Fermenting Under Pressure

[bradsbrew]

Hopefully your spunding valve will prove more accurate than mine that seems as precise as a two bob watch, which really doesn't help when trying to predict CO2 absobsion.

Have you tried pressurising a PET with a carb cap up to 10psi (or whatever pressure you want), then setting your spunding to the PET bottle?

 

[markp]

Thanks for your comments guys, will give it a crack at the sub 5-6psi and ramp up to carbonation pressures late in the fermentation and see what happens for me.
Cheers
Mark

 

[Dave70]

Have you tried pressurising a PET with a carb cap up to 10psi (or whatever pressure you want), then setting your spunding to the PET bottle?

No. But I've let the pressure drop back to 10 psi in the keg, or near enough until the hissing stops. Then after a while, up she goes. You can actually jiggle the pin from side to side and the thing will release pressure, so its not the most precision of instruments. Not loosing any sleep over it. Once the ferment is out of the way I'll dismantle and sort it. I'm tipping it will be a simple fix.

While I've got you, who did you buy your fermentasaurus through? Would you recommend them? I think one of those jiggers is the best fit for me.

 

[S.E]

Couldn't wait for my spunding valves to arrive,pitched yeast in a special bitter with just a dash of oxygen at 2 pm, 10 pm vented the secondary cube so no air left in both cubes. At 6.15 am, both tanks decidedly out of shape and gauge reading 10 psi, a flaw I did think of was the NRV for the pressure in the fermenting vessel to push gas through the NRV it has to be greater than in the secondary.
I really wanted to keep the fermentation below 5 psi but what's done is done just hope everything turns out OK, I will be waitng for my PRV's before I do my next brew. Really didn't expect such a large volume of co2 in such a short space of time.
View attachment 110361

Bloody hell WEAL, that’s taking carbing in a cube to a whole new level

I have come up with a simple DIY PRV that could be used on cubes (or Kegs for that matter) and keep them at a more or less constant pressure but have posted it over here on the https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/carbing-conditioning-in-a-cube-before-keg.70056/ thread to avoid taking this one off topic.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

To be honest Sean I didn't expect that sort of pressure, I have now cracked and left open the JG valve so pressure is at atmosphere, what I intend to do is when I transfer to secondary, or when ready to carb up. Fill the empty primary vessel with mains water which is around 70 psi so I can naturally carb using water pressure to vacate the co2 from the primary to the secondary, obviously not to 70 psi but to a lower pressure.

 

[bradsbrew]

No. But I've let the pressure drop back to 10 psi in the keg, or near enough until the hissing stops. Then after a while, up she goes. You can actually jiggle the pin from side to side and the thing will release pressure, so its not the most precision of instruments. Not loosing any sleep over it. Once the ferment is out of the way I'll dismantle and sort it. I'm tipping it will be a simple fix.

While I've got you, who did you buy your fermentasaurus through? Would you recommend them? I think one of those jiggers is the best fit for me.

I grabbed mine from Hoppy Days, Steve is great, tad on the fugly side though. The only piece of KK equipment I would 100% recomend.

 

[mtb]

I'm sure Steve is beautiful on the inside.

 

[malt junkie]

My spundings arrived from the states this arvo. Because I'm a lazy git my big 1v still needs attention, so still Biab in the urn. SWMBO is away with our 7yo for the next week and I need some pales for xmas I want em clean and fast so 20c @ 18psi in kegmenters. Now just to sort out what exactly to brew, a SMASH is certainly on the cards.

 

[Digga]

No bulk buy MJ?

 

[malt junkie]

Have tried a few ways to contact Bobby with no luck could be he is flat out with the silly season. And while buying 20 odd off the website is cheaper than one or 2 at a time, the saving isn't big enough to cover reposting locally. Will try again in the new year, I'll also give you a run down on how the two I got perform.

MJ

 

[S.E]

To be honest Sean I didn't expect that sort of pressure

I was a bit surprised that your cubes had swollen so much and the gauge was only showing 10psi.

I have tested my shorter 17L cubes and they take around 20psi before they balloon like that. I also use 25L cubes but have never tested them. I have noticed they tend to stretch and balloon at the top far more than the shorter 17L ones though.

If you try the DIY elastic band PRV on the bit of gas line between your tap and the red cap on the cube in your picture above you should be able hold pressure at around 5psi as you wanted.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I will try that with the rubber band, the gauge was only a cheap one, still waiting for my PRV's and 'proper' gauges, according to the tracking due next week

 

[Hpal]

I am currently pressure fermenting a lager, it's at about 20psi and 10 degrees, I pitched a starter of yeast from another batch and oxygenated the wort. That was 6 days ago and it's gone from 1.045 to 1.016 in that time and tastes clean as and is carbed. Pressure ferments rock.

 

[Dave70]

I am currently pressure fermenting a lager, it's at about 20psi and 10 degrees, I pitched a starter of yeast from another batch and oxygenated the wort. That was 6 days ago and it's gone from 1.045 to 1.016 in that time and tastes clean as and is carbed. Pressure ferments rock.

Yep. Pulled a sample from mine last might. Even from the bottom of the tank the sample came out clean (relatively) and at FG in five days. Definitely has that 'craft beer' aroma going on and tasted fine hot, flat and straight from the keg.
Cant wait to share it around.
Its truly rekindled my interest in the sport and encouraged a fresh wave of spending. **** you MasterCard, take that!

 

[pcqypcqy]

Couldn't wait for my spunding valves to arrive,pitched yeast in a special bitter with just a dash of oxygen at 2 pm, 10 pm vented the secondary cube so no air left in both cubes. At 6.15 am, both tanks decidedly out of shape and gauge reading 10 psi, a flaw I did think of was the NRV for the pressure in the fermenting vessel to push gas through the NRV it has to be greater than in the secondary.
I really wanted to keep the fermentation below 5 psi but what's done is done just hope everything turns out OK, I will be waitng for my PRV's before I do my next brew. Really didn't expect such a large volume of co2 in such a short space of time.
View attachment 110361

mmmm, bulgy.

 

[pcqypcqy]

No. But I've let the pressure drop back to 10 psi in the keg, or near enough until the hissing stops. Then after a while, up she goes. You can actually jiggle the pin from side to side and the thing will release pressure, so its not the most precision of instruments. Not loosing any sleep over it. Once the ferment is out of the way I'll dismantle and sort it. I'm tipping it will be a simple fix.

While I've got you, who did you buy your fermentasaurus through? Would you recommend them? I think one of those jiggers is the best fit for me.

Yeah, that wiggle is the bane of most our existences. On mine it can be the difference between 5 and 20 psi.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Got my gauges today, 0-30 psi, worth paying the extra to get an accurate reading.
Checked my hydrometer readings, transfer to secondary tomorrow only a couple of points left to go, as for CO2 production it comes in around 1.6 kg for a 20 litre batch so that is a lot of CO2 , bit of a carbon boot print there.

 

[pcqypcqy]

Got my gauges today, 0-30 psi, worth paying the extra to get an accurate reading.
Checked my hydrometer readings, transfer to secondary tomorrow only a couple of points left to go, as for CO2 production it comes in around 1.6 kg for a 20 litre batch so that is a lot of CO2 , bit of a carbon boot print there.

Did you post a link to the gauges you got? I wouldn't mind upgrading mine.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I couldn't wait till next week, had a good look around, what I found were the cheapies come no where near to accuracy until around 25 psi,went to Blackwoods and they came in at $25 each for the 30 psi gauge, I didn't bother with their accurate PRV that was $270!

Good article here about carbonation and the reason there is a taste difference between a CO2 bottle carbed beer and a natural carbed beer.
http://www.draughtquality.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Carbonation_PH-Final_1.pdf

 

[rossbaker]

Hi guys, I'm going to be brewing a Samiclaus clone for Christmas. For those not in the know, that is essentially a massive dopplebock, which should come in at 1.140 sg (not a typo). How do you think this will go under pressure?

Given it is designed to be stored for a long time, I love the idea of keeping out all o2, but I also know the ferment will be challenging and I'm worried that pressure will put a strain on the already hard working yeast.