Newbie equipment setup

[brewgasm]

I imagine if you are careful, adding a thermal well wouldn't be a problem. I think that you can buy the tank pretty cheap. Factory seconds will cosmetic flaws from the blow moulding process are cheap. Something like $15 each and they have hundreds of them sitting in a warehouse.

 

[Yuz]

Re thermowell on Fermentasaurus - I wouldn't mess with the main tank. Buy a spare collect bottle ($10) and modify that for the purpose.
You can also design a passage through the same collect bottle to oxygenate wort (this is my winter project).
In both setups you can always shut the valve if something goes wrong.

 

[Nickedoff]

I was thinking more like going through the pressure lid, like this :

http://www.overengineeredbrewing.com/tag/fermentasaurus/

Just wondering if anyone else had done it successfully.

 

[DrewCarey82]

Best investments I've made to ensure I enjoy the process I'd say is temp control and kegs. Manual temp control can be stressful and bottling can be a real grind. Itndoes require a couple of fridges to suite or, alternatively, a couple of mini kegs you can refill from a 19L corney and dispense thought a party tap and a mini reg. That would probably be regular fridge friendly for dispensing at least.

If I were to start again I'd probably do things differently. Skip kits and go to full volume extract to start with. Would let you buy an urn or RB off the bat and get in to all grain in a couple of stages. Then use residual money for temp control fridge using 25L hdpe cubes for fermentation with a blow off tube. But that's based more on where my own process has moved to, so ymmv.

Bottlings a bitch, sadly some of us don't have room for a kegged fridge, but can easily store bottles under the house and such.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Actually I don't mind the bottling, just the preparation beforehand, it is quite relaxing filling the bottles. With the bottles its best to try to keep them under 20 degrees C

 

[brewgasm]

Re thermowell on Fermentasaurus - I wouldn't mess with the main tank. Buy a spare collect bottle ($10) and modify that for the purpose.
You can also design a passage through the same collect bottle to oxygenate wort (this is my winter project).
In both setups you can always shut the valve if something goes wrong.

This is a pretty good idea. How important is it that the probe is about mid level of the fv? On a plastic FV I would be inclined to tape the probe to the outside wall of the tank and cover it with a piece of poly styrene and duct tape

 

[brewgasm]

I was thinking more like going through the pressure lid, like this :

http://www.overengineeredbrewing.com/tag/fermentasaurus/

Just wondering if anyone else had done it successfully.

That would be the ideal option and the simplest