SS Brew Tech FTSS Temperature Control

[BigDanny84]

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/collections/ftss/products/ftss-temp-control-for-7-gallon-bucket-chronical
I am just wondering does anyone have one of these and how do you find it?

I am tempted to buy an SS fermenter bucket along with one of these. My current living situation doesn't really allow for me to get a fridge and convert it and my future living situation is likely to be the same, so I can kind of justify it

I was also thinking that it is better to have fermentation control than splashing the cash on a Grainfather. Any thoughts?

Cheers

BTW the malt miller sells these this side of the atlantic.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Better to have fermentation control. I don't and I miss it.

[Bubbles]

I was also thinking that it is better to have fermentation control than splashing the cash on a Grainfather. Any thoughts?

That depends, are you currently brewing all-grain?

[pob]

Fermentation control is by far the most important, 2nd real bit of equipment, everyone needs to buy. With it you can start to produce v good beer, whether kit, extract or all grain.

Presuming, you've bought a bottle of Starsan or similar & have a very good sanitation regime and, are pitching the yeast at the correct temp (buy a good) thermometer into the wort; 20°C means 20°C, not "22°C  sure, it'll be fine". 2°C degrees make a huge difference at pitching stage (& for the first 48 hrs of fermentation).

A 2nd hand fridge with a 60w tube heater & a STC1000 (or BrewPi) should cost well under €100. This will do more for your beer than nearly anything else for the money. It can be used for any method of brewing & cider, mead or wine making.

@BigDanny: if space is issue you could also use the fridge as a kegerator when ferment is finished? Could you get a 2nd hand fridge/freezer, adapt the fridges thermostat for brewing with STC (orBrewPi) and use freezer for food for the house, then revert back to extra fridge space when not fermenting? Move to bigger house (Grabbing at straws here)

[BigDanny84]

Thanks guys. Ya I am brewing all grain, getting some decent results but I'm guessing that fermentation could make these even better. Currently I leave the fermentation bucket in a place with a pretty constant temperature but it is bound to fluctuate at times.

The small converted fridge is def the cheapest option and I hadn't thought about doubling it up as a kegerator. My issue is that I'm backing living at home and my mother hates the smell from brewing and another fridge could be the last straw. Also when I move out it'll be likely that I'll be living in a flat.

If I do go with SS set up I guess it is equipment that will hold its value well enough.

[molc]

Well SS holds it a value ish, but people still want a chunky discount from New before parting with their cash. Also even heavily discounted, it's expensive equipment that won't have as many buyers.

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

My concern would be that the cooling coil looks like it could be difficult enough to clean, and meticulous hygiene is essential for everything in the fermenter. I'd like to be able to get a brush in between the coils to ensure complete removal of any stuck on foam etc. and I don't know if this would be possible
Another observation regarding Cylindro Conicals in general, is that if you intend to reuse/repitch the yeast cone, some form of cooling on the cone should be considered, the centre of the cone of yeast can get quite warm and thereby kill off a lot of cells.

[BigDanny84]

Thanks for ye're thoughts guys. I must investigate how easy that coil is to clean.

[Will_D]

Note that they say "You suppy the chill"

All they are selling is a coil of ss pipe, a pump, and a controller and an insulating jacket.

If you have a source of chill, just wrap say 25 m of pvc tubing filled with water around the FV, lag it, have another coil of it in a fridge and fit a solar pump and stc! Job done

[Dr Horrible]

PVC tubing is pretty much useless for heat transfer,  you need SS directly in contact with the wort to get good control.  I use a SS coil that I had made up and it works really well.  It's got a decent surface finish so is very easy to clean. A pump,  STC and a electric coolbox to chill the cooling water (with a few frozen bottles to start off) and you've got an excellent cooling system.

[bier]

Unless you are doing a lot of lager/pilsner styles.. Most fermentation setups need heat in Ireland instead of chill.

[Leann ull]

my "redneck" 3 Carboy ale chamber in the shed is just an insulated chamber with a computer,  fan tube heater and an stc1000, it's surprisingly accurate and I have it set to +\~ 0.5 unlike the fridge which is 1 degree and a 10 Min delay for the preservation of the compressor,   as it's well insulated and fan transfers heat quickly

[Dr Horrible]

Unless you are doing a lot of lager/pilsner styles.. Most fermentation setups need heat in Ireland instead of chill.

Have to disagree with this.  While cooling here might not be as important as in countries that actually get a summer, the heat generated by the yeast during the growth phase will lead to a rise in temp of a couple of degrees (more in higher OG beers) which will result in a very different beer between a batch with cooling to compensate for this and one that doesn't.

[Will_D]

PVC tubing is pretty much useless for heat transfer, 

Then don't tell that to the big boys who use a similar tubing to cool the beer lines, a.k.a. Pythons!

[Dr Horrible]

I'm pretty sure they use the PVC tubing for insulation and switch to copper/SS for the actual cooling section.
I tried to cool a batch with tubing way back when before I got the SS cooler and it was very inefficient. I think it took maybe an hour of pumping cold water through to get the batch to drop half a degree where the SS coil does the same job in a minute or two.