The folks at http://conical-fermenter.com/ answered my query
I had a bunch of questions I asked them in numbered paragraph format which are quoted below:
QUESTION 1.) Can you make a larger brew kettle say: 14 or 15 gallons to facilitate 10 gallon batches? If so, what is the Up-charge? ( I notice you have a custom order $299.00, 19.2gallon kettle.)
***********NO ANSWER
QUESTION 2.) In your last e-mail, you spoke to the possibility of outfitting a brew Kettle with two or three welded on Stainless flanges threaded to 1" to accept standard water heater elements.
---------- (i) What would the Up-Charge be per flange?
----------(ii) FLANGE: The industry standard is 1" NPSM <http://www.plumbingworld.com/plumbingabbreviations.html>
----------(iii) I’d want them placed with the flange center line 1.5†up from the upper rim of the bowl (cone) in the bottom of the brew Kettle (assuming the flange didn’t interfere). I could fax you a sketch with a signed authorization if you need that.
----------(iv) I can send you a sample of the heater element in question. Could you work from that?
**************ANSWER:
They don’t want to quote this because they have aesthetic objections to brewing electrically. He said that he thinks it’ll be problematic for cleaning.
PERIOD ~!! I am guessing that it's just not worth his bother to go to his Chinese Manufacturer and ask them to do it.
They must sell a lot of equipment to be able blow me off like that I was talking about a 15 gallon Conical & a kettle.
Now I am unsure I want to do business with them. They said they could do custom work and they wont?
QUESTION 3.) What is your product warranty?
*************ANSWER:
“I don't have the ability to fix problems - my products are made to my specification and I inspect them before accepting them. The welds overall are excellent.â€
(((((( So there is no warranty. You get what they ship to you and if it sucks, then it's your problem.)))))
--------------------------------- wow ----------------------------------------
Wasn't the idea of warranty and customer service the major reasons to buy in the USA?
4.) What grade of Stainless are you using and what is the wall thickness of the Kettle and Fermenter?
************NO ANSWER
((((((( He's got no way to know. So long as it's shiny and magnets don't stick then it's golden? ))))))
5.) If a fermenter has a weld that turns out to have porosity harboring bacteria do you have a silver solder that can flow and fill pores or do you take it back and re-weld & grind all the welds?
*************ANSWER I am guessing that the answer is the same as to the warranty question #3.
He thinks it’s good enough and that is all there is to it. There is no warranty. Nothing NADA Zip.
QUESTION 6.) I noticed you have a hose barb on the sanitary line from the Fermenter valve.
----------(i) what is the diameter?
----------(ii) are other sizes available?
************NO ANSWER
QUESTION 7.) Are you able to produce an inline type (Cold Plate) Heat Exchanger that can be boiled or baked in an oven to sterilize it, which will, when connected, chill the wort? Say 10 Gallons at 212 Deg F to 60 Deg F in 10 minutes?
**************ANSWER:
He told me to use an immersion instead and that baking and boiling won't clean a plate type chiller.
I think he just doesn't want to ask his Chinese manufacturer to quote a One-Off and can't think his way through to making it a part of his product line.
******************************************************
All in all he offered me not one single reason to do business with him.
Yah the fermenter is like $200.00 less than a Blichmann.
Yah the Kettle has a nice design and is cheaper than a Blichmann ( but I wasn't looking at Blichmann's kettle I was looking at a $145 Aluminum stock pot type kettle.
He advertises the ability to make custom but then when asked backed away from it entirely.
He pooh pooed the idea of electric brewing - (really weird) - speaking to me as if he is an authority on the topic without giving me any reason to think that he might be.
His exact words were:
"I am a believer in simple solutions and processes, so I would suggest you look into a propane type burner to put your brew kettle on. Fewer fittings to deal with mean cleaner brew and easier cleanup. You are also likely to get significant residue build up on your heating elements, which may damage them and/or be harbingers of bacteria."
Which (while polite enough) is all nothing but pure unadulterated speculation (besides being just plain wrong).
I think it's really that he doesn't want to ask China to drill a couple holes.