Fermentor Volume

[timos]

Hello everyone, and thanks for any answers (Hopfully that's the correct place to publish the question).

Is there any significance to the fermentor volume concerning the amount of wort in it?
For example, if I have 20lt of wort in a 50lt fermentor, would I have better\worser results of fermentation due to the space left in the fermentor?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jwsparkes]

20L in a 50L fermentor would be fine for primary fermentation where activity is high. If you were to leave it in the fermentor for a while after fementation had finished, or if you were to rack into a secondary, it would be better to use a smaller fermentor (say 30L) to keep contact with oxygen to a minimum.

For primary fermentation, you need enough head space for the yeast and krausen otherwise it'll blow out the airlock and make a right mess.

But I'm sure someone else on here might have other opinions. It might not make any difference.

 

[roller997]

Hello everyone, and thanks for any answers (Hopfully that's the correct place to publish the question).

Is there any significance to the fermentor volume concerning the amount of wort in it?
For example, if I have 20lt of wort in a 50lt fermentor, would I have better\worser results of fermentation due to the space left in the fermentor?

Thanks in advance.

With the volumes of beer you are talking about, there should be little to no difference for a primary fermentation as long as you don't leave the beer in there for too long. As you have greater surface area of yeast and other less desirable items, leaving the beer in that vessel is not going to do you any favours. For the initial fermentation it should be fine.
If you were dealing with much larger volumes, the fact that you effectively use a vessel much wider than the height of the beer could have an impact on the flavour profile. I know that there are some beer styles where the yeast prefers wider vessels rather than taller ones.

Cheers

Roller

 

[timos]

So generally, there is no known issue regarding this subject, altough it's better to use a proper carboy which match the wort volume as possible.

Thanks for the lovely answers guys.