Fermzilla

[Grmblz]

I presume the lid is made of the same material, but I don't know, I didn't make it!
I have soaked the bottom flange and valve in warm water, about 50C, and also in the same with some tsp and detergent in it and it doesn't soak off, like things do with stainless.
I'm not here to have a go at KL, I want to know if other people have similar issues with their gear, and if they have, have they found a solution, and if it's turns out to be a common issue, then yes I will get into the manufacturer. If it's just me, then I need to find out why it's happening.

There's a comment (not positive but I think it's from KL on KL Q&A) that the recommended contact time for PBW is no more than 30min's, I had been soaking mine for 4 or 5 hrs with no apparent ill effects so no idea what the problem is with extended soaking, another case of RTFM! I suppose.

 

[onemorecell]

There's a comment (not positive but I think it's from KL on KL Q&A) that the recommended contact time for PBW is no more than 30min's, I had been soaking mine for 4 or 5 hrs with no apparent ill effects so no idea what the problem is with extended soaking, another case of RTFM! I suppose.

i soak my **** in pbw until I remember/can be bothered. could be a week... is that just recommended time for the big pet bottles?

 

[Pensionday]

The phosphoric acid can cause you grief in the case that it's used neat. It should be diluted before use. (Don't add it neat to the FZ, but dilute first, then add... or add water, then acid).

 

[frosty3]

This is a photo of my bottle cleaner before I got rid of it. The phosphoric turned it white in parts and you can see where I had scratched some of the white off with my nail.

 

[Grok]

After you got it off, was the surface rough or pitted, or was it back to smooth plastic?

 

[mynameisrodney]

I had an idea for dryhopping with a Fermzilla (particularly all-rounder) without exposing oxygen. If you make up a T piece with 2 female ports, 1 male port, and a ball valve, then you could attach a coke bottle of any size full of hops above the gas port, and just turn the valve to drop them in. I'm going to try to 3D print some bits up and use a ball valve from bunnings, but it might be a nice accessory.

 

[Fro-Daddy]

Would you be leaving your hops at fermentation temps the whole time before dry hopping?

 

[mynameisrodney]

Yes but it would only be a few days.

 

[RRising]

I had an idea for dryhopping with a Fermzilla (particularly all-rounder) without exposing oxygen. If you make up a T piece with 2 female ports, 1 male port, and a ball valve, then you could attach a coke bottle of any size full of hops above the gas port, and just turn the valve to drop them in. I'm going to try to 3D print some bits up and use a ball valve from bunnings, but it might be a nice accessory.

View attachment 118350

Awesome, i'd definitely buy one if it works.

 

[Grmblz]

How would you get the oxygen out of the coke bottle? Or would you drop the hops before fermentation has finished and let the yeast clean it up?

 

[Fro-Daddy]

If you're letting the yeast clean it up, just open the lid and pour them in like normal.
You would need something like the collection bottle that you can purge.

 

[mynameisrodney]

I was just going to leave the ball valve open a crack so the coke bottle will be at the same pressure / gas will still flow through. So at the time of dryhopping the gas in the coke bottle should be same as the gas in the rest of the headspace.

 

[RRising]

I was thinking of using some magnets with a hop sock to dry hop during a pressure ferment, glue some string on the magnet in the fermenter so it doesn't drop into the wort.

Connect the two magnets before closing the fermenter up, hook the string put it up the top so the krausen (hopefully) doesn't touch it and once it comes to dry hop, just take the magnet off the outside and it should just drop in the wort and the magnet just hangs there.

It might work, probably wont, admittedly i didn't put much thought into it.

 

[Fro-Daddy]

That's been done before. I'm still not a fan of leaving the hops at fermenting temps with oxygen exposure for that long.

 

[Crusty]

Never understood the logic of pressure fermenting. Got what they deserved.
2.2 bar? That's about the pressure you run in your car tyres, and they're built with steel etc belts to contain the pressure.
What makes people think an oversized softdrink bottle will hold the same pressure?

Totally agree here. Why on earth would you need to pressurize a vessel at 2.2 bar? Regardless of the build claims in relation to holding pressure, this person needs to seriously look at getting the fermentation temperature down to an acceptable level & pressurize with a bit more common sense. Get some bloody temp control sorted & hit it with 0.8bar @ a couple of degrees. I can't for the life of me understand why the hell you'd try & carbonate something at 20deg+.
Anybody half serious about making quality beer would have that aspect sorted right off the bat.

 

[pauly]

I had an idea for dryhopping with a Fermzilla (particularly all-rounder) without exposing oxygen. If you make up a T piece with 2 female ports, 1 male port, and a ball valve, then you could attach a coke bottle of any size full of hops above the gas port, and just turn the valve to drop them in. I'm going to try to 3D print some bits up and use a ball valve from bunnings, but it might be a nice accessory.

I've tried putting hop pellets down the bottle cap sized holes of the FZ lid and they have needed a lot of "encouragement" to get through! They definitely didn't just flow through. I can't see them making their way past that ball valve, but I wish you luck.

Why not just put the hops in the FZ collection container, crack but don't fully open the valve and ferment upside down with the spunding valve attached to the collection container? Just joking (hmm, or am I?)

 

[dkril]

I've tried putting hop pellets down the bottle cap sized holes of the FZ lid and they have needed a lot of "encouragement" to get through! They definitely didn't just flow through. I can't see them making their way past that ball valve, but I wish you luck.

Why not just put the hops in the FZ collection container, crack but don't fully open the valve and ferment upside down with the spunding valve attached to the collection container? Just joking (hmm, or am I?)

You WERE joking. Now you're thinking, "Hmmm. Might have to give that a crack sometime."

Let us know how it goes

 

[pauly]

Totally agree here. Why on earth would you need to pressurize a vessel at 2.2 bar? Regardless of the build claims in relation to holding pressure, this person needs to seriously look at getting the fermentation temperature down to an acceptable level & pressurize with a bit more common sense. Get some bloody temp control sorted & hit it with 0.8bar @ a couple of degrees. I can't for the life of me understand why the hell you'd try & carbonate something at 20deg+.
Anybody half serious about making quality beer would have that aspect sorted right off the bat.

Not everyone is out to make an award winning beer every time.

I imagine a few people pressure ferment to get some co2 dissolved in the ferment, and to suppress some esters that happen due to a lack of temperature control (e.g. when you are fermenting being a door at ambient). I've done a 5 day ferment at 25-30C and 25PSI then kegged in the morning and drank it in the evening. It was drinkable for me. Sorry if this breaks your rules

 

[mynameisrodney]

I've tried putting hop pellets down the bottle cap sized holes of the FZ lid and they have needed a lot of "encouragement" to get through! They definitely didn't just flow through. I can't see them making their way past that ball valve, but I wish you luck.

Why not just put the hops in the FZ collection container, crack but don't fully open the valve and ferment upside down with the spunding valve attached to the collection container? Just joking (hmm, or am I?)

Ah that sucks to hear about the hole size, hopefully a shake will get them through. I might do a dry run first.

I actually have an allrounder, not the standard FZ, so no collection container. I read a few reviews about the valve being a pain to clean and decided to go the route i did. also by the time my beer gets in the fermenter I've usually had a few, so want an idiot proof design with less to go wrong haha.

Regarding the room temp, I'm not that worried. The hops spend months in the elements, warm temps, wind rain etc. my LHBS doesn't refrigerate them anyway, I cant see ~3-4 days in a sealed container is going to have a significant effect on them.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[mynameisrodney]

I can't for the life of me understand why the hell you'd try & carbonate something at 20deg+.
Anybody half serious about making quality beer would have that aspect sorted right off the bat.

You spend your fermentation time letting out CO2 (and other volatiles), and then immediately try to pump CO2 straight back in. avoiding this waste in CO2 and potential loss in hop aroma is a good reason to try as long as it can be done without a loss in quality.