New Diy Coopers Kit

[JestersDarts]

I'm actually a bit confused by your post. You suggest that coopers have put a lot of thought into this new fermenter then go onto detail how the old fermenter was superior and how the new one has so many disadvantages. :huh:

It is a bit ambiguous, but i think that sunyjim wasn't slagging the new fermenter, but speculating on its possible new features, while taking into account all the pros/cons of previous designs.

 

[joshuahardie]

Maybe the new bucket design is actually a plastic conical..


Nah.. dreamin

 

[argon]

From what i can make out it looks like a bucket with another half upside down bucket wedged in the top... if that makes sense.

Getting rid of the airlock might halve the traffic in AHB too h34r:

 

[bill_gill85]

Could it be that the fermenter is a two piece airlock, with the main fermentor bowl having a double rim to fill with water & the lid is an inverted bowl placed between the two rims?

 

[felten]

water filled rim would be a bit of a bug trap wouldnt it

 

[bill_gill85]

water filled rim would be a bit of a bug trap wouldnt it

It could be... I wouldn't have thought so if its designed properly. I thought I'd seen this design incorporated into a stainless conical.



If it works its a very smart design, no lid o-ring or airlock grommet for nasties to hide in. I'm not about to jump ship though, I like my tall narrow plastic drum fermenter. Next fermenter for me will hopefully be stainless.

 

[ekul]

I got a stainless steel fermenter that has a lid that is an airlock, the lid fits into a double rim and the rim is filled with sanitiser/water. I don't think it has any advantages over a traditional airlock to be honest.
However, having this kind of setup would negate all the 'is my airlock bubbling' as its impossible to not get a good seal.

I've never used the stainless fermenter as a fermenter, i've used it for biab but at 67L its a sqidge too small.

 

[peas_and_corn]

So if this is the case, will we have 'why isn't my lid bubbling?' threads?

 

[ekul]

No we will get heaps of "I poured hot wort into my fermenter and when it contracted it pulled a heap of sanitiser into it, is it alright?" instead.

 

[InCider]

Yeah I thought I saw you 'hangin' out' on the street ... corner :lol:

You look good in your biker outfit.

Thanks Shed. I hope it matches with my new Coopers "Leather Man" perpetually bubbling airlock.

 

[stux]

I think these are be a great idea.. I dont think there is anyone who has been brewing for a while that hasnt dropped (or had someone drop) their hydrometer...

I would certainly buy one next time mine gets dropped...

Reminds me of the hackey sack experience I had with my latest hydrometer the other day...

made the baby cry

didn't break it tho

the hydrometer that is...

baby was in my arm...

plastic hydrometer = good

 

[stux]

However, having this kind of setup would negate all the 'is my airlock bubbling' as its impossible to not get a good seal.

Which'd be why they've invented an unbreakable hydrometer...

so new coopers diy beer will be fully fermented... maybe they're going to suggest "ferment until its done for diy beer" as opposed to homebrew

Don't tell the newbies about bubbling airlocks and tell them only about hydrometers... and you get better beer

Better Beer made with Better Ingredients... it can only be good...

and if there is a water bath at the bottom... whcih helps cool the beer... that can only be good too.

 

[MHB]

Ok I admit to being just a touch surprised, maybe flummoxed not to mention bemused.
http
://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails...p;locale=en_EP
MHB

 

[MarkBastard]

Guess you can't use heat belts then :-/

 

[MeLoveBeer]

Guess you can't use heat belts then :-/

Nor ice blocks to keep the temp down or any other means of heating or cooling... (even a fermenting fridge would mean a minor difference in temp between the top and bottom)

Interesting concept, but not really practical.

 

[bum]

So...instead of "my airlock isn't bubbling" we're going to get "my usb cable won't plug into my fermenter"? :huh:

In further aspects of the present invention, a computer readable medium and computer program element for directing a programmable device to perform the steps of the above method are also provided.

 

[MeLoveBeer]

Scratch my last comment... sometimes it pays to keep reading before posting.

The apparatus may optionally also include a temperature control means (not shown) to allow for some degree of heating or cooling of the brew.

 

[KGB]

Why can't you use heat control? According to the link: "if the vessel is kept at a constant room temperature, stratification may not occur, and the present invention may not identify end of fermentation as reliably as might be desired. Therefore, if the ambient temperature is close to the brew temperature (e.g. within 3 K), a technique referred to herein as "active probing" is used in this embodiment to create heat flow, and accordingly create stratification if fermentation has finished."

So you can use heat control but will need a 3 degree difference between ambient and fermenter temp. If this is not the case then you can use their "active probing" technique which is basically heating for 15min to create the temp difference then the stratification should occur.

In any case, I'm not sure how any of this is easier for the n00bie than the "2 stable readings over 24hrs" method. Plastic hydrometer seems good although I assume it would be more sensitive to variations from the calibration temperature.

My kit came with the VHS cassette, it was on special and I think I may have got one of the last batches before the DVD version came supplied. It took me a while to find someone with a VCR so I could watch it!

 

[goomboogo]

Well, I can just go and throw my new plastic hydrometer. Won't be needing that anymore.

 

[SunyJim]

Just a newbie brewer and a Coopers fan so far, not a member of the company. Been reading the forum for a few months, thought I would sign on and share my opinion.
I'm in Canada, and everybody up here is using either glass carboys or cheap plastic pails, what are they using to brew beer where you are then if not glass. I did a lot of research before I bought my gear, and was quite impressed with the original fermenter design. Now I've only done 4 batches of beer so far, but I'm still happy with the decision and other than the threading on the spigot the design is better than my local home brew shop alternatives.

I'll ask for forgiveness for my cynicism too, but a first post 20 minutes after joining the forum, to discuss this matter with such high praise? h34r: Suspicious is all.

I would think it's a minority of brewers using wine-making equipment in lieu of brewing equipment. Glass carboys are still a bit rare.

On the matter of the new fermenter, I would love to think that the bucket is built in two pieces with a gap for inserting cold water or ice to bring the ferment temperature down to something that will actually make good flavours in the beer.

On an entirely different matter, completely unrelated, absolutely tangential, I think that if the marketing folks at Coopers are interested in our opinions, they should sign up as 'CoopersMarketing' and, I dunno - ask us.