Spike CF15 Review
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- Опубліковано 29 лип 2024
- Mike & I review the Spike CF15 Conical Fermentor/Uni-Tank. We will bring you through our entire fermentation of the Coconut ShyPA beer, and show you the good, the bad, and the ugly of this unit!
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3:32 Taking a gravity reading
4:32 PRV
6:34 Lid Seal
8:20 Chiller Coil
9:43 Leg Extensions
10:43 F.G. Reading
12:38 Yeast Dump
13:17 Dry Hopping / Coconut
15:57 Re-pressurizing after dry hopping
20:24 Filling kegs
21:16 Cleanup
22:31 Final thoughts
They definitely make a nice product!
Couldn't just put some coil springs on the hoses out to/from the chiller to keep them from crimping?
Problem for me Is I don't think I could send it back if I got attached to it and then I would have to explain to my wife why I bought it... lol Cheers!
Thanks for the time breakouts. Springs would have been an excellent idea Brian thanks. With all of your nice gear, it seems like you'd have a much easier time selling that then I would. Keep brewing my friend!
Home Brewing TV lol right!! Cheers!
Another suggestion could be to use a 90° compression fitting on the outlet & inlet stubs if you could find the right size. Once you did that you could put whatever fittings your brewery uses (qd, triclover, etc) for easy breakdown/install in case you had a need to take it apart.
Looks like Spike has started making a solution for this. Shame they didn't have it from the get go but they did just launch the product line not too long ago at all.
spikebrewing.com/collections/conical-accessories/products/temp-coil-quick-connect-fittings-1
You guys are dumb asses
I just bought the CF5 and I had no issues with gasket, PRV so they must have solved the issue. I enjoyed it very much! Great job!
Good news! Thanks for the update. Keep Brewing my friend!
I believe 15 PSI is the max pressure you are allowed before needing the vessel to be coded. This lowers the cost dramatically as well. 10-15 PSI is a good range for carbonation as well.
Not sure if this has been addressed in other comments or not, but maybe try spraying soapy water on all of the fittings while you try to pressurize it. It’ll bubble where the leaks are.
Awesome video! You answered so many questions I had about the gas manifold, the large butterfly valves, and whether you can do 5 gallon batches! Very thorough.
Thanks John, I appreciate the feedback. Keep brewing my friend!
Really good, thorough review. Certainly helps with making a educated purchase.
Doug, thanks for your feedback. If you do end up purchasing a Spike fermentor, please let them know you saw my video. Keep brewing my friend!
The solution for the lid seal falling off the lid is food safe petrol-gel, sold at some brewing or kegging retailers as "keg lube." You just apply a light coating all the way around the gasket and it will stay on the lid when you flip it over. Same goes for any of the tri-clamp gaskets, you apply the petrol-gel and then slap them on the tri-clamp flange and it will stay in place as you attach your accessories.
That is a perfect solution Jared, thanks for posting it. Cheers! 🍻
Great review guys! Cheers!
Thanks Tony.
Nice vid. I had some similar experiences when I reviewed the CF10; messy dump valve, a max pressure of around 12-13 psi. I didn't have an issue with the seal falling out . It stayed in place from the crimped edges holding it. Maybe the larger size and weight of yours made a difference. Mine didn't hold pressure the entire time though . Had a small leak somewhere that I just couldn't find/fix.
Interesting Larry; you’re the second person who has said that they had trouble keeping pressure with the CF10. My lid seal fell out every time I flipped it over, so maybe it was just a bad lid, or seal, but I never lost pressure with the CF15, it stayed constant at 10-12 psi.
Home Brewing TV Does the lid have any equally spaced crimped locations that pinch and hold the seal on the CF15 like the CF10 does?
It did not Larry, smooth all the way around. It was a tight fit (when dry), but not tight enough to hold the weight of the rubber gasket when it was slippery. I’ll have to ask the Spike guys if it was supposed to be that way. Thanks!
Home Brewing TV I recall seeing somewhere, in the instructions or maybe a video by terpsichoreankid, that mentioned that enhancement was a more recent change. Maybe they sent you an older model without the fix.
Have you thought about going straight down with the dump valve (removing the 90 degree elbow)? That works well with my conical setup.
Brew Jitsu, I haven’t had that thing in years. I would, but I haven’t had a real good relationship with the folks at Spike.
I had the same issue with my PRV; it was releasing at 10.5psi. Spike sent me another, we'll see if it works with my next batch cause I'm not going to pull it off mid fermentation... Otherwise I'll be getting an adjustable unit from another manufacturer
Good luck.
Just bought a 1bbl Ss Unitank and Brite. There is no double lid on it, so no gasket, all TC. Will have videos up soon, just not to this production level. Great Job!
Awesome! Looking forward to seeing it.
Thanks, things should be temporarily setup in a few weeks, we're trying to step up to nano brewing. I ran into your videos because I also bought a Spike 1bbl system. If Spike had a 1bbl unitank, I might have bought from them. However, they've got larger vessels coming, we're going to need more!
Good minds think alike lol. So the relief valve slowly purges... so that explains some of my leakage. I'm not sure I want that purging while trying to carb my beer in the tank though. Cheers!
I agree with you Tyler, I like to crank up my kegs to carb quickly, but if you are pressurizing during the secondary stage 12psi should give you about 2.3 vols of carbonation. You could always replace their preset spunding valve with an adjustable one.
Home Brewing TV yeah I was thinking about an adjustable one too. If we could at least get up to that 15psi range is be happy. Did you get any leakage out of the lid? I had to readjust a couple time until it stopped leaking.
Ooooorrrr you could get a Blichmann Quick Carb!! 😁😉
No, never had a problem with the lid.
Have you returned it to Spike yet? I've had mine since September and have yet to return it.
I did return it per their request Larry.
Oh OK. Did you visit their facility when you returned it? They had told me they'd have me up for a tour and brew day and that I could return it then. I should follow up with them. thanks!
No, they sent me a shipping label.
31:35 you leave a quarter-inch high bump of the gasket where it will clearly fall off. That's user error.
If you insist David. Mike nor I ever got that seal to work properly. Good thing we didn’t keep it. If you get one, or have one, best of luck to you.
Will fermentation time change between a pressurized container and non pressurized, o ya it me again lol
If you pressure ferment you can cut your Fermentation time by a day or two. With the pressure kit on this unit, I would suggest just doing a normal fermentation with a blow off tube, then the pressure is perfect (12psi) for carbonating the secondary.
Sorry should have asked after watch the entire video,but i appreciate your fast response
So a thought, because I work with these things on a regular basis on a larger scale get yourselves a tri clover to NPT fitting hooked up to the yeast drop port, and ad a hose to that. Something like this but chose the correct size for your hose: www.brewhardware.com/product_p/tc2f12npt.htm
Be sure all your fittings are sanitized this also creates a good seal with the gaskets.
when transferring I would keep oxygen out of this go direct from the beer port. push beer through the beer arm by adding co2 to the top with the pressure valve. Start low. also have the keg filled with co2 and release slowly by either loosening the pressure release slightly or maybe the co2 ball lock. Get creative with your fittings you can do anything if you think it out long enough.
Lastly, if you use a pump you can pump directly from the kettle into the unitank through the yeast racking arm be sure to vent up top. Keep track of what you pumped in by your site markers on your kettle.
PS I like the video and Tell spike to send me one to play with. Cheers Guys
I would, however Spike had me send back the unit after the review. It was a sad day...
you don't have to open the butterfly valve all the way :-p
lol - true... 🍻
@@HomeBrewingTV since you had to return the review model, have you since purchased any other conicals? i got a good deal on the ss brewtech chronical but i've been curious how it compares to spike since there really isn't another competitor in the same space ss brewtesch is.
ProdigalPunker, We did a video on the SS a couple of years ago. Honestly, I don’t remember much from it, but take a look. It may help with your decision. ua-cam.com/video/QRMQvwHAHGw/v-deo.html
Add an adjustable spunding valve and set it to 15psi, problem solved.
True.
I just told the truth, I just think common sense was a factor.your friend wasn’t there in but half the video because u we’re make even him look bad .just calling it the way I see it. And u wonder why everyone is so rude at u. Better luck next time.
You’ll need to just buy alcohol at the store. I wish they would give me one. My 10 yr old grandson could make it work.you’ll just all thumbs. GET A BUCKET👎
Why so negative Charlie? I sent it back, and truth told if I were to get one in the future it won’t come from Spike. Nice equipment, but the people I dealt with there were less than helpful.
You made many bad decisions. Brutal to watch.
😂 well that’s both blatantly generic, and true!
@@HomeBrewingTV sorry to be so straight forward, hoping you have worked everything out over the years 👍🏻