No Frills low cost pressure fermenting

[CKK]

I like the look of these
i use 3 KK juniors and luv them. Only issue I've had is the bottoms coming off after a few brews. Nothing a decent glue doesn't fix.

 

[CKK]

They should not come off. Let do some checking with our team

 

[mynameisrodney]

Not on such a low cost unit. A few dollars more gets you the snubby for which you can get the central Thermowell

Is there space on the lid to add one though? Doesn't need to be included in the price.

 

[CKK]

Is there space on the lid to add one though? Doesn't need to be included in the price.

Space is tight but will check for you tomorrow.

 

[clickeral]

Not on such a low cost unit. A few dollars more gets you the snubby for which you can get the central Thermowell

I've got two snub noses, are the thermowell options out now? I was also thinking the reduced height would be a benefit on these to the snubnose

 

[CKK]

I've got two snub noses, are the thermowell options out now? I was also thinking the reduced height would be a benefit on these to the snubnose

The Thermowells for the snub nose are in at the end of this month.

For the Juniors and Chubbies there is a drill spot provided where you can add a Thermowell.

 

[mynameisrodney]

Perfect, thanks for that.

 

[CKK]

Perfect, thanks for that.

You are welcome. I am currently looking to see if we can make a Thermowell which would fit in that available space but it will take a while.

 

[clickeral]

The Thermowells for the snub nose are in at the end of this month.

For the Juniors and Chubbies there is a drill spot provided where you can add a Thermowell.

Excellent, will get two when they come in then

 

[kadmium]

Any idea how much the G3 lids will cost? Just bought a snub nose, guten, kegerator and other goodies. Was shattered it didn't have the thermowell.

So any expected price on upgrade lid? Don't even need the posts or PRV or ball. Would be happy with just the drilled lid and thermowell but if I can only get a full lid then that's what I'll have to do

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I got laid off just before stage 4 and as I won't be able to afford to buy any beer for 6 weeks or more now would be a good time to try pressure fermenting...
So I ordered the two Fermenter King Junior for $99.00, a spunding valve and SS ball lock (they didn't have plastic in stock.) The fun begins!
I assembled the first fermenter with the spunding valve, and pressurised it. I then pulled the spunding valve apart, added teflon tape and some lube to the poppet and pumped it up again. It was still slowly leaking so I tried again and left it on the table... :'( Of course it fell off and with it being top heavy snapped the gas post off the keg! I assembled the other keg and while it was still leaking, it was too slow to find, so I thought I'd give it a go (I had started the beer anyway.) The next day the yeast had fired up great guns, but no pressure at all on the gauge. I removed the valve and took it inside to play with on my picnic keg. Eventually I found it was leaking in the ball lock fitting, while there is a little o-ring inside the cap, I had to add a bunch of teflon tape to get it to seal.
The beer is now well along the way and is no longer producing enough gas to maintain pressure, there must still be a very slight leak. I will probably pull it off and just periodically refit it to check pressure at this stage. I'm thinking of pressurising the mini-keg and putting the whole thing in the laundry trough like we used to find punctures in bicycle tyres?
The upside to all this is I should have drinkable beer in a couple of days, and I have half a sack of malt and plenty of hops.

Did you resolve the leak Quokka?

 

[CKK]

Any idea how much the G3 lids will cost? Just bought a snub nose, guten, kegerator and other goodies. Was shattered it didn't have the thermowell.

So any expected price on upgrade lid? Don't even need the posts or PRV or ball. Would be happy with just the drilled lid and thermowell but if I can only get a full lid then that's what I'll have to do

 

[CKK]

PM me and I will arrange to get this for you at a minimal charge. Will take back your other lids.

 

[CKK]

Any idea how much the G3 lids will cost? Just bought a snub nose, guten, kegerator and other goodies. Was shattered it didn't have the thermowell.

So any expected price on upgrade lid? Don't even need the posts or PRV or ball. Would be happy with just the drilled lid and thermowell but if I can only get a full lid then that's what I'll have to do

Think I messed up the reply. Please PM me with details and I will resolve this for you in most inexpensive way for you.

 

[Insidejobbrewingco]

I purchased the G3 Fermenter King last month. Looked like a solid unit and I liked the idea of the thermowell/plunger instead of the butterfly valve.

I put down the first beer on it and had an issue with the liquid post leaking, I put it down to post not threading onto the lid properly. The instructions for this unit are also very vague and show plastic posts instead of stainless posts. After two weeks of emailing, calling and then following up on said email, Keg King then sent me a fresh lid, they attached all of the posts and the dip tube to the lid for me, which was nice.

Then i decided to put down a brew with the new lid. I was pressure fermenting an ale at 8 PSI and it was on day 6, so the ferment was pretty much finished. The liquid post started leaking overnight and I lost about 4L of beer all over my brew area and had to keg my beer prematurely.

While kegging the beer I found that liquid was leaking out from bottom of the liquid post that keg king had already installed for me. I did pressure test the vessel before the second brew and it was fine.

All in all, I'm not really happy with the build quality of the G3 Fermenter king, specifically the stainless posts threading onto what seems like plastic threads that cannot handle it.

 

[CKK]

I purchased the G3 Fermenter King last month. Looked like a solid unit and I liked the idea of the thermowell/plunger instead of the butterfly valve.

I put down the first beer on it and had an issue with the liquid post leaking, I put it down to post not threading onto the lid properly. The instructions for this unit are also very vague and show plastic posts instead of stainless posts. After two weeks of emailing, calling and then following up on said email, Keg King then sent me a fresh lid, they attached all of the posts and the dip tube to the lid for me, which was nice.

Then i decided to put down a brew with the new lid. I was pressure fermenting an ale at 8 PSI and it was on day 6, so the ferment was pretty much finished. The liquid post started leaking overnight and I lost about 4L of beer all over my brew area and had to keg my beer prematurely.

While kegging the beer I found that liquid was leaking out from bottom of the liquid post that keg king had already installed for me. I did pressure test the vessel before the second brew and it was fine.

All in all, I'm not really happy with the build quality of the G3 Fermenter king, specifically the stainless posts threading onto what seems like plastic threads that cannot handle it.

Can you PM me with this? I am keen to get our guys to have a close look at this and of course we will organise a replacement asap. We will get to the bottom of this and whilst the lockdown will slow us a bit I will make sure you get looked after.

 

[Insidejobbrewingco]

Can you PM me with this? I am keen to get our guys to have a close look at this and of course we will organise a replacement asap. We will get to the bottom of this and whilst the lockdown will slow us a bit I will make sure you get looked after.

PM sent, hopefully we can get this sorted!

 

[Heath72]

They should not come off. Let do some checking with our team

Sounds good

 

[Quokka42]

Did you resolve the leak Quokka?

I am not 100% confident in the fermenter at the moment. I can put the spunding valve on my picnic keg and it will hold 10psi for at least 12 hours, but I had a gas leak overnight on the fermenter in the fridge and until I get a gas bottle in there I can't be sure. I think I will transfer the beer out, disassemble, clean and lube everything, then put it on an empty pressure/leak test.

I didn't have a good transfer tube until today. I plain can't find my old one, and the new one I ordered with the bulkhead fitting whilst travelling from one suburb to the next has so far made it to Sydney! I ordered from they who shall not be named and picked it up last night, made up a new transfer tube and ground the nut down on the bulkhead fitting to repair the first fermenter - that is now on a pressure/leak test.

I think they are going to be good value for money considering you get all the pressure kit with them, but you have to remember you get what you pay for. When I work out spunding for the second I will be able to fit two fermenters in the fridge producing beer at a rate that suits my boiler and kegs, an extra litre of CO2 in the top of the keg - pfft!

For some reason this did not post. The pressure kept dropping, not much but still dropped about 1psi over 24 hours from a 20l vessel. I suspect it is the seal of the posts against the plastic of the lid. It's hard to clean up plastic, so I will try an o-ring or washer with grease. Another KK product that wasn't ready for the market, I'm afraid.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Usually it is the posts where a leak is located, as was mentioned before, the O rings have to be seated, also some have put the O rings on the wrong side between the lid and the posts.
When pressure testing fill at least 3/4 full with water, not only saving on gas but also the reduces the fluctuation of the pressure due to temperature.