Anyone using plastic conicals ?

Got to save my dimes and quarters ....  but for around $170 this mini-brew unit looks very interesting. Yeah its not stainless steel but I can only imagine some of the step savers and time savers a conical would yield. Maybe this Fall I can pick one up.

http://www.beernut.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=affordable.html&cart_id=93114_3278&

Looks like it would be a time saver for sure. I have been wanting something like that for awhile myself.

Well --- the next time $175 floats by thats where its going ... Of course I do work for the school system so that might be awhile. On the flip side I do have the Summer off ...

Nice Find!

I was considering making my own, partially because it would be a fun project, home-made goes well with home-brew and lastly to save a few bucks!

However, I don't think you could make one for that price. 

I wanted to make one using this type of product, http://www.clearpvcpipe.com/

cheers

Hey there,
My only concern would be sanitation of the conical.  I never had any issue brewing with buckets 'cause after 5 or so brews, I'd ditch the bucket and buy a new one.  The problem with scratches would really concern me - that's just expensive enough to make it real disappointing if you had to ditch the conical because you have an infection issue...

Wow - I think 5 brews a bucket and then ditching it is a bit extreme. I've got a brewcraft bucket I've been using for 14 batches and about 9 months. No scratches to see or be concerned of ... I do feel with plastic you have to be Johnny-on-the-spot with cleaning it. Meaning no waiting 8hrs or overnite to clean up. I figure I might ditch it after a couple of years.

If I clean up ASAP I can just use a sponge (not the scrubbie side) soap and hot water and get it clean. So no scratching. IMHO its the same with the plastic conical --- after each batch clean it ASAP.  Worst case if something came up I would just rinse most of the grunge out and fill it with water until I could give it a proper cleaning.

Ok - to be fair, I could (in good conscience) use them a few more times.  However, I was compelled by a couple of things:

1.  I needed buckets to hold my grain.
2.  They were only $4 at the LHBS

The "wastefulness" aside, I still would hesitate on purchasing plastic that cost more than $100...

No, I don't have a stainless conical - but I do have a stainless fermermenter   Check out Sabco's stuff...  Mostly 'cause I just HATE siphons - yeah, I know, the siphon starter is great, yeah yeah yeah...  Forget it...

If you wanna see some pics, check out this link
http://picasaweb.google.com/jlbates4/BrewdayPics#

Wow, I've never tossed a brew bucket, nor have I ever been able to attribute an infection to one.  As far as I can tell, alll my infections have all been attributed to exposure to bad basement air during racking or tubing in need of being replaced.

As far as the conical goes, I asked my local supply guy about them and his only warning was that the plastic will allow oxygen transfer.
This would only matter for prolonged storage for wine or lager.
Then again some research on my own found that those things are quite popular in Canada for making wine.

Either way I want one!

+1 on the O2 transfer
+1 on the it doesn't really matter that O2 is being transferred

The only things that O2 transfer mean to me - don't have a dopplebock or bohemian pils sit in a plastic bucket/conical for 8 weeks before kegging/bottling.

At some point, we (or maybe not) realize that we're not brewing for commercial production and that FUN has a place in the hobby.  The journey should be enjoyed - not just "endured"...

If that conical looks like it'll work for you, it will!  You'll make it work - that's the best part!  (Lots of Star-San, Lots & Lots!  or heck, turn it red with iodophor!)

I have always used glass carboys (Primary and secondary...or however many times..whatever) Takes out any worries for me (And for me the worries aren't scratches, I just figure you can have less chances of oxygen getting in there)
But as for plastic of any type, I couldn't see why proper sanitation wouldn't clear out any risks of infection, I've seen folks use those things for tons of batches and never have a problem.

      I've been using a plastic 15gal Mini Brew Fermenter. I've done 4 or 5 batches with it, all with no problem.
I agree with the other comments above, that if you take care in doing your cleaning right away,( I use Oxy Clean, let soak for at least  a day then rinse like hell)  Then Sanitize, with Star San ( The no-rinse, means  no-rinse, don't fear the foam. )
But, since the plastic Conical's do have threaded valves, you have to own the responsibility to take them apart each and every time to clean and then sanitize each valve.
    But for what it's worth, we are sanitizing not sterilizing, so we are agreeing to a certain level of killing the (bugs). realizing that our vessel of choice won't be sterile.
I am happy with my cleaning methods, so if my beer doesn't turn out just right, then it's most likely me learning how to get the recipe right...
stevemwazup.

Steve - Glad to get a report from a Mini-Brew user. Its definitely on my list to upgrade to.

And yes using the the right terminology is a key thing --- sanitize is the key word. I hear folks use sterilize which is not truly possible in a home environment. I had a great link that covered this now I can't find it and I'm tired of trying googling for it.

First you clean the crud (visible stuff) off of the surface - then you sanitize it which means you kill 99.99% of the living microbes on the surface. Starsan is a good sanitizer.

Sterilizing (using heat + pressure) kills 99.999% (some say 100%) of the microbes present however it is now noted that prions are not killed by sterilizing. One comment was that sterilization kills all the microbial life we can currently identify with our current technology - 50yrs from now sterilized may be a quaint term used to describe filthy conditions.

And yes for arguments sake you can approach sterilization with a pressure cooker at home ... but as soon as you open that cooker or open the jar you processed (in your non-sterilized house) its no longer sterilized.

I also have the 15 Minibrew.  My experiences:

I have the older "red" gasket..it is a pain to get back on when cleaning...a real PITA!  The newer "blue" are supposed to be a snap.

I followed the instructions to clean w/ 180* water.  Then additionally I soaked overnight w/ Oxyclean.  Then I added the Starsan for good measure and forgot to empty for about three days...it stained the plastic to a tan color I was never able to get out.  No biggie on function though.

I went to replace the plastic nipples after a sour batch and again a PITA getting them out of the metal valves.  They were really tight and the wrench would not get a grip on the plastic nipple, thus stripping it.  I had to use a pipe wrench to extract them from the ball valves. ( yes i had used teflon tape ) Also, an inspection of the extracted threads of the plastic nipple had green gunk about 5-6 threads in!  I am no longer a fan of pairing plastic and metal threads.

Economical? Yes.  However, I will be ( already am ) saving for SS model.  Wish I had in the first place.

just my $0.02

Its nice to see some posts on this subject as I am planning on purchasing the 15 gal mini brew conical myself in a month. After much research through reading about various fermenters (Stainless, Glass, Plastic)I am going to go ahead and go for this version for many reasons. Stainless 15 gallon fermenters are rough $600-$800 dollars with all fittings, while the plastic version seems to be about $350. That is almost a third of the price of stainless and it seems that mostly only American home brewers are convinced that Stainless is better. Yes, its looks more impressive, yes it cleans a little easier, and yes it will ultimately last longer. But I don't need a fermenter that's gonna last me 100 years, if I get 25 years I am good. I know how careful and sanitary I am so I am sure a plastic one will last me a lifetime. I use proper cleansers and take care to always clean immediately after using and not to use abrasive brushes.

When I first got started home brewing I needed a larger stock pot to do a full 5 gallon boil and I lamented for months about going with stainless vs aluminum. I read so many articles stating all these possibilities that using aluminum was bad but there was no scientific proof. In the end I went with a 10 gallon aluminum turkey fry kettle and after about 10 years I recently upgraded to stainless because I made a keg conversion brew system. I never experienced any drawback to using that kettle, hell I even won a few awards with beers made in that kettle.

All of my research regarding stainless vs plastic really only seems to come down to preference. Keep your equipment clean and follow proper sanitation techniques and you should be just fine. Papazian says it best... "Relax have a home brew!"

UPDATE:

I actually eventually went with a 14.5 gallon Stainless fermenter by http://conical-fermenter.com. It was only $450 for the version with a built in thermometer. I think this was a steal and I just got it 2 days ago. I couldn't be happier with my purchase, the welds are top notch and it comes with tri-clamp fittings by default. The 14.5 conical from Blichmann was $700 or $900 with the tri-clamp fittings.

Basically I think at $450 its better to go with stainless, and since it has all tri-clamp fittings there are no threads at all to worry about. I am really super happy with my purchase and will most likely purchase another in the future.

*drool*

Maine Homebrewer said:

*drool*

Click to expand...

yea... especially at that price

I bought a 15 gal. cone bottom tank with screw on lid, full draining, with 1 1/4" FIP threaded bottom from USPlastics for about 50 bucks. The metal stand and shipping brought the total to @ 130 bucks. I put the racking arm and plumbing on myself.

So Jungle,

How has that worked out for you?? I've looked at this option but haven't done anythig yet. Still working 2 galss 6 1/2's

Preston

PPB,
Works Great!!! The biggest challenge was coming up with a design for a rotating racking arm. I finally went with a BetterBottle racking adapter and simple flow valve. The bottom is an 1-1/4" pvc mpt adapter and 2 ball valves with a 2" clear pvc sight glass in between. I like to see what I'm dumping...
Another thing is the lid assy' isn't airtight which may bother some, but I only primary in it so I don't mind.
Considering the price of practically any other 15 gal. conical set-up, I figure my cost ~ 1/3 of that. ;D