Grainfather conical fermenter

[nibber]

The new Grainfather conical fermenter (with optional glycol chiller) looks quite interesting-with the dual tap and temperature controller works out the same price as a 52 litre chronical SS Brewmaster edition,not sure about the build quality compared to the SS though-having said that i took delivery of a 52 litre SS Brewmaster Chronical last week but the front legs were scratched and it had a manufacturing defect mark like a weld spot mark on the front leg-not what i expected for £599 so i sent it back.

[Rhodesy]

I am sure I seen Brew UK selling a SS Brewtech Conical with the damaged described above last week for a reduced price of £539 or similar

I am quite interested to hear more about the GF Conical as and when we see some reviews, it looks quite clunky but thats not always everything....

[Secla]

i like the look of the glycol chiller but prefer brewtech conicals to be honest

[chris2012]

i just noticed that glycol chiller is £850 eek

I'm also wondering, with the grainfather conical, is only part of the wall double skinned?

[Secla]

i just noticed that glycol chiller is £850 eek

I'm also wondering, with the grainfather conical, is only part of the wall double skinned?

i think its all double skinned and insulated but the cooling channel only runs though a small belt around the middle

[Coffeeuk]

How does it handle heating ?

[nibber]

Has a built in low voltage 12 volt 30 watt heater tape/band.

[Jocky]

i just noticed that glycol chiller is £850 eek

I'm also wondering, with the grainfather conical, is only part of the wall double skinned?

Glycol chiller can chill 4 conicals at once.

[ciderhead]

Saw one in the flesh at Brewcon, they look impressive and as does the glycol chiller and there is no question if you are a prolific brewer with limited space this would be for you but could I justify that sort of money for my hobby where I can get a £100 fridge and a £300 conical?
The drain and dump valve look very clever, but can they handle big DH loads?
On the plus sides for homebrewers its great to see innovation like this as it drags all HB suppliers games up from plastic buckets and brewbelts.

[goldthirst]

I currently use a SS Brewtech Brewmaster Bucket which is nicely made but I'm finding there isn't sufficient head space above the wort. The first brew I did must of blew off about 3 pints. The second brew I had to rack the rest into a separate 1 gal demijohn to stop the waste. A new fermenter would have to have enough room at the top of the brew. I've been looking at getting a conical in the future and some form of cooler for doing lagers. I haven't got room for a brew fridge so I'm looking at various options although £850 for a chiller is very expensive. Other options include shelf chillers, cold water, etc. I have a Cornelius keg I could use if I do any lagers, just need to get a CO2 bottle.

[Onthebrew]

Goldthirst- how much wort are you putting into the BM Bucket? thinking of getting a tall fridge and two of these that i can stack, so have two temp controlled fermenters on the go at one time. as you say much cheaper than the GF.

one thing that stands out about the GF glycerol chiller is that you can have four going at once at differing temps. that way you could have an IPA, a Lager and a belgium ale all fermenting and conditioning together.

i am weighing it up, brewbuckets and fridge makes sense now, but if in a year or two i go for the GF and chiller then the Fridge and Brewbuckets would have been a wasted expense.

[Secla]

You can use ssbrewtech stuff with the gf glycol. Both maltmiller and brewuk have a solution

[goldthirst]

Goldthirst- how much wort are you putting into the BM Bucket? thinking of getting a tall fridge and two of these that i can stack, so have two temp controlled fermenters on the go at one time. as you say much cheaper than the GF.

one thing that stands out about the GF glycerol chiller is that you can have four going at once at differing temps. that way you could have an IPA, a Lager and a belgium ale all fermenting and conditioning together.

i am weighing it up, brewbuckets and fridge makes sense now, but if in a year or two i go for the GF and chiller then the Fridge and Brewbuckets would have been a wasted expense.

The wort in the BM bucket came to around an inch or less below the top which ended up with a few pints of wastage out of the blow off pipe. I've since got myself a 14 US gal SS BM chronical and Maxi 210 cooler for the larger wort brews.

[Secla]

I added the domed lid to my bucket. Gives an extra 3l I think of headspace

[Onthebrew]

secla - cheers ,that's interesting, didnt know that about the GF chiller- can you also use it with smaller FVs such as the minibucket for split batches? You can use it as the cold input for any system set up?

Goldthirst- sorry i meant how much volume of wort do you transfer - i usually only end up with 16 or 17 litres in the FV so might not be such an issue for me.