ltr inclusive of delivery it was £378.15, so well under my original budget. It doesnt come with all the fancy taps etc (which cost money), but it should at least suit my needs to begin with.

I would like to know how the Willis ones compare Willis

As mentioned I will take loads of pictures of the welds etc good or bad to give an acurate account of the product.

Cheers

Good stuff I look forward to seeing it and perhaps one day owning one

[barneey]

Well as promised here are the pictures of the conical, the good the bad and the ugly...

The good, the outside and the stand is total separate from the main conical, and some of the inside.....






The bad, a hole punch in the top for the air lock..... looks like a 5 years old been playing with tools.....




The ugly.... the weld joining the cone to the main body... needs cleaning up .... any suggestions




Overall, I am fairly happy with the conical, the airlock hole is easily enlarged to take a rubber bung or blow tube, the base is separate from the main body meaning cleaning is easier, and there are no nasty weld marks internally where the legs (like the chinese ones) have been welded to the body. The thing I least like is the weld between the cone and the main body, looks fine on the outside but inside where it counts it looks messy. Anyone any ideas how to clean at least the black crud off??

Would I buy another one?????? hard question until I have started to use the conical, cant help but think you might be better off though using an ebay fr. stainless pot instead, time will tell...

Only one other thing to do is to cut the legs down a bit in height as it wont fit in the larder fridge.

Any other questions or photos required let me know.

Clive

[beermonsta]

good photos clive! Your "ugly" shot showing the internal weld fyi is terrible compared to mine (which is identical except mine is 110l not 75l) where it is smooth. See if a local stainless fabricator wouldn't mind having a go at grinding/cleaning the current weld - they might add more weld first to make it easier to do so. Make sure you take several bottles of ale to wave under their nose - you never know it might be a cheap job

[barneey]

Yep most annoying about the weld, have already put a few feelers out to see if anyone can improve the welds.

Have just worked out a way of fitting it in the larder fridge without cutting the legs (or making additional holes in the fridge) by making a purpose made fridge shelf with hole for the conical to sit in (also saves having to build a purpose made fermentation cupboard (KISS)) when its not in use the original base will provide support.

Just incase I cant find anyone want to tackle that weld would suitable wet and dry touch it? (or dremmel attachement?).

The Mrs has booked me in meanwhile to finish the conservatory so beer projects are off at the moment. (for a couple of days at least!)
Cheers

[bumblebee]

Barney re the weld have you considered using food grade silicon to go over it with? I know there is an aluminium coloured one somewhere on the web which is food grade, I know it's not maybe the option you were considering

[Spud395]

Barney re the weld have you considered using food grade silicon to go over it with? I know there is an aluminium coloured one somewhere on the web which is food grade, I know it's not maybe the option you were considering

I've read the data sheet on 1 well known food grade silicone product.
They have a good range of colours, but only the white one is mentioned in the data sheet.
It is stated to be food safe for short time contact in a kitchen environment, this wouldn't be something I'd be happy leaving my beer on for a few weeks.

I've no idea if they are all the same, but it would be something that would be worth checking out.
All companies are required to supply technical data sheet for products like this, so take a look if you go down this route