Love your content! I bought one of these after reviewing your and other content. I have my third batch in now. Would love to see a follow up on your teardown and post ferment cleanup. Do you do CIP? Do you then also remove EVERY triclamp for a PBW soak as well? Do you run back to back batches, or is it idle for a time between. I did CIP PBW, CIP Rinse, then tore it all apart and did a PBW soak and rinse of all the parts. Then on my next brew day I did a 30 min sanitizer soak of all the parts, reassembled wet, and did a CIP no foam sanitize after assembled. Wondering if there is any opportunity to shorten the cleaning efforts... I'm using the Blichman Riptide Pump and the BrewBuilt CIP ball in my setup and I added a 3" TC to 1/2 barb so I can recirc from the bottom or also dump/pump directly to a floor drain. Using this with the BrewBuilt 4 unit chiller and love how quickly I can cool a wort. Summer here means 70F tap water, so coming out of the kettle cooler at about 82, and got a stable 70f in about 2 hours.
I'm definitely doing a follow-up. When the tank is dirty, I first rinse with my CIP ball hooked up to Maine's water pressure via a hose. I do this to rinse all the gunk out before. I run PPW at about 140° . That's done. I take everything apart and soak any parts that need it in the same PBW that just came out of the tank. After that I assemble everything, try clamps and sanitize all the o-rings. Before I fill the tank I do a a CIP run with a no foam acid-based sanitizer. I let it spin for about 30 minutes then drain it out. This method hasn't failed me yet. Riptide will definitely get the job done. I've switched to a spike flow only because I have it available. It is a better pump but no need to upgrade if you're happy.
@@PortlyGentleman Thanks for the quick reply, sounds like we are doing similar process. I also did CIP rinse first while draining to floor drain... a bit more time than the Grandfather unit, mostly just taking all the clamps on and off, but I'm loving the flexibility. I've done a Belgian pale, a citra blonde ale, and currently a Belgian dubbel going. Next up will be a big Marzen batch to lay up for fall, and then looking forward to trying dry hopping with the bong on a NEIPA that's been on the to do list.
@@PortlyGentleman The Riptide was not enough pressure for the generic CIP ball I had, but I works great with the BrewBuilt ball. BrewBuilt ball also has a longer arm, so you can mount it up top on the pressure lid and it gets everything....I pulled various clamps off while rinsing to verify.
I see the website states the pressure pack allows you to “…ferment, carbonate, and even serve all in one vessel.” I’m going to struggle to fit a kegerator in my apartment and I’m keen to keep things as minimal as possible so very interested in serving straight from the fermenter - what would be the best way of going about this, glycol chiller and co2 tank then pressure pack value straight to tap? Any potential drawbacks? Torn between this and the f series now 😮. Love your videos, subscribed!
Man, that is no good. Reach out to whoever you bought it from and let them know there is a no issue with some of the lids. Check and see if your lid is flat. If you have a straight edge this will rapidly tell you what's going on..
Very nice, and jealous of those welds and of the 8" port instead of a banded giant seal to worry about. I still love that my Spike CF10 will fit inside the RAPT Fermentation chamber, and that I can run a 2 keg batch with no glycol. Honestly it's so simple it feels like a cheat code until I have to clean the MF...er...CF. I keep hoping that BrewBuilt will come up with a nicer (stainless) unitank that is purpose-built to work with the RAPT chamber, but I think i'm in the minority not wanting to mess with glycol or separate heaters.
Just ordered two X2’s a couple of days before the launch of the X3…. Got them home here on Monday. But no “welcome package” 😔 (ordered through European supplier though…) just waiting on a couple of parts now, which i forgot to think about, then i will try it.
Seriously thinking about getting one of these or another mini uni+. I love the mini uni+ but I feel after getting all the extra stuff necessary to make it actually usable, you are spending nearly as much as this. The mini uni+ is my only fermenter currently outside of some 6.5g kegs, do you feel the quality of the x3 is up there with the brewtools stuff?
Based on the unit that I have in my possession, I would honestly say yes. Brewtools Definitely uses a far thicker stainless steel, there's no arguing with that. So as long as you don't drop it probably okay lol even then I bet it's fine.
@@PortlyGentleman haha thanks for the input! Think I’ll get one on the way, let me check that description for a link :). Looks hard to beat for the price
Is the Brewers Hardware fully-insulated, fully-jacketed (cylinder and cone) conical unitank still a thing? When was it last in stock? Spike has announced a fully-jacketed conical unitank. I have my fingers crossed it will also be fully-insulated.
It’s always out of stock when I check. I have been wanting to buy one. I saw the X3 drop n wanted to know more. I saw the spike posting on their website. I think it’s just going to be jacketed. But fingers crossed on the insulated too! I just hope it’s a TC lid not a band the cf’s have. I like my cf5 but I’m not a fan of the band clamp.
@@FL060 This is all we know about the new line of Spike Premium Conical Unitanks, * Fully-Jacketed (cylinder and cone) * Splayed Legs (like the BrewBuilt X3-series) * Welded Lid (no goofy full-lid clamp/gasket) * 25-50% More Expensive Than Existing CF-series * Spike Will Continue to Offer CF-series I've never seen a fully-jacketed unitank that isn't fully-insulated. We shall see.
I wish I was still into brewing beer. The now Ex-W made me get rid of all my equipment because she didn't like my hobby. Wish I got rid of her first, 😂😂
Beautiful equipment, but the flex chamber feels hokey to me.. I bought one for my Spike conical and never used it, and attach to the cone a bf valve, to sight glass, to 90°, to bf valve. The horizontal ports on the cone are pretty sweet tho…
Great design, thing of beauty. Definately right there with the brewtools. I still wouldnt want to clean it, although the jacket helps. I got ride of a spike unitank cuz I never wanted to clean it.
@@PortlyGentleman The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. So that means 35% extra import VAT taxes and handling fees when ordering from The Maltmiller. A nogo for private customers. Morebeer USA should used the same international shipping system as Brewtools has. That means offer a Fermenter including shipping and VAT cost worldwide. If I should order a fermenter from the UK and import it to the EU then pricewise it should be in the same price range as a Brewtools Fermenter.
I agree. BrewBuilt came up short in terms of cone ports, especially considering the X3-series doesn't have a dedicated racking port. I prefer the Brewtools F-series with the four 34mm tri-clamp ports on the lid with an 8" tri-clamp port (which is typically stepped down to 3" for a hop drop) versus the rather crowded 1.5" tri-clamp ports on the X3-series lid. Let's hope Spike gets it right with their new Premium Fully-Jacketed (cylinder and cone) Conical Unitank.
Now this IS piece of stainless goodness - looks a serious competitor to the BT F series heating looks to be a issue but I have good luck with the AliX 25w heating bands via STC1000's and now that BB have lost the band (and thre not getting back together) for my next fermenter this is on my list over a BT Uni (once they ship X3 to UK of course)
BrewBuilt has incorporated the Brewtools F-series 2" tri-clamp horizontal cone port for an ultra low-watt density immersion heating element. It doesn't get much easier than that. This will become the industry standard.
Overkill? How many ports do we need? Bradley I love the vids but this unitank seems ridiculous to me. I need a spund, temp probe, dump valve, raking arm and I win. Glycol chill is super nice but I think this unit would reject my homebuilt glycol chiller.
Great video! As someone coming from a spike conical, this will be a welcome upgrade from the constant pressure leaks.
@@Toelishness yes It definitely will. In my opinion those are long obsolete units 🍻
Thanks!
Thank you 🍻🍻🍻
That looks like a very nice uniTank! Thanks for sharing this information and the effort to make this video. Pro video again ☺Cheers Bradley 🍻
Thank you my friend 🍻
Great tip about rotating the lid to find its "happy space"!
Thank you very much. It's those little technical insights that hopefully sets me apart and keeps you coming back. I really appreciate the support.
Happy to know that Home Brewing is still good!
You are the man Trent 🍻
Nicely done Bradley as always. I really like my X2. I look forward to the X3 making its way to Europe!
Thank you David. It's definitely the culmination of their work.
Love your content! I bought one of these after reviewing your and other content. I have my third batch in now. Would love to see a follow up on your teardown and post ferment cleanup. Do you do CIP? Do you then also remove EVERY triclamp for a PBW soak as well? Do you run back to back batches, or is it idle for a time between. I did CIP PBW, CIP Rinse, then tore it all apart and did a PBW soak and rinse of all the parts. Then on my next brew day I did a 30 min sanitizer soak of all the parts, reassembled wet, and did a CIP no foam sanitize after assembled. Wondering if there is any opportunity to shorten the cleaning efforts... I'm using the Blichman Riptide Pump and the BrewBuilt CIP ball in my setup and I added a 3" TC to 1/2 barb so I can recirc from the bottom or also dump/pump directly to a floor drain. Using this with the BrewBuilt 4 unit chiller and love how quickly I can cool a wort. Summer here means 70F tap water, so coming out of the kettle cooler at about 82, and got a stable 70f in about 2 hours.
I'm definitely doing a follow-up.
When the tank is dirty, I first rinse with my CIP ball hooked up to Maine's water pressure via a hose.
I do this to rinse all the gunk out before.
I run PPW at about 140°
. That's done. I take everything apart and soak any parts that need it in the same PBW that just came out of the tank.
After that I assemble everything, try clamps and sanitize all the o-rings.
Before I fill the tank I do a a CIP run with a no foam acid-based sanitizer. I let it spin for about 30 minutes then drain it out. This method hasn't failed me yet.
Riptide will definitely get the job done. I've switched to a spike flow only because I have it available. It is a better pump but no need to upgrade if you're happy.
@@PortlyGentleman Thanks for the quick reply, sounds like we are doing similar process. I also did CIP rinse first while draining to floor drain... a bit more time than the Grandfather unit, mostly just taking all the clamps on and off, but I'm loving the flexibility. I've done a Belgian pale, a citra blonde ale, and currently a Belgian dubbel going. Next up will be a big Marzen batch to lay up for fall, and then looking forward to trying dry hopping with the bong on a NEIPA that's been on the to do list.
@@PortlyGentleman The Riptide was not enough pressure for the generic CIP ball I had, but I works great with the BrewBuilt ball. BrewBuilt ball also has a longer arm, so you can mount it up top on the pressure lid and it gets everything....I pulled various clamps off while rinsing to verify.
Any idea where the lower end of the jacket is at? Basically, what’s the minimum size batch you can make with the jacket still functional?
awesome review. I gotta get one of those. did you get their glycol chiller?
I do have one of their units. It's pretty good energy wise and power wise when compared to others in the same category.
I would love to see comparison of this to brewtools equivalent unitank
Maybe the 40 L light ?
@@PortlyGentlemanhell yeah!
Happening 🍻
Nice review thanks man!
That's not quite a review. There is more on the way but thank you 🍻🍻
I see the website states the pressure pack allows you to “…ferment, carbonate, and even serve all in one vessel.” I’m going to struggle to fit a kegerator in my apartment and I’m keen to keep things as minimal as possible so very interested in serving straight from the fermenter - what would be the best way of going about this, glycol chiller and co2 tank then pressure pack value straight to tap? Any potential drawbacks? Torn between this and the f series now 😮. Love your videos, subscribed!
Just got mine and for the life of me I can’t get the lid triclamp to set in place. Gasket is flat maybe it’ll a defective clamp
Man, that is no good. Reach out to whoever you bought it from and let them know there is a no issue with some of the lids. Check and see if your lid is flat. If you have a straight edge this will rapidly tell you what's going on..
Since this is tri clamp can this be pushed up to 30psi?
How does this compare to every other china made conical? How is it compared to spike brewing?
Compared to Spike this tank is on another level, I personally don't see a reason to buy one of their tanks in 2024, not to mention 2025....
Very nice, and jealous of those welds and of the 8" port instead of a banded giant seal to worry about. I still love that my Spike CF10 will fit inside the RAPT Fermentation chamber, and that I can run a 2 keg batch with no glycol. Honestly it's so simple it feels like a cheat code until I have to clean the MF...er...CF. I keep hoping that BrewBuilt will come up with a nicer (stainless) unitank that is purpose-built to work with the RAPT chamber, but I think i'm in the minority not wanting to mess with glycol or separate heaters.
I would agree. I have a feeling that someone's going to release one shortly to be honest and by shortly I mean in the next 2 years lol 😂 🍻
Just ordered two X2’s a couple of days before the launch of the X3…. Got them home here on Monday. But no “welcome package” 😔 (ordered through European supplier though…) just waiting on a couple of parts now, which i forgot to think about, then i will try it.
I'm thinking you will still enjoy them!
I'm very anxious to know which European supplier u got those Fermenters from.
Could you please tell me which one?
Seriously thinking about getting one of these or another mini uni+. I love the mini uni+ but I feel after getting all the extra stuff necessary to make it actually usable, you are spending nearly as much as this. The mini uni+ is my only fermenter currently outside of some 6.5g kegs, do you feel the quality of the x3 is up there with the brewtools stuff?
Based on the unit that I have in my possession, I would honestly say yes. Brewtools Definitely uses a far thicker stainless steel, there's no arguing with that. So as long as you don't drop it probably okay lol even then I bet it's fine.
@@PortlyGentleman haha thanks for the input! Think I’ll get one on the way, let me check that description for a link :). Looks hard to beat for the price
Do you prefer the x3 instead of the brewers hardware insulated jacketed Unitanks?
That depends on your fermentation location/ ambient humidity.
Is the Brewers Hardware fully-insulated, fully-jacketed (cylinder and cone) conical unitank still a thing? When was it last in stock?
Spike has announced a fully-jacketed conical unitank. I have my fingers crossed it will also be fully-insulated.
It’s always out of stock when I check. I have been wanting to buy one. I saw the X3 drop n wanted to know more. I saw the spike posting on their website. I think it’s just going to be jacketed. But fingers crossed on the insulated too! I just hope it’s a TC lid not a band the cf’s have. I like my cf5 but I’m not a fan of the band clamp.
@@FL060 This is all we know about the new line of Spike Premium Conical Unitanks,
* Fully-Jacketed (cylinder and cone)
* Splayed Legs (like the BrewBuilt X3-series)
* Welded Lid (no goofy full-lid clamp/gasket)
* 25-50% More Expensive Than Existing CF-series
* Spike Will Continue to Offer CF-series
I've never seen a fully-jacketed unitank that isn't fully-insulated. We shall see.
I wish I was still into brewing beer. The now Ex-W made me get rid of all my equipment because she didn't like my hobby. Wish I got rid of her first, 😂😂
💯😂
Beautiful equipment, but the flex chamber feels hokey to me.. I bought one for my Spike conical and never used it, and attach to the cone a bf valve, to sight glass, to 90°, to bf valve. The horizontal ports on the cone are pretty sweet tho…
To each his own, I found the new one with the 3-in tri-clamp to be pretty useful so far 🍻
Great design, thing of beauty. Definately right there with the brewtools. I still wouldnt want to clean it, although the jacket helps. I got ride of a spike unitank cuz I never wanted to clean it.
Cleaning so much fun!😮💨🍻
No Brewbuilt X3 in EU.
No International shipping with Brewbuilt sadly 😭
I thought @themaltMiller and the UK carried their stuff ...
@@PortlyGentleman The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. So
that means 35% extra import VAT taxes and handling fees when ordering from The Maltmiller. A nogo for private customers.
Morebeer USA should used the same international shipping system as Brewtools has. That means offer a Fermenter including shipping and VAT cost worldwide.
If I should order a fermenter from the UK and import it to the EU then pricewise it should be in the same price range as a Brewtools Fermenter.
Still not enough ports!
So many parts to clean. Not enough time 🤣🍻
I agree. BrewBuilt came up short in terms of cone ports, especially considering the X3-series doesn't have a dedicated racking port. I prefer the Brewtools F-series with the four 34mm tri-clamp ports on the lid with an 8" tri-clamp port (which is typically stepped down to 3" for a hop drop) versus the rather crowded 1.5" tri-clamp ports on the X3-series lid. Let's hope Spike gets it right with their new Premium Fully-Jacketed (cylinder and cone) Conical Unitank.
Now this IS piece of stainless goodness - looks a serious competitor to the BT F series heating looks to be a issue but I have good luck with the AliX 25w heating bands via STC1000's and now that BB have lost the band (and thre not getting back together) for my next fermenter this is on my list over a BT Uni (once they ship X3 to UK of course)
Of course 🍻
BrewBuilt has incorporated the Brewtools F-series 2" tri-clamp horizontal cone port for an ultra low-watt density immersion heating element. It doesn't get much easier than that. This will become the industry standard.
Overkill? How many ports do we need? Bradley I love the vids but this unitank seems ridiculous to me. I need a spund, temp probe, dump valve, raking arm and I win. Glycol chill is super nice but I think this unit would reject my homebuilt glycol chiller.
It's definitely better to have an extra Port than to need a port and not have one available 🍻
Looks like a well-deisgned unitank
Absolutely! I wonder what the next innovation will be ?
@@PortlyGentleman I've given some thought about this and think we are getting close to the perfect unitank
🍻💪💰
Let's see you use it please not just promo click based videos
If I didn't put out this kind of video first, how would I get you to comment? 🍻
The PTFE gaskets work much better in the large sizes
That's a good point. They actually include them in the inch and a half size as well as the 2 in interesting..
@@PortlyGentleman I'm sure it's about cost. They are much more expensive. I haven't tried the Buna gaskets yet but they may also be more rigid
That thing is sexy AF 🤩
Yes it is