Grainfather Conical Fermentor - newbie questions

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Aub
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Re: Grainfather Conical Fermentor - newbie questions

Post by Aub » Tue Sep 18, 2018 6:07 am

Oh no! You didn't lose the lot did you?

bryanferry
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Re: Grainfather Conical Fermentor - newbie questions

Post by bryanferry » Tue Sep 18, 2018 9:18 am

Thankfully not. I was standing next to it and worked out it was leaking when my socks got damp. Think I lost about 2-3 litres in the end.
Grainfather conical standard bitter
Corny Keg 1 - Silver still spirits tonic water
Corny Keg 2 - Purple empty
Corny Keg 3 - Copper low % ale
Demi Johns

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cristian.n
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Re: Grainfather Conical Fermentor - newbie questions

Post by cristian.n » Tue Sep 18, 2018 11:22 am

I used the conical for my last 4 brews and I had no problems and complaints from my girlfriend :) I would not worry about this
Regarding cooling, I recommend you to use some salt in the cold water to lower the temperature more or even add some glycol to it.
A nice DIY project is to buy a mini freezer and use it to cool your water below 0 C. this way you will have "glycol chiller" performance to recirculate into the fermenter. (but be sure to use a mix of water and glycol to prevent water from freezing).
As standby temperature, the glycol chiller is maintaining the mix of water with glycol @ approx -5C and shoots it out when FV is going higher than 0.5C. Then the chiller is again chilling the glycol that returns wormer from the fermenter.
For sure you will be able to chill the water with glycol inside a mini freezer down to -10C. Not sure the volume of water needed but I would start with 5L.

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cristian.n
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Re: Grainfather Conical Fermentor - newbie questions

Post by cristian.n » Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:07 pm

The process and req for cooling should be like this:
1. Buy Grainfather Cooling pump kit (63Eur)
2. Connect the hoses to the fermenter and pump
3. Connect the cable to FV
4. Submerge the pump into a bucket of ice water and set the temp on the FV. (pump will be activated when 0.5C deviation)
5. Or buy a mini freezer(example below) and mount a water container inside; Drill 2 holes for red and blue hose (with care  ); submerge the pump and the red hose end into the container; Add water and glycol (50/50); set the temp on FV.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cookology-MFZ3 ... B013R42QD4 (you may find good deals for SH)

EalingDrop
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Re: Grainfather Conical Fermentor - newbie questions

Post by EalingDrop » Fri Sep 28, 2018 10:20 pm

I've had mine for a while now, it's a lovely piece of equipment.

It's a shame you need to use the plastic fermenter to transport up the stairs, as that introduces another infection risk, especially if you have a SS fermenter which reduces that chance significantly. I'm pretty sure the GF conical on its own isn't 25kg.

Insulation is good for Both cooling and warm. It's also stops water pooling around your fermenter due to the condensation in the summer. See attached.

DIY glycol is possible. You should be able to chill down to 6c. Attach a suck back sack to reduce oxygen intake when cold crashing. I believe the lid uses a 1.5 in tri clover if you prefer more stainless steel. I've kept the rubber bung for now.

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