46 replies to this topic

[strangebrewer]

I don't know who's fermenter it was, but I can see all they did was put a little air lock in the top. I would also guess that its missing a waste belt to keep the lid on tight (worm driven belt)? And possibly overfilled?Cheers,Rich

Well it had a lid clamp. I'm not sure if they noticed it was missing before or after the pic was taken. Either way it was nowhere near the fermenter.Cleaning is the big concern. I'm thinking i'll build a keg washer so I can circulate pbw or something similar through it for as long as I think is needed.

[lowendfrequency]

I saw something very similar at Odell's a few years ago.

Same thing with Dogfish Head. They blowoff right onto the floor where it's channeled away in grooves. Really nice design IMO. They make a massive mess every day and just hose that sucker down.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Waste belt? There was a little beer wasted when the lid blew but other than that, nobody wastes beer around here. There was a ring holding the lid on and the ring had a screw that was tightened as tight as it would go. But I'm starting to give away too much info.Don't know how full it was. There was 20 gallons in there but I don't know what the capacity of the bucket is.No Internets for you!

Not a belt to gather waste but a ring clamp to hold the lid on tight, that's what I meant, I just don't know what they are called. Are you saying the clamp was as tight as it would get, just not on the fermenter?Cheers,Rich

[SchwanzBrewer]

Well it had a lid clamp. I'm not sure if they noticed it was missing before or after the pic was taken. Either way it was nowhere near the fermenter.Cleaning is the big concern. I'm thinking i'll build a keg washer so I can circulate pbw or something similar through it for as long as I think is needed.

How does the keg washer work? How does it get the hard ring from the krausen off? I usually just soak my carboys with oxyclean for a few days and then use the scrub brush that barely works. If I forget to wash it out though, I get these white seed looking things that stick to the glass. I think they are from the oxyclean. They usually come off if I have time to soak the carboy in a starsan solution, but its a pain in the arse to get off.Cheers,Rich

[MtnBrewer]

Not a belt to gather waste but a ring clamp to hold the lid on tight, that's what I meant, I just don't know what they are called.

Maybe an anti-waste belt, lol.

Are you saying the clamp was as tight as it would get, just not on the fermenter?

Giving out too many hints here. No the clamp was originally on the fermenter, tight as it would go.

[CaptRon]

I'm going to guess that the airlock couldn't keep up with the demand, or actually clogged and the vessel was building pressure and the person undid the clamp to relieve it and thus the resulting mess was created. I don't know who though. Maybe that Walt dude?

[SchwanzBrewer]

No O-ring?Cheers,Rich

[BlKtRe]

I prefer using the HDPE 55g Open Head barrels as fermentors. Mine uses ring clamps to seal the lid. I also added a weldless spigot on the bottom to be able to gravity feed a pump to move finished beer into kegs or a whiskey barrel. The open head design makes life very simple when its time to clean. The hole size on a closed head should be able to handle a blow off from a ferment. I use 1/2" hose on mine into a 5g bucket without issues.

[ChefLamont]

Good idea. 100 Internets to the first person that can name whose fermenter that was. (If the person in question happens to see this, zip it.) Another 100 if you can tell me the circumstances surrounding the epic failure.

I am still pondering the what, but the who...... hmmm I actually thought it was yours, but since your are offering the internets and telling the person to not tell, I guess it is not you.That looks like something Walt would do. A big batch and an OG big enough to hit that kind of critical mass.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I prefer using the HDPE 55g Open Head barrels as fermentors. Mine uses ring clamps to seal the lid. I also added a weldless spigot on the bottom to be able to gravity feed a pump to move finished beer into kegs or a whiskey barrel. The open head design makes life very simple when its time to clean. The hole size on a closed head should be able to handle a blow off from a ferment. I use 1/2" hose on mine into a 5g bucket without issues.

What do you do for temp control?Cheers,Rich

[strangebrewer]

I'm going to guess that the airlock couldn't keep up with the demand, or actually clogged and the vessel was building pressure and the person undid the clamp to relieve it and thus the resulting mess was created. I don't know who though. Maybe that Walt dude?

Ding ding ding! 100 internets awarded!

That looks like something Walt would do. A big batch and an OG big enough to hit that kind of critical mass.

This very accurately describes the incident but badogg beat you to the perpetrator.

[strangebrewer]

How does the keg washer work? How does it get the hard ring from the krausen off? I usually just soak my carboys with oxyclean for a few days and then use the scrub brush that barely works. If I forget to wash it out though, I get these white seed looking things that stick to the glass. I think they are from the oxyclean. They usually come off if I have time to soak the carboy in a starsan solution, but its a pain in the arse to get off.Cheers,Rich

The keg washer I'm thinking is a piece of pipe hooked up to a submersible pump. The pipe is afixed to something so it stands vertical and you can set the keg or barrel on top of it upsidedown. A hose attaches the pump to the other end of the pipe. You put the pump in a bath full of PBW solution and fire it up. It'll pump the PBW up the pipe that is inside the fermenter and spray it inside. The solution drains back into the container where the pump is. So it will continually circulate the solution until your happy.I've heard of people using this design with great success on 5 gallon corny kegs but I'm wondering if it would work as well in a 55 gallon drum.

[BlKtRe]

What do you do for temp control?Cheers,Rich

My walkin cooler has two different temp.zones. I will hand truck the full fermentor into a zone which is set at 56* and that keeps The Beast in ale temp range.

[Stout_fan]

Walt, we miss you, but your fermentation mess lives on.

[SchwanzBrewer]

My walkin cooler has two different temp.zones. I will hand truck the full fermentor into a zone which is set at 56* and that keeps The Beast in ale temp range.

So I was right about the ambient needed to be lower. BOOYA! Do you do that for group brews or can you brew 40 gallons (I am estimating for that fermentor size) on your own? Or do you go to a brewery that has a barrel system for sample batches? I would love to see the set up.Cheers,Rich

[BlKtRe]

So I was right about the ambient needed to be lower. BOOYA! Do you do that for group brews or can you brew 40 gallons (I am estimating for that fermentor size) on your own? Or do you go to a brewery that has a barrel system for sample batches? I would love to see the set up.Cheers,Rich

I have a few 24g kettles and enough MT space. Usually just use the 55g barrel for group brews. In about 6-7hrs we can close in on doing 60g between 3 rigs with each kettle offset around 30min. since we only have one water source. We prop our own yeast. Maybe in another thread I will post some picks of things in action. Also have many 14g and 20g HDPE barrels. I prefer the barrels with the lock ring for the lid so it can be pressurized for transfers. $2k in, my brew buddy gave up building a 4bll system. We were close to having it completed but gave up with the project because life just got in the way.

[CaptRon]

Ding ding ding! 100 internets awarded!

No shit? Woo hoo!!Oh man, now I bet I have to pay taxes on these 100 internets. WPE!!

[BlKtRe]

Oh man, now I bet I have to pay taxes on these 100 internets. WPE!!

Don't worry, internets points are worthless around here.

[Stout_fan]

Don't worry, internets points are worthless around here.

My understanding you can redeem them at the NHBC where another blue boarder will happily "buy" you a free beer.

[Spoon]

I was going to guess Walt as well, with Colorado connection and Walt is known for big brews.