BeerBorg

Not really a deal/steal but wasnt sure where to put this:

Chronical 7 Gal Pre-Sale
Friday, April 11th
1 pm Pacific Standard Time

Can order up to 2.

I am really, really not sure what side of the fence to jump on this. Although I have been reading, any feedback for those who own this would be really appreciated. SWMBO more or less gave me permission although I cant remember why and I am sure she wont either if and when it shows up.

I have the stout conical...I don't know why SSbrewing keeps misspelling "conical". Anyway I have been going back and forth on buying one of these. The price is good with the free shipping. They are all tri clamps which is nice. But it would be a good idea to upgrade to butterfly clamps after you buy it. Those save a lot of hassle at cleaning time. The upgrade costed me $100. I like the way the lids are held on the SS ones better than the setup on my stout. I also like that these are actually pressure tested to 5lbs. Downsides I see are that I don't like the thermowell set up as well on the SS models. Mine has an actually 1.5 inch triclamp fitting for my thermowell. Which I am planning on using for a perlic type faucet for taking samples instead of having my thermometer in there. Theirs appears to have some kind of little hole. Their articulating racking arm is a nice thought. But in my experience with my conical it wouldn't do any good to point the thing down because I would be picking up too much trub. The SSBrewtech conical is fixed onto it's legs where I lift my conical out of it's stand which is nice for cleaning but a little cumbersome getting it perfectly straight up and down when I am getting ready to transfer my wort to it. I don't know how perfect it has to be but it is part of the decor in my mancave so I am particular.

Truthfully I can taste a difference in my beer that comes out of the conical. I don't know if it is the stainless steel over plastic or if it is being able to drop the trub out from under the beer as soon as primary fermentation is over. Or a combination of both. But that really is a nice feature. It is also really nice to be able to push my beer out with CO2 which limits oxygen exposure significantly during the racking process. I think a conical is well worth the purchase. As I said I am thinking about a second one.

Mine is similar to this one http://conical-fermenter.com/12-Gallon- ... owell.html but mine is a 10 gallon which was about $75 cheaper. They didn't have 10 gallon ones on the website when I bought mine so they may still have 10 gallon ones now. You could write him and ask. For $50 they will upgrade to butterfly valves, well worth the investment, I also spent an extra $10 and bought an extra barbed fitting and tri clamp which I use as a blow off tube instead of using an air lock. That is also what I attach my gas hose to when pushing beer out with CO2.

SSBrewtech, Stout, and Blichman conicals are all manufactured in China. The only American made conical you can buy is http://brewhemoth.com/tri-clover-brewhemoth but those are rather high dollar. Though they do have some nice features. To me they look like they would be a bitch to clean.

These are some things to look at before you purchase. If you have a facebook stout can be reached here https://www.facebook.com/stouttanksandkettles it wouldn't hurt to ask about the 10 gallon conical to compare prices. I have given you the pros and cons to each hopefully in an unbiased subjective manner so you can go into this with stuff I didn't know or think about before I bought mine.

Their Brew Bucket, SS Brewing that is, looks a little less cumbersome, it is smaller dimensionally but same capacity for $170.00 cheaper. From what I can see it just doesn't have a valve for dumping the trub.

I have (and love) the SS Brew Bucket but you're right, the valve is not for dumping but, it's smaller than it looks, is easier to clean and retains none of the odors of previous beers....not that it's been a problem for me.
I'm 2 brews in so I really need more time to seriously critique it but when I got it, it was only $175 so I think I did well.

Just a quick sidenote B-L, How do you get the (+ MY BREWS) I would like to unclutter my signature.

Dawg, take a look here:viewtopic.php?f=8&t=155
If you still have questions, just let me know.

2 Thumbs up B-L! Thanks