I used to use the thermowell but since getting 2 Rapt pills and converting them to wireless charging, I've found I get more stable temp control by sticking my inkbird sensor to the outside of the fermzilla. If I use the thermowell, I get bigger temp fluctuations, probably due to the thermal mass of the wort between the source of cooling and heating. Having the Pill monitoring fermentation shows this quite clearly. 🍻🍻
As mentioned previously a pipe bender is a must for the kegland temp twister, you can use a pipe bender on a thermowell but I would suggest you buy a extra probe for this as the pipe needs to be bent with the probe inserted and you might not get it past the bend later. I did this for my inkbird, I put it in the thermowell then bent the thermowell to the desired angles job done! It's permanently in there but that doesn't matter and it goes straight down into the centre of the fermenter inside the temp twister, it's also bent externally so that it goes straight up with the bent twister pipes so the lid fits like it's on a regular lid. This setup is permanent so if you want to alter the setup it would be easier as stated in the video just to buy another lid.
Very similar to my set up. I have two 55 litre Fermzillas with two thermowells fitted and the temp twister. One thermowells for the Grain father Glycol Chiller Adapter and the other for an inkbird with the heat wrap plugged into the heat plug port.
Looks good👍 How about the brewtools tpu cooling jacket instead of the coil? Not sure if the polycarbonate would be too insulating? If you have a jacket maybe worth a try?
Appreciate the video guys. Have conviced the wife to but one for my XMAS Present, I only have to fork out for the GCA Adaptor to link it to my chiller. I have also noted the suggestion on using a pipebender to make the cap fit easier, any sujjestions on angles you need to bend it at. Also can I but the Grainfather heat pad directly onto the side of the fermentor or do I need to protect it somehow?
The pipe bending will depend on your own set up so probably best to have a look once you have fitted it all together in your set up. In terms of the GCA kit heating pad, we have used this directly on these style of FV's and had no issues, it's a fairly gentle heat source
I think if use the rapt pill in conjuction with with a pressure fermenter it may throw the gravity reading off. Not sure if the margin of error would be significant though!
It's all really about how we think about tools like the RAPT pill - they are fantastic at showing us when activity has started and when it has stopped, plus provide data on the fermentation but we always advise that a manual gravity reading at the start and end of fermentation is the best way to find out the true numbers as they can get interfered with by yeast and hops in the FV so the readings can possibly be a little off - the same advice applies when using them in a pressure fermenter, whilst we haven't seen any differences outside of what we would expect when we have used them under pressure.
Nice kit but you need a Glycol chiller and there isn't any mention in your vid on the costs of this? TMM sells them for around £600-£700 excl ancilliary connector pipes etc, would be good to know how much this whole equipement would really set you back. I am not sure if you need the hop bong as have you mentioned in a previous video how good it is to add hops via the bottom outlet on the Fermzilla and this is the method that the "brew houses" use on a commercial scale? I use a Fermenator for my Fermzilla and is a fraction of the price, is fully enclosed no need for a jacket or heated jacket and can control temps from 0c to 50c. Very economical and negligible running costs too! But TMM don't sell the Fermenator.
It's true that if you don't have a Glycol chiller then it's a big investment, there are lots of folks who do have one that are looking for an alternative to an expensive SS pressure fermenter and this hits the right notes for that set of circumstances. Also, there's some great used Glycol chillers available for a fraction of the price of a new one. The method of adding dry hops to the bottom certainly does work a treat, the hop bong is simply more convenient but also for the all rounder, where there's no collection vessel, it's a great addition to the set up.
Lots of nice bits, but glycol feels a step too far for this setup. Stick the whole lot in a £50 second hand larder fridge and save the £600 extra for a glycol setup + coil etc.
A fridge is a great place to start with temp control and teaches you so much about yeast management. Glycol is great though for anyone looking to fun a few more than one FV
For home use I would say a fermzilla with a ferminator would be a better solution. It cost half as much as the icemaster, can chill and warm the beer, and it is much easier to set up.
The benefit of a chiller is that most will work on between 2 and 4 fermenter vessels and a range of size fermentors too, with something like the Ferminator, whilst it's a cleaver solution you are limited to a single FV. If setting up Glycol isn't an option then a second hand fridge or freezer is a more versatile solution as it can then also be used to store kegs when not being used as a fermentor space.
I do like my fermzilla but unfortunately it doesn't fit into my fermentation freezer, and I don't have the money or space to be splashing out on a glycol chiller 😢 Luckily I can just ferment under pressure and then worry about the cold crash in my kegs with floating dip tubes. One problem I have come across is dry hopping in the fermzilla, whilst it's oxygen free, I find the hop matter blocks the floating dip tube making it really hard to keg a dry hopped beer, any advice?
Hey! A few options, firstly (which I know you've mentioned isn't an option for you right now) is cold crashing, this really helps. Secondly, you might find better success by removing the filter on the dip tube and using an inline filter such as the Bouncer ones, they have a bigger surface area and also various different size filter meshes.
Great rundown! I have two 27 and an all rounder with the same set of accessories. Here are a few things that made the setup neater and more practical. I recommend a pipe bender (purchased cheaply on Amazon) for the chilling coil. 15 degrees bend is enough for it to be vertical and enables the probe to slide in the center. John guest has small plugs for the push fit system. Inexpensive and saves glycol to fly everywhere when you shake the fermenters with sanitizer in. The fermenters sit on top of adjustable trolleys (Found on Amazon, Wagner multifunctional silver trolley) they can be rolled with the insulation jacket on with ease. I have been having issues to maintain a good seal with the coil and probe. I don’t pressure ferment per se but I like to partially carbonate my batches naturally. I managed to find a food grade silicon sealer that helped quite a lot. It was on Amazon again but unfortunately not so cheap. Last tweak done but not entirely sure how well it helps is to use a bit of silicone tubing where the coil and probe could come into contact. I think it has helped a bit to avoid the chiller to go on/off less often (I.e temperature picks up a reading from the beer rather than from the metal)
Top work guys! You guys are totally smashing it in UK. So happy to work with you guys as a distributor! Thanks for the awesome video.
Our pleasure! It's been great fun testing stuff out and customising various items! Keep up the awesome innovations! 🍻
Frankensteins fermenter 😂 good video guys and loved the way you show any problems you encountered 👍
Glad you enjoyed it!!!
I used to use the thermowell but since getting 2 Rapt pills and converting them to wireless charging, I've found I get more stable temp control by sticking my inkbird sensor to the outside of the fermzilla.
If I use the thermowell, I get bigger temp fluctuations, probably due to the thermal mass of the wort between the source of cooling and heating.
Having the Pill monitoring fermentation shows this quite clearly. 🍻🍻
As mentioned previously a pipe bender is a must for the kegland temp twister, you can use a pipe bender on a thermowell but I would suggest you buy a extra probe for this as the pipe needs to be bent with the probe inserted and you might not get it past the bend later. I did this for my inkbird, I put it in the thermowell then bent the thermowell to the desired angles job done! It's permanently in there but that doesn't matter and it goes straight down into the centre of the fermenter inside the temp twister, it's also bent externally so that it goes straight up with the bent twister pipes so the lid fits like it's on a regular lid. This setup is permanent so if you want to alter the setup it would be easier as stated in the video just to buy another lid.
i have both 60l and 55l fermzillas also the 27 and 30l versions i use a large larder fridge and the heat wrap all works brilliantly
My old waxed jackets fit perfectly, and zipped up to the collar 😁
Love it! Do you have a flat cap for it too? 😉
Very similar to my set up. I have two 55 litre Fermzillas with two thermowells fitted and the temp twister. One thermowells for the Grain father Glycol Chiller Adapter and the other for an inkbird with the heat wrap plugged into the heat plug port.
Nice set up!!
Looks good👍 How about the brewtools tpu cooling jacket instead of the coil? Not sure if the polycarbonate would be too insulating? If you have a jacket maybe worth a try?
That could work in theory, although we've not tested it
Appreciate the video guys. Have conviced the wife to but one for my XMAS Present, I only have to fork out for the GCA Adaptor to link it to my chiller. I have also noted the suggestion on using a pipebender to make the cap fit easier, any sujjestions on angles you need to bend it at. Also can I but the Grainfather heat pad directly onto the side of the fermentor or do I need to protect it somehow?
The pipe bending will depend on your own set up so probably best to have a look once you have fitted it all together in your set up. In terms of the GCA kit heating pad, we have used this directly on these style of FV's and had no issues, it's a fairly gentle heat source
HA, it look like some mad scientist's 1960's lab creation to pick up Space Alien signals!
I think if use the rapt pill in conjuction with with a pressure fermenter it may throw the gravity reading off. Not sure if the margin of error would be significant though!
It's all really about how we think about tools like the RAPT pill - they are fantastic at showing us when activity has started and when it has stopped, plus provide data on the fermentation but we always advise that a manual gravity reading at the start and end of fermentation is the best way to find out the true numbers as they can get interfered with by yeast and hops in the FV so the readings can possibly be a little off - the same advice applies when using them in a pressure fermenter, whilst we haven't seen any differences outside of what we would expect when we have used them under pressure.
@@themaltmiller8438 Thanks for your responce and is most appreciated. good advice given.
Nice kit but you need a Glycol chiller and there isn't any mention in your vid on the costs of this? TMM sells them for around £600-£700 excl ancilliary connector pipes etc, would be good to know how much this whole equipement would really set you back. I am not sure if you need the hop bong as have you mentioned in a previous video how good it is to add hops via the bottom outlet on the Fermzilla and this is the method that the "brew houses" use on a commercial scale? I use a Fermenator for my Fermzilla and is a fraction of the price, is fully enclosed no need for a jacket or heated jacket and can control temps from 0c to 50c. Very economical and negligible running costs too! But TMM don't sell the Fermenator.
It's true that if you don't have a Glycol chiller then it's a big investment, there are lots of folks who do have one that are looking for an alternative to an expensive SS pressure fermenter and this hits the right notes for that set of circumstances. Also, there's some great used Glycol chillers available for a fraction of the price of a new one. The method of adding dry hops to the bottom certainly does work a treat, the hop bong is simply more convenient but also for the all rounder, where there's no collection vessel, it's a great addition to the set up.
Lots of nice bits, but glycol feels a step too far for this setup. Stick the whole lot in a £50 second hand larder fridge and save the £600 extra for a glycol setup + coil etc.
A fridge is a great place to start with temp control and teaches you so much about yeast management. Glycol is great though for anyone looking to fun a few more than one FV
For home use I would say a fermzilla with a ferminator would be a better solution. It cost half as much as the icemaster, can chill and warm the beer, and it is much easier to set up.
The benefit of a chiller is that most will work on between 2 and 4 fermenter vessels and a range of size fermentors too, with something like the Ferminator, whilst it's a cleaver solution you are limited to a single FV. If setting up Glycol isn't an option then a second hand fridge or freezer is a more versatile solution as it can then also be used to store kegs when not being used as a fermentor space.
I do like my fermzilla but unfortunately it doesn't fit into my fermentation freezer, and I don't have the money or space to be splashing out on a glycol chiller 😢
Luckily I can just ferment under pressure and then worry about the cold crash in my kegs with floating dip tubes.
One problem I have come across is dry hopping in the fermzilla, whilst it's oxygen free, I find the hop matter blocks the floating dip tube making it really hard to keg a dry hopped beer, any advice?
Hey! A few options, firstly (which I know you've mentioned isn't an option for you right now) is cold crashing, this really helps. Secondly, you might find better success by removing the filter on the dip tube and using an inline filter such as the Bouncer ones, they have a bigger surface area and also various different size filter meshes.
@@themaltmiller8438 that seems like good advice, I'll bear that in mind next time I'm thinking of dry hopping
Great rundown! I have two 27 and an all rounder with the same set of accessories. Here are a few things that made the setup neater and more practical.
I recommend a pipe bender (purchased cheaply on Amazon) for the chilling coil. 15 degrees bend is enough for it to be vertical and enables the probe to slide in the center.
John guest has small plugs for the push fit system. Inexpensive and saves glycol to fly everywhere when you shake the fermenters with sanitizer in.
The fermenters sit on top of adjustable trolleys (Found on Amazon, Wagner multifunctional silver trolley) they can be rolled with the insulation jacket on with ease.
I have been having issues to maintain a good seal with the coil and probe. I don’t pressure ferment per se but I like to partially carbonate my batches naturally. I managed to find a food grade silicon sealer that helped quite a lot. It was on Amazon again but unfortunately not so cheap.
Last tweak done but not entirely sure how well it helps is to use a bit of silicone tubing where the coil and probe could come into contact. I think it has helped a bit to avoid the chiller to go on/off less often (I.e temperature picks up a reading from the beer rather than from the metal)
Fermenter + chiller takes up more room than a fridge?
A single FV, yes this may well be a smaller footprint but for anyone looking to fun a couple of FV's it's an option
That all looks so fragile cumbersome and messy!
It might not look the prettiest but that can be worked on with shortening pipes or using a pipe bender, in practise it works a treat!