Fast Ferment Pros and Cons
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- Опубліковано 20 лис 2016
- The FastFerment is a plastic conical that's worth the money if you're willing to pick up some of the accessories as well. Check them out at www.FastBrewing...
The tubing is 1/2".
I purchased parts of www.KegWorks.com
Here is a link to the bottling wand I used (must be 1/2" to work with the tubing)
www.kegworks.c...
The FastFerment was provided for an honest (and poorly produced) review. - Фільми й анімація
I used a felt tip marker & blackened the volume markers & numbers on the side for both liters & gallons. Much easier to read!
There are a number of things which the hobbyists could do to improve upon these. If the factory were to do those "improvements", it would not be affordable at a hobbyists price.
Found FastFerment will communicate with me regarding suggested improvements & offer replacement parts. Good product for the price. Good service from FastFerment.
Mine went together well and did not leak. After the first year I decided to redo the Teflon tape on the male threads at the bottom of the conical where ball valve assembly screws onto it. 10 wraps and it was leaking very little,, took all night to see water at the top of the ball valve assembly. So I wrapped it again, dropped an O-ring onto the lip of the ball valve assembly where the very end of the conical would meet there, then painted the conical male threads with beeswax that I melted in a water bath with a pan. Wrapped 2 more layers over the wax, screwed it on tight and, It stopped leaking
It looks just like a spinning top. I understand all your pros and cons. I'm thinking of brewing 3-gallon keveik batches and this fermenter looks perfect for my purposes. Neither Weight nor height will be a concern. Temperature control won't matter and retrieving the yeast will pay off the whole fermenter after a few batches. Great review.
I have the 3 gallon one. I’ll get me a 7 gallon when I finally get the room to setup. And I’ve had no issues with mine. Just remember to anyone who’s starting out on one of these. Do not over tighten the ball valve! Add water into yours and start off with it as open as you can and slowly tighten till it’s snug. The valve WILL break if you don’t. Remember the amount of weight from volume is a lot more than you think, cause it gets funneled down to a single little hole.
True that it doesn’t come with that stand, however it does come with hangers for a wall mount.
Also as far as leaks, Teflon tape is cheap, so each time you use or sanitize replace the Teflon tape on all
the threaded ends. I love mine! Great review by the way.
Thanks for the review. I just saw this on Amazon and was looking for something big enough to make a Sauvignon Blanc sparkling wine and this really fits the bill!! Think this will be my “tax return” gift to myself this year!
Have two of them when they first came out and ran a couple dozen brews; good upgrade from glass carboys; but has some significant issues. Making leap over to stainless unit now; as they are beyond their age and don't owe me anything.
1. Valve feels shoddy and requires 2 hands to turn; lots of force (almost feels like it will break). You can dislodge seal and cause a leak (i did).
2. Valve can capture product when closed and destroy brew; always open/close when cleaning.
3. Teflon tape needed for every tear/down and clean. Skipping the tape results in leak. Would of liked to to see a o-ring or other for a common take apart for "cleaning" each time part.
4. Lid can leak/warp; not a great seal; hole for airlock was custom (I drilled it out)...
5. When screwing un-screwing adapters on bottom; very easy to dislodge the valve and seal; again; causing a leak. Why they didn't use reverse threads here and a o-ring... blows my mind.
Some minor engineering flaws unfortunately plague this unit; just keep those in mind, would of been perfect with 2-3 small changes. For the price; eh; not awful. I'd probably go with Catalyst if I was buy again in the "budget hobbyist range".
My dream is a unit like this with a tri-clamp on bottom. I really dont need an entire stainless tank (oooo so shiny); just the valve. I may retro-fit one as a test.
I haven't had the leak issues, but I agree with you about having some flaws. I use mine exclusively for wine now and I think its perfect for it. I use Ss Brew Tech Brew Buckets for my beers and The Catalyst for cider. Since I tend to have one going more often than not, both have found their way to continued use.
Cheers!
@@Wnybrews SS is nice stuff, went with their unitank so i can try out pressure fermenting.
Thanks for the comment on the tube diameter being a 1/2 inch. FastFerment sent me one to review, but I quickly realized a problem when the transfer tubing length was only about 2 feet.
BEER-N-BBQ by Larry I even had to buy a bigger diameter bottling wand.
Thanks for watching though, I've watched many if not all of yours :)
Cheers!
My Son bought me two of these, i cannot fault them in any way,fast and easy to use, made a chamber works well .
Awesome! I use mine all the time. I have a few go-tos. The fast ferment is mostly wine and cider right now.
These conical units would be great if you had an overhead suspension system or powered hoist mounted from above with a steel ring around the waist and some nylon lift straps or something.. I have the smaller 3 gallon loaded with cider right now in the stand and that is heavy and awkward enough.. lol I like it so far though. My next will probably be the FermZilla | 27L Conical Fermenter V3.2 that is out now. I want to try fermenting under pressure and being able to rack right from the floating dip tube outlet on the Fermzilla to a keg!! no oxygen contact at all :)
Very helpful video. Thank you!
For final secondary on wine, I don't like the amount of head space, so I would have to use some displacement objects that would be big enough and shaped so, that they wouldn't plug the outlet at the bottom. Otherwise I like this, because transferring exposure to air has always bothered me, but it isn't as bad as final finishing/clearing with a lot of head space.
I've never heard or thought of using objects to displace the wine to remove head space. Very cool! I'm trying to imagine what I would use, though. Maybe some plastic milk jugs?
Interesting idea
@@OsamaTheMamaLama after thinking about this more, I'd probably use a balloon, but you'd need to have medical grade latex balloons, or some other high quality elastomer type polymer, that won't leach rubber flavors into the must
I do 6 gal batches. Beer and wine. Extract from Australia. Coopers and ....I sometimes add stuff
I love it but recently I lost a whole batch. I shut the valve off to change the collection ball. When I unscrewed the ball The valve was never closed it broke on the inside and the beer came out the bottom. I'm going to give it another shot though.
I bottle from my 3 gallon FF. I want to use dextrose for carbonation in the future, not carb drops. What's the "best" process for adding the dextrose solution to the FF in order to get a uniform distribution of dextrose per bottle?
Thanks for the stool tip, I had the stand in my cart. Saved me $25!
Does the lees stick to the sides at all?
How do you do a primary ferment to allow clean air get to the yeast too allow the yeast to grow?
I aerate my wort with a carb stone and oxygen before pitching.
finally a good review, thanks!
How is the weight of 5 gallons of wort a con?
Does 5 gallons of wort weigh more in a Fast Ferment than is a glass carboy?
Clay Maguire it weighs the same, but the shape of the FastFerment makes lifting it more difficult than a carboy (no flat bottome)
Mount your brackets lower so you do not have to lift it so high.
@@MrRhino12667 I wanted it high enough to drain into a keg :)
Thanks. I purchased one but have not received it yet.
Just started All Grain Brewing in a small way initially 1 gal - I don't think I will be going above 3 gal - would this fastfermenter fit the bill ...joe
You should check out the 3 gallon version!
That sounds like a perfect fit
sorry for my English
I'm going to buy the conical fermenter "FastFerment" for easy the job. Nothing decanting a concussion in less. Question: I love and consequently do it mostly American beers APA, AAA so where the dry-hopping is a "religion". When I add the hops in dry, I use it in pellets, I find myself in the fermenter before racking before bottling also hop in suspension then, I ask you not doing any racking hops that I would find myself in suspension what of? or this type of fermenter is not suitable for the dry-hopping? thank you
I now have one of these - not yet used it -
Q:- is it possible to pressurize these say up to 5psi cannot see any specs regarding this...joe
I haven't seen anything either, but I imagine not.
Are homebrewers all insanely weak? This is the third video I have watched about this fermenter and all say it's soooo heavy and here I am hearing 50 pounds like "Oh, that is barely anything." like I used to carry 80 pound bag of animal feed when I was like 15. 50 pounds is not heavy!
Thanks for a great, informative video!!👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼Cheers!!
So no real cons?
Thank you that was very helpful
Love Hate relationship with this thing. Love the concept but nothing but problems. Cracked 2 lids due to over tightening due to lid not sealing. I have been through ALL 4.. Yes 4 types (generations ) of Lid o rings. If you have to issue 4 different o-ring seals for the lid that should let you know there is an issue with the lid sealing. Also have had leaks on the bottom ball along the seam where it was formed.
Me to lots of leaks and the lid doesn't seal and its a bitch to clean.
Yes, I also have an issue with the lid not sealing. I teflon tape the threads and use painter's tape on the outside. It's a pain in the A ! Most of the time I just use my buckets.
Why do you care about leaks in the lid? If you use this for fermentation, then whatever space is not filled with liquid, will be filled with CO2, preventing any air from coming in.
Use Teflon tape on bottom and when using g lid when new losing and tighten four to six times to help it set the seal,do not over tighten because that will ruin you seal.
Great tip with the stool! Thanks!!
Yeh but I went and bought the stand...joe
I recently purchased on and had a question, when changing the collection ball have u had any issues with oxidation? with all the bubbles coming through when opening the valve
I haven't noticed any oxidation flavors or premature aging, but I do drink it very quickly :)
I called the company to address this specifically and they gave two suggestions although they downplayed the amount and significance of the air coming up through the beer:
1. If possible, purge the ball of oxygen with a quick shot of CO2
2. If you can't put the CO2 in, fill the ball with a similar style of beer and let it mix in.
If you have a sample port, couldn't you fill the ball with the actual beer you're making? (Got this idea from the comment section of another video regarding the FastFerment so I can't take credit but it seems like a sound idea to me)
*****
Thank you for the suggestions WNY Brews
MajorDork70
I do have the sampling port, did not think of that. Thanks for the idea. May I ask which video you were watching and got the idea from. Wanted to check it out. Thanks
I'm sorry but I don't remember. I was watching a crapload of videos that night. :/
Will a standard bottling wand fit the diameter of the supplied hose? That hose looks like a bigger size than the wand.
Nope. Had to buy a bigger bottling wand.
Gréât vidéo thanks !
It’s not a con that you can buy the fermenter only. If they only sold complete starter kits, that would be a con.
knold20 I could see that.
You can’t place it down to fill it without a stand. I think it should at least come with that. Otherwise you need someone to hold it? Or you need to lift your wort over the bracket height.
You can have many of these and if you only need to fill one at a time, then why would you need many floor stands? It would just be a waste of money. The same can be said for the thermometer and the straps. You can choose to buy as many floor stands, straps and thermometers you like. You wouldn't have that choice if it was bundled.
yes they leak but if you use Teflon tape even on the o-ring it will not leak
Mine doesn't at all. I've only read that some do. I think they may have changed the design?
Cracked 2 lids due to not sealing. Also 2 collection balls leaked at the seam where they were molded. Not a good experience for me.
Leaks in the lid are not important. You are fermenting, creating CO2. CO2 is heavier than air, so air can't get in. In fact, you don't need a lid at all when fermenting. You can just use a towel or something. The main benefit of a lid, is when you're making wine and need to shake out the carbon before fining. You don't want wine to splash around everywhere. I'm sure the lid isn't that leaky. Remember; you want gas to escape, otherwise there wouldn't be a large hole in the lid.
It's 23 litres as 5 gallons (UK) is 22.7 litres.........
I use an old side by side fridge for my chamber.
I used a old westing house for a while
Thanks for the stool tip.
When you mention the first con you said "another con".