No Chill In A Fermenter

[Tim F]

Don't know if if its really warranted but I hate using taps in fermenters, they seem like such a hard part to keep properly sanitary. I pump out of the FV with a peristaltic pump and racking cane which I have pumped sanitiser through.

 

[stux]

The nice thing with the willow jerrys is they hold 23/24L once you've stretched them a bit, so if you put 20/21 L in and squash the air out, when you open the seal you'll end up with about 3L headspace

 

[Tim F]

How do you aerate if you ferment in the cube, just let air in and shake? I might have to give it a go some time.

 

[manticle]

Untwist lid, let air in, tighten lid, shake like there's no tomorrow.

Like Felten, I drill out the tap bung and simply use the jerry as per a normal fermenter.

I break my taps apart each brew, clean and sanitise. I make sure the thread is clean and sanitised too.

 

[Mikedub]

I've done the same. drilled the bung, though tricky to get a clean cut drilling, the plastic flared out and looked like it could harbor some nasties, it bothered me enough to go in through the top and cut it back with a Stanley on an extension,
paranoid? - probably

I've tried to take the taps apart, struggled for a while before thinking they weren't suppose to, might have another crack

 

[manticle]

There's a pic thread somewhere on this forum on how to break apart standard fermenter taps but basically put a piece of wooden dowel or the end of a wooden spoon in at the entry end (that connects to the bung) and hold it vertically. Bang it sharply against the ground or other hard surface. It should come apart easily.

I've had no trouble drilling a hole in the bung - I can usually clear the plastic out quite easily.

 

[Mikedub]

cheers Manticle, just tried it, worked a treat,
re: the drilling the Bung, yeah I probably should stop buying my drill bits from Aldi, I'm a fan of the place but sometimes get lured into their uncharted waters,

 

[pcmfisher]

Re the taps,
The main thing I was concerned about is the tap popping out when you stick the hot wort in making the thread soft.
Haven't I heard of this happening?

 

[felten]

It's definitely liable to come out if you knock it or bump into it, you just have to be very careful when moving it around.

 

[ShredMaster]

The tap should be fine, I have a standard Bunnings white "fermenter tap" on my kettle-bucket, works fine boiling for an hour or so and hasn't popped off, yet.

As Felton said, just be really careful not to knock it or bump it.

 

[manticle]

Bumping a tap at any time can result in it leaking. I have never had a cube tap pop out simply from hot wort though. If there is a risk, my experience suggests it's overstated.

 

[pk.sax]

those FWK kit cubes (17L) are amongst the toughest I've seen yet. I had a tap on mine an I NC'd in it w/out any problems.

I hav an issue with the willow cubes not sealing properly so I get the squarish jerry cans. I'll use the 1 willow can I've got to ferment something when the fermenter is tied up, never NCing in it again though.

 

[Bats]

I have no chilled in the fermenter with no problems.
I also have a spare fire extinguisher and give the fermenter a good shot of CO2 first to displace air and as the fermenter fills up it is under the blanket of CO2.No worries.
My theory anyway,seems to work.
Last lot I strained through 40 micron filter paper hot.Just have to see how it turns out.

A good shot of Co2 in the cube prior to transferring your hot wort?

I'm guessing this works as Co2 is heavier than air? I was never good at science so someone may like to help here.

Also, how much Co2 at a minimum e.g pressure, amount of time to purge.

I find that my willow cubes are heard to squeeze the air out so may try the co2 option.

 

[JDW81]

I find that my willow cubes are heard to squeeze the air out so may try the co2 option.

Really? What size cubes and what size batches do you put in them? I use willow jerries and have no trouble getting the air out, mind you I do fill them full as a fat woman's shoe.

 

[Bats]

Really? What size cubes and what size batches do you put in them? I use willow jerries and have no trouble getting the air out, mind you I do fill them full as a fat woman's shoe.

I have 20L and 25L cubes and usually brew about 22L at a time.

When I use liquid yeasts I use the first 5L or so when transferring to the cube for a starter which obviously means less in the cube. I have been able to squeeze the majority of air out in the past however I am worried about distorting the cubes too much and ruining the integrity of the cube seals. My brew days are too long only for a cube to burst on me.

 

[Weizguy]

I recently brewed a 19 litre batch of Weyermann Maibock extract bock (full boil)

I decanted directly from the keggle into the iodophor-sanitised fermentor, and sealed the lid with a minimal amount of iodphor in the airlock, and chilled I the sink overnight. Pitched the wort about 6 days later, when I had the chance to rack the previous wort off the yeast cake.

No probs, no growth on top, and no off-aroma in the wort.

 

[Jens-Kristian]

I almost always leave it to cool down in the fermenter and I've never had a problem. I reckon the temperature of the wort in the fermenter takes pretty good care of any nasties in the first place and I always wash out the fermenter with boiling water before that stage, too. I pitch next morning, so there's very little risk of infection doing it this way. I have a fermenter lid where I've plugged the airlock hole with an O-ring and a bolt through it.

As for taps, I use the garden hose with attachment and rinse the crap out of it with good pressure from the outside nozzle. Then before brewing I run boiling water through it. If it looks particularly bad, I take it out of the fermenter and pop it into a pot of boiling water for a few minutes.

Boiling water and a brush is the only sanitation I use and I just use it all over. I've never had an infection.

 

[syl]

I did this last night because I had no cubes - will pitch when I get home from work!

 

[Weizguy]

Update for a brew I made yesterday in a 50 litre SS oil fusti, via my usual fermentor no-chill method.

Cleaned and sanitised the fusti before racking into the vessel. Wort had cooled a bit while I was cleaning the fermentor, and was 80° before I drained the wort via sanitised silicone hose into it.
Transferred about 44 litres of hot wort, so there was little head space.
I screwed the lid on, just a tiny bit loose, and covered the top with a clean towel to minimise dust and bugs being drawn in under the lid as the wort cools.
Tonight I lifted the fermentor onto a keggle for the photo shot.

 

[Wall]

I did this a fortnight ago for a second runnings beer off of a RIS.
The cube it was going to had a smell I really didn't like when I went to sanitise it so dumped the cube hops in a sanitised fermenter filled her up and pitched yeast the next day.
Seems to be happy as Larry, will be getting kegged this week.

Have you changed anything to no chill this way rather than use a cube Les?
I'm thinking if this one comes out alright I might do this every time I plan to pitch the next day anyway.
Often No Chill to cube is just a way to get in a shorter brew day for me.