Coopers DIY fermenter any good?

[rglnz]

Hi there,

New here, and new to brewing… I bought a Coopers DIY fermenter a few weeks ago, have made one brew, and since then have been reading up on everything home-brew (a lot of confusion, but interesting stuff…) Just wondering what peoples views are on the new style coopers DIY fermenter - not being completely sealed, and having the kausen kollar that you remove after the foaming subsides. From what I have read having a style like this may make infection more easy. My thoughts are to get a different fermenter with an airlock so I can take every precaution to keep things clean during brewing. Also I was wondering about the accuracy of the plastic hydrometer that came in the starter kit. Any thoughts on that? basically… should I start over again and spend the cash to get decent gear or will I be fine with what I have. Plan at this stage is to be doing extract brews until I learn a little more...

Cheers

 

[doon]

Get a 25l water drum from bunnings for 16 bucks get a tap from there for 1.50.

Use glad wrap as a lid and dont worry about an airlock and secure glad wrap with black o ring from water drum lid. Easy and cheap

 

[doon]

Just noticed your in nz. Not sure if you have bunnings but any big hardware store should have what you after fermenter wise

 

[wbosher]

I have been using the DIY fermenter for over a year now and love it. A few suggestions though:

- Ditch the krausen collar. Maybe useful if using a yeast that goes off, and tries to climb out of the fermenter, but otherwise it's a bit of a gimmick.
- Don't worry about the lack of airlock, if you spend some time around here you'll realise they're a wast of space anyway.
- Don't worry about it not sealing completely tight. The lid sits on well enough to keep any nasties out, while still allowing the CO2 to escape.
- The tap comes apart for cleaning...I love that.

It's a good fermenter and there's no need to ditch it.

Edit: Might be worth getting a new glass hydrometer though. The plastic ones are prone to letting in liquid and giving false readings.

 

[Braumoasta]

I've now used the DIY fermenter to brew almost 400 litres of beer. I love it.

I reckon the krausen collar is awesome. Even if the brew will only produce a smal krausen, it's much better to be able to remove the yeasty gunk on the sides of the fermenter before it has caked on, whilst also not disturbing the brew. Makes cleaning much quicker. The extra headspace has also been invaluable for brews I've done such as the 'toucan stout', which produce a huge krausen.

I've never had an infection (touch wood), so I reckon if I ever get an infection, it wont be the fermenters fault.

I've never heard about the plastic hydrometers getting water in them, but maybe just test it in some pure water every once in a while to check it's giving an accurate reading.

 

[wbosher]

The krausen collar does make clean up a little bit easier, especially as you can just throw it in the dishwasher. It does make fitting your fermenter into a brew fridge a little challenging though, unless you have a really big fridge.

The plastic hydrometers are well known for taking on water. I emailed Coopers when mine did it, and they advised as much. The Coopers forums are full of people with similar issues. They will replace it for free though if it does happen. For me it was easier and cheaper to just get a new glass one rather than send it from NZ back to Aus to get another plastic one.

 

[spryzie]

I love mine. I don't bother with the collar.

The tap is really well designed - so easy to clean.

Otherwise, yeah it is pricey but the tap does seal perfectly and did I mention it was easy to clean?

 

[rglnz]

Awesome, thanks heaps for your input guys. Looks like I will stick with it. Time to move up from a full kit, and take the next step into extract

 

[zeggie]

I have 2. Never had an infection. Love the tap, nice and easy to clean.

You can get them cheaper off the coopers website with a 20-30% code and when they offer free delivery

 

[Rurik]

I like mine, it is the perfect compromise between a bucket & container with tap. Big, easy to clean not need for a syphon. WIll stack inside one and other.

 

[Rurik]

I have 2. Never had an infection. Love the tap, nice and easy to clean.

You can get them cheaper off the coopers website with a 20-30% code and when they offer free delivery

Where do you get a code that offers such a discount?

 

[zeggie]

They usually include the code on a piece of paper in the DIY kits in Dans or Bigw or post them online. Usually 'BEER' or 'BEERKIT' etc. Have a Google for an up to date code before buying

 

[Rurik]

Thanks, the only ones I can find at the moment are for free delivery but they are offering that on the website anyway. I will keep an eye out and see what comes up.

 

[fuseo]

Great thread guys. Just read through it and answered my questions I had.

Cheers. I checked today and the coopers one online is like $45 or so. FYI shipping OZ wide at the moment is only $4.99 (until 31st Dec 13) so if you buy can kits or coopers anything shipping is pretty cheap IMO.