No chill in SS brewbucket

[Reedy]

Thinking of investing in a SS brewbucket & wondering if I could no-chill the wort in the bucket overnight, rather than a HDPE cube, without too many issues.

Anyone doing this already? Any issues around oxidation? It seems to have a fairly good seal from what I've read/watched on youtube.

 

[SBOB]

If you seal it, I wouldn't be surprised if you returned to a shiny fermenter which has been dented inwards

 

[Rodolphe01]

Yep. I have no chilled in urn and pots before. I'd put lid on when still very hot, wrap some cling film around lip of lid.

Dropped from urn straight into fermenter.

Edit: I posted this before I even knew what a brew bucket was... As above, if it forms a tight seal you will risk creating a vacuum that will possibly wreck your vessel. You also need to consider aerating the wort. I have no chilled in a plastic fermenter overnight and use a mash paddle in a drill to aerate... but these days I'd just no-chill in a cube.

 

[Reedy]

I had wondered about that, have read threads about kettles sealed with cling wrap overnight ending up that way.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

If you seal it, I wouldn't be surprised if you returned to a shiny fermenter which has been dented inwards

^^
That's what I would have thought.

Yep. I have no chilled in urn and pots before. I'd put lid on when still very hot, wrap some cling film around lip of lid.

Dropped from urn straight into fermenter.

I'm sure someone has posted photos of an urn dented inwards from doing exactly that.

 

[dr K]

Assuming the SS bucket has a hermetic seal a few back of an an envelope calcs tell no damage whatsoever.
The observed "crushing" of a plastic "cube" is (as we all know) just the mass of hotter wort with a higher volume cooling to a slightly lower volume.
A few people I know use a fairly radical method they call "chill", or in some extreme cases "fast chill".
Sorry.....

 

[Zorco]

If you seal it, I wouldn't be surprised if you returned to a shiny fermenter which has been dented inwards

 

[Bribie G]

Might try this in my Brewbucket next, shouldn't be any crushing if you put a pad of cotton wool in the airlock hole.

My try-out with a 15L batch in a 20L fermenter:

Blasting it with the cold output from the reverse cycle outside unit ... cool you *******

 

[Yob]

My thoughts exactly Bribie, stuff a kitten in the airlock and you'll be fine

 

[Feldon]

Assuming the SS bucket has a hermetic seal a few back of an an envelope calcs tell no damage whatsoever.
The observed "crushing" of a plastic "cube" is (as we all know) just the mass of hotter wort with a higher volume cooling to a slightly lower volume.

Yeah, but...

When no-chilling in a plastic cube brewers try to reduce, or entirely eliminate, the airspace above the wort. So its only the reduction in volume of the liquid wort that you have to worry about.

The reduction in volume of a cooling gas is a bigger issue.

Brewers like their fermentors (eg.BrewBucket) to have a sizable head space to accomadate foaming during fermatation.The gas (air) in this head space will be heated when hot wort is added and the vessel sealed. As the gas cools it has the potential to reduce in volume much more than liquid wort does, and this will be the cause of the vessel crushing inwards.


I'd suggrest using a inline biological filter which blocks 99.99% of microbes, like this one which is autoclavable ($25). You can use it to let outside air flow into the fermentor via this filter to equalise the internal pressure as the wort and air cools and contracts.



http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=873

 

[Weizguy]

Thinking of investing in a SS brewbucket & wondering if I could no-chill the wort in the bucket overnight, rather than a HDPE cube, without too many issues.

Anyone doing this already? Any issues around oxidation? It seems to have a fairly good seal from what I've read/watched on youtube.

I have no-chilled a few times in my Brew Bucket. I currently have about 20 litres of weizen no-chilled from Sunday night.
The relevant precautions I take include fitting the airlock, because I forgot that I have an inline biological filter, and filling with a minimal amount of Starsan (equivalent local product).
I clamped only 2 sides of the lid, but have previously just fitted it loose and draped a clean towel over the top and edges of the lid to trap most incoming dust and schmutz.

May not be the best way, but generally OK for me. Sacrilege? Maybe, but only to the purists. A few short years ago BIAB and no-chill were heresy.

*Edit: I feel that if you seal the vessel too well, there's a distinct possibility of gas in the vessel cooling to a smaller volume/pressure and pulling the sides in, and that's not covered by warranty.

 

[barls]

I have no-chilled a few times in my Brew Bucket. I currently have about 20 litres of weizen no-chilled from Sunday night.
The relevant precautions I take include fitting the airlock, because I forgot that I have an inline biological filter, and filling with a minimal amount of Starsan (equivalent local product).
I clamped only 2 sides of the lid, but have previously just fitted it loose and draped a clean towel over the top and edges of the lid to trap most incoming dust and schmutz.

May not be the best way, but generally OK for me. Sacrilege? Maybe, but only to the purists. A few short years ago BIAB and no-chill were heresy.

*Edit: I feel that if you seal the vessel too well, there's a distinct possibility of gas in the vessel cooling to a smaller volume/pressure and pulling the sides in, and that's not covered by warranty.

 

[Bribie G]

Removing all the headspace is the best practice when keeping the wort for pitching later in the week month or next year. However for pitching within hours - I just pitched that pictured wort this morning - a bit of airspace shouldn't hurt as I'm going to oxygenate and pitch fairly quickly.

Floating bugs in the environment?

Trillions. But transferring wort into fermenter either from cube or a coil or plate chiller is still going to expose the wort surface to air anyway until the yeast begins to krausen.

No chilling in the SS Brewbucket would probably be even stevens as only transferring wort once. The cruncher would be to oxygenate well and pitch a good lot of healthy yeast to rapidly crowd out the odd bug that's planning to snack on your wort.

I guess that most no chillers still rely on glugging from cube to FV to oxygenate the brew. With NC in FV you don't get that, which is where an oxy kit comes into its own.

 

[Weizguy]

I guess that most no chillers still rely on glugging from cube to FV to oxygenate the brew. With NC in FV you don't get that, which is where an oxy kit comes into its own.

With my NC beer, I have been aerating to a moussey/ foamy consistency at pitching with a drill powered stirrer (sanitised prior to aeration, of course). Have been doing so, since I got the paint stirrer. Seems to give great results.

 

[sp0rk]

With my NC beer, I have been aerating to a moussey/ foamy consistency at pitching with a drill powered stirrer (sanitised prior to aeration, of course). Have been doing so, since I got the paint stirrer. Seems to give great results.

I've done this with my last 2 batches and gotten much more vigorous fermentation and perceivably less off flavours than just pouring the cube from a height into the FV

 

[Yob]

Just a drop won't get anywhere near enough DO into solution..

Another Sanitised paint stirrer here

 

[nala]

I have no chilled for about nine years now...at the end of the boil I add my no-minute hops,whirlpool and place the lid of the Crown urn on top,no cling film,remove the insulation from around the urn,leave overnight to cool to pitching temperature,transfer to fermenter without any aeration,pitch the yeast and place into fermentation fridge with an airlock.
Although I have never had an infection, some experts will say there is still time yet!

 

[hotmelt]

I'd be tempted to attach a piece of hose to the valve to act as a sightglass then fill with wort with the valve open and maybe top up with boiled water.When cooled close valve and remove hose.

 

[Yob]

I have no chilled for about nine years now...at the end of the boil I add my no-minute hops,whirlpool and place the lid of the Crown urn on top,no cling film,remove the insulation from around the urn,leave overnight to cool to pitching temperature,transfer to fermenter without any aeration,pitch the yeast and place into fermentation fridge with an airlock.
Although I have never had an infection, some experts will say there is still time yet!

Not a fan of healthy yeast?

 

[Weizguy]

I have no-chilled a few times in my Brew Bucket. I currently have about 20 litres of weizen no-chilled from Sunday night.
The relevant precautions I take include fitting the airlock, because I forgot that I have an inline biological filter, and filling with a minimal amount of Starsan (equivalent local product).
I clamped only 2 sides of the lid, but have previously just fitted it loose and draped a clean towel over the top and edges of the lid to trap most incoming dust and schmutz.

May not be the best way, but generally OK for me. Sacrilege? Maybe, but only to the purists. A few short years ago BIAB and no-chill were heresy.

*Edit: I feel that if you seal the vessel too well, there's a distinct possibility of gas in the vessel cooling to a smaller volume/pressure and pulling the sides in, and that's not covered by warranty.

Looks like the towel and closed lid/ airlock was enough to keep the beer sanitary for 6 days. Pitched yeast and agitated with the sanitised paint stirrer/ drill for a couple of minutes. Beer was fermented out @ 20°C in 4 days.