The V Vessel Heard of it?

This is  6 gallon (5 imperial gallons)  fermenter unibody  conical that hangs from a wall mount.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/v-vessel.html

Ever seen it read about it?
I don't know what it's made from. Looks like plastic.
Does it allow thermal controls and probes?

The company site:
http://newstore.vvessel.com/test_comm.php
I just asked the maker a bunch of questions
how the ensure the dry hop bag doesn't interfere with the out put?
Can a thermal probe be used with it & if so how?
Can it be used with a heat wrap?

Here is one guys impression:
He seems to love it.
http://www.bodensatz.com/staticpages/index.php?page=2002103019331222
Apparently it's a blow molded  or rotationally molded plastic uni-body vessel.
I am guessing it is polyethylene. Most roto molded products are PE.  It could be polypropelyene.
I know damn well it ain't PTFE
It's possible that it is  Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene  (UHMWPE)  that stuff can be roto-molded. But it's expensive.  

If it's roto-molded it'll be fairly thick ( 1/4" maybe). As such you can drill it for thermal  probes but Unless you can get a heat probe inside the thing I don't know about a brew heater.  Prolly if you can get one on it it'll be OK. I mean after all how hot will you get it?  68 or 70 Degrees?  All the thermo-forming  plastics can handle that without any softening.  Softening and molecular unzipping would be my concerns. Heat damages plastics. But the heat range of under 70 Deg F is not  enough to worry about

Then there is the Plastic taste issue.
I can taste  it when water is stored in most polymers.  The one exception  is the PET soda bottles.
Will it make your brew taste like plastic?


There is also the issue of vapor pressure.  All materials  (I mean all including Diamond, quartz,  hardened steel,  rye bread, and your neighbor's cat) all materials have a vapor pressure.  This is the  quantum of molecules or atoms of that material that desorb off from the surface and either escape or are adsorbed  back onto the surface.  Zink and cadmium have very high vapor pressures which is how they prevent rust.  When the material is scratched the adsorption will  rather quickly cover the exposed metal.  Hell of a trick huh?
It's also why Cadmium is VERBOTTEN because the desorption trick contaminates  everything.  So they just don't use it any more.

Plastic has a vapor pressure.  And before you start thinking I'm a whining  Greener fronting  for the ELF  - -   bear with me here - -  human amniotic fluid (the unborn infant's swimming pool)  and new born infant's blood have  polystyrene in them (among other things)  and it's simply because  we have so much of the stuff in our lives that it is pretty much everywhere.
Whether that's a bad thing is  another question. I'm just wondering about how much polymer I want to be consuming.

But at under $200.00 it is a tempting conical.
You can get two and  plan on a third.  

I moved away from fermenting in a bucket because of scratches, etc. I don't know what I would do if I scratched one of those! Probably Cry, Glass or stainless for me. I sure would like to have a conical tho...

Cheers
Preston

$200 is way too much for 6 gallon fermentation.

SOGOAK said:

$200 is way too much for 6 gallon fermentation.

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Oh come on,  a  7 gallon  SST Conical  is $569.00
I'm hard pressed to do better without going to China ( If you can please let me know).
I mean granted it's a fair bit of dough for  what amounts to little more than a metal pot,  but  it's what the market is bearing.

This got me curious and I contact the original seller for a couple of questions.  I thought I could share.  Here's the reply.

Hi Paco,

The V-Vessel System is made of a food grade plastic call polyethylene. The unit is not made of two parts but appears that way in pictures because of the creases in the mould that is used. It is filled and cleaned through the top hole ( 2.5” ), much like a carboy…

Cheers,
John Piazza
The V-Vessel System

-----Original Message-----
Subject: Informations on the V-vessel system

I have two question regarding the v-vessel.

What is the v-vessel made of?  What kind of plastic(s)?

It appear that the conical vessel is made of two parts; how does the top/dome-like shape fit or thread and seal to the bottom/conical part?


--Paco

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Yep - I've been looking at these for a while and the remarks from owners is generally positive. Might pick one up next Summer. Biggest issue is temperature control - I could adapt my heat belt to it for the cold season --- no idea how to easily how to easily cool it during the Summer. Think - think -think

Actually I've been looking at these

http://www.minibrew.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=6

And these guys have them on sale for $148
http://brewcitysupplies.com/

I guy on a beertalk forum indicated he's done 14 batches without issue and liked it. At the sale price I'd buy one now - but due to pay-cuts we are just skimming along budget wise ...

I researched my move to the garage long and hard.  I tossed the VVessel for the difficulty in controlling ferm temps;  it seems like you'd have to build a Son-of-Ferm box around it in some way, and I have no space. 

My friend uses a well-insulated Minibrew with great success, but I opted for stainless pots in the end.  I'd trust a food-grade vessel (V or Minibrew) before using coolers that were made for cold liquids largely due to concerns about plastics leaching.  I can't find it now, but when looking at coolers I found a mfr site that specifically said 'not for hot liquids.'  This was about the time of the bPA plastic baby bottle issue, and there were lots of articles out at the time about plastics, chemicals and temperatures.  It's a personal choice, and the science can be debated, but I opted for s/s and looked for bargains to reduce the cost. 

Hi Everyone,

I know this forum is a little old but I wanted to pass along some information in case anyone still had any questions.

We recently took over the old V Vessel and re-made it as FastFerment. We have reduced the price down to $90usd, made a host of improvements and brought the manufacturing down to Michigan.

Info Link: http://www.thefastrack.ca/main/fastferment

Feel free to contact me directly with any questions - [email protected]

Thanks,
Mitchell

I bought a V Vessel years ago and used it for a couple of years to ferment both wine and beer. I hung it in a temp-controlled fridge and it worked. I could dump the yeast to avoid autolysis - before I learned I didn't have to worry about autolysis. They only have one opening - on the bottom - so although you can drain off the yeast, you can't pull off a sample without the yeast.

Cleaning it was a challenge. I could get the dried krausen ring out using the brush provided with it, but I eventually realized I was scratching the plastic. It's very difficult to handle if you can't clean it in-place on its hanger. I changed to plastic buckets with spigots and have been very pleased with them: they're easier to handle - full or empty- and easier to clean without scratching. The yeast and trub settle below the level of the spigot, so it's easy to pull a clean sample. Buckets are also just slightly cheaper - about 10% the price of the V-Vessel.

V-Vessels are not a bad solution, but I don't think they'er the best fermenter available and certainly not the most cost effective.

I've been looking at these. Any comments from someone who owns one?

http://morebeer.com/products/brew-bucket-stainless-steel-fermenter.html

A fermenter is a fermenter. It could be a bucket, carboy, clay crock, stainless conical, hole in the back yard lined with plastic. It don't mater. I use stainless as my primary but, I bought a plastic conical for a back up several years ago. I just wanted something I could use if I needed to do two batches inside of a week. It works fine. I was worried that the light could get in and screw it up. I brew in my basement so, it isn't an issue. Looks like it would work fine if it doesn't set in the light. I would go with it if it works for your situation. Fermenters are nothing more than a holding tank. Does not mater what you use.

Fermenters are nothing more than a holding tank. Does not mater what you use.

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Yes and no. I mean, there are pros and cons with anything. I use glass exclusively because I had a run of infections using plastic. The advantage is that you can see into glass, the disadvantage is that, well, it's glass. Glass breaks.

If I was to go the conical route, I'd go with stainless. Plastic will pick up odors and eventually need to be replaced. Stainless lasts a lifetime if you take care of it.

Not only that, but if I'm spending that kind of money I may as well up the batch size. And if I do that I may as well get a brew sculpture. In other words, it will happen when I win the lottery. Trouble is I don't play.

I just got the Fastferment and made my first batch.  Here are my thoughts:

1. I bought the stand instead of installing  wall brackets so I had to put a stock pot under the kettle to transfer chilled wort to the FF.  This is. Because I use a funnel and screen to catch as much hop debris as possible.  You could use a piece of tubing from your 1/2 in valve to the FF but trub volume would increase.

2. In the stand on the floor removing the collection ball will be more troublesome than if you hung it on the wall.

3. The thermowell should be metal to metal not metal to plastic.  I.  The studs for hanging the FF are installed metal to metal so it's possible.  It goes in on an angle so if you cross thread it you could ruin it.

4.  This is my #1 concern.  The gaskets on the two FF I have doesn't fit well.  And as a result the lid even when tightened down as much as I can get it still doesn't get a airtight seal.  I think this would be improved with a rubber gasket  or a better lid.  Upon examining the lid I noticed a line in the molded lid near the top that I think catches the supplied gasket and doesn't allow it to seat completely.

Overall I think it is 99% there.  I would rethink the gasket and make the stand 4 inches taller.  Not sorry I bought it but hope they can at least fix the gasket issue.

I've checked them out. A few issues didn't sit well with me, so I got a 60  liter spiedel instead. I have issues with the shape and idea of the yeast dump thing on the fast ferment.  Too risky for leaks, losing product due to spillage, and sanitation/infection. You need to be able to disassemble the ball valve,  like a 3 piece stainless steel ball valve to clean it properly.
Having to redesign the whole fermentation room for them didn't help either. But i'm sure they work well enough for the people who use them