1. Do I need spunding valve to achieve this and why, could I not just carbonate using my existing keg system instead?
You don't need a spunding valve and the default package doesn't come with the pressure kit so unless you intend on fermenting under pressure you can just use the normal type of bubbler airlock that comes with the fermentasaurus. If you do intend to femrent under pressure with the pressure kit you could probably get away with attaching a quick disconnect to a hose and making a type of blow off vessel. Or you could periodically vent the PRV on the lid. You just won't be able to regulate it is all. I do believe the PRV is set to rlease pressure at a certain point for safety but that point may be too high for your desired CO2 level.
2. Do I need to connect relief valve to my CO2 tank before connection to fermenter so I don't accidentally over pressurise it?
To connect your fermenter to your CO2 tank, as long as you have a one-way check valve on your gas line, that should cover any back blow that could occur from the pressure inside the fermenter to the regulator. Otherwise you just attach your gas line to the post on the fermenter and slowly crank up the pressure inside until your CO2 regulator reads what you want it to for whatever it is you are doing, ie. transferring to keg, purging, carbonating.
3. Do I need to connect my CO2 tank to fermenter after transferring wort or should I let pressure build naturally?
The pressure will build naturally as the wort ferments and turns into beer. There is just no-where for it to go when it is under pressure so it stays in solution in the beer up to the point at which any spunding valve is set to.
4. I have read that pressure fermenting reduces fermentation periods, is this the case and do you have any guidelines you could point me towards?
This was something I was unaware of but from the single batch I have done, it would seem to be the case. I had a batch of Blonde Ale with an OG of 1.042 and pitched a starter of 1272 American Ale 2. I think it was at 1.010 within about 4 days, maybe even sooner, that was my first check I have no guidelines, I'm sorry!
5. I note that brewery's that pressure ferment put their dry hops in fermenter straight away, is this something we can do with your fermenter and do you know what sort of ratio of dry hops to use?
I'm not usually one to dry hop that much but I wanted to give it a go with this new bit of kit because it looked like an interesting process. Once I saw that the beer was pretty much ready, I removed the dump bottle/yeast collection jar thingy, emptied the trub that had been collected in it. I then cleaned the jar, sanitised it with star-san and put about 20g of Cascade pellets in, flushed that with some CO2 and then rescrewed the jar onto the base of the fermenter. Open the butterfly valve, flush she goes, the hops get all swirled around with the brief change in pressure so the rise to the top, swill about a bit, get a bit of rehydration in the wort and then gradually begin to settle back down into the bottom and eventually back into the jar having done their job. That sediment is then away from the beer due to the conical shape and easy to leave behind or discard. Quite ingenious.
6. Do I need to add CO2 from my bottle to transfer finished beer to keg?
You could probably use a bit of the pressure from the fermenter but it wouldn't push the entire volume over to a keg. Take the spunding valve off, whack it onto your totally pressurised keg, making sure the valve is closed. Then attach the CO2 to the fermenter, but not with the gas on. Attach the liquid out post on the fermenter to the liquid out post on the keg, ease open the CO2 on your cylinder and ease open the valve on the spunding valve until you have a gradual transfer from fermenter to keg. Totatlly closed system.
7. Is opening from valve to collection bottle large enough that muck/yeast doesn't get stuck when trying to dump/collect?
It's a satisfactory size. Certainly big enough to collect anything you could think of that needs collecting/dumping. There's always going to be a bit of gunk lurking around when you are dealing with trub/yeast/sediment. I should probably spray the opening with star san or some other cleaning agent before reattaching the jar. I'll try that next time. Also if it is fermenting under pressure, unscrewing that jar can be fizz central so make sure there is a tray underneath and do it really slowly or you'll get a face full of yeast.
8. Lastly I am real keen on using fresh fruit such as watermelon in the later stages of fermentation, how would you add these to a pressure fermenter such as yours?
I may have to pass that one on to someone with a bit more knowledge about brewing with fruit but I guess you could always add it to the collection jar. Anything added to that gets shot up into the fermenter when the butterfly valve is opened again due to the pressure differential. So anything you can fit into that jar, and it's not really that big, you could theoretically add to your fermeneter.
