StMarcos
Well-Known Member
There's a couple of things that I've never liked about this vessel and was considering selling it and getting a glacier tanks 1/2bbl or the like. Couldn't quite justify the funds, so I took another route and altered the brewhemoth to make it better suit my preferences.
The rack port is too low and the cone angle not steep enough. I've never liked rotating racking elbows. You tilt 'till you see yeast pickup and I consider that too late. If you dump the yeast from the brewhemoth a lot, and clear the racking line, you will still transfer way too much yeast to the keg. What happens is that as the level of beer fall during transfer, yeast that is stuck to the walls, and cone especially, becomes dislodged and subsequently sucked into the racking port. I solved the problem by basically making a static racking pipe that extends a few inches up into the bottom of the cone. When the beer is finished and the pipe cleared, there is no way for more yeast to be pulled into the line. I have the length set to be well above the larges amount of trub I expect to be in there. The tube is just a bit smaller than the id of the racking TC, and a very short section of silicone hose serves as a seal. Sorry no pictures of this.
I never harvest yeast anymore - it's just not worth the savings for me. I like to pick a new yeast each go, so the conical part of the vessel doesn't give me any benefit. I like the size, that it's stainless, has TC fittings, and can hold pressure.
I can't fit my arm inside to clean. CIP has worked well enough over the years, but I actually think manual cleaning is easier and faster. There's nothing like a smidge of elbow grease with a scrubber and PBW. With the CIP I'd have to drag out the sump pump and also make sure the pump and line are totally clean each use. So, I cut off the top and had a 10'' TC welded on. I can now easily reach in for cleaning. I might even consider polishing some of the interior welds that are likely not 4D sanitary or whatever the term is. What an upgrade. It's like having a whole new conical. The 10'' plate is actually a reducer to 4'', and another reducer brings things down to 1.5''. Here's a couple of pics moments before filling with 18gal of oatmeal stout. Don't worry - I did remember the shut the dump valve.....
The rack port is too low and the cone angle not steep enough. I've never liked rotating racking elbows. You tilt 'till you see yeast pickup and I consider that too late. If you dump the yeast from the brewhemoth a lot, and clear the racking line, you will still transfer way too much yeast to the keg. What happens is that as the level of beer fall during transfer, yeast that is stuck to the walls, and cone especially, becomes dislodged and subsequently sucked into the racking port. I solved the problem by basically making a static racking pipe that extends a few inches up into the bottom of the cone. When the beer is finished and the pipe cleared, there is no way for more yeast to be pulled into the line. I have the length set to be well above the larges amount of trub I expect to be in there. The tube is just a bit smaller than the id of the racking TC, and a very short section of silicone hose serves as a seal. Sorry no pictures of this.
I never harvest yeast anymore - it's just not worth the savings for me. I like to pick a new yeast each go, so the conical part of the vessel doesn't give me any benefit. I like the size, that it's stainless, has TC fittings, and can hold pressure.
I can't fit my arm inside to clean. CIP has worked well enough over the years, but I actually think manual cleaning is easier and faster. There's nothing like a smidge of elbow grease with a scrubber and PBW. With the CIP I'd have to drag out the sump pump and also make sure the pump and line are totally clean each use. So, I cut off the top and had a 10'' TC welded on. I can now easily reach in for cleaning. I might even consider polishing some of the interior welds that are likely not 4D sanitary or whatever the term is. What an upgrade. It's like having a whole new conical. The 10'' plate is actually a reducer to 4'', and another reducer brings things down to 1.5''. Here's a couple of pics moments before filling with 18gal of oatmeal stout. Don't worry - I did remember the shut the dump valve.....