Recent content by Bad DNA

There's a pressure gauge on the TAP?

Fermonsters are great with that wide-mouth. But read the directions -- pouring hot wort into it will get you above the Tg of PET, so it'll melt and flow like Barbie under a magnifying glass on a hot summer day. Don't tell me you've never done THAT to your sister's toys growing up...

I'm really pleasantly surprised at their customer service. It's really been outstanding. I have a Jurassic Ale in process now -- hope to be at first pint Friday.

Are they ammonia frigs that use propane as the heat source (like many RV frigs)?

How responsive were they to the warranty issue? Are you back to brewing batches? I really want to love this system, but I have some operator-error kinks to work out first.

The 'sciencey' answer is yes, but the answer here is vastly more nuanced. Methanol has a lower boiling point than ethanol, and ethanol lower than water. But it's a whole lot more complicated and I don't think it is a significant effect in your case. I'm sure you looked up the boiling point...

I'm playing with a BeerMKR -- effectively the same kind of device. Peltier plates heat for pasturization and cool for fermenting. It uses a bag/bladder for the wort to avoid having liquids directly against the plates. Thermal xfer is slower for Peltier plates than a fluid-cycled system, so...

Kudos to Joe at BeerMKR - helped me recover from a dead valve situation, found some spare white valves to sell to me while they are out-of-stock (supply chain pain is very real), and has been very supportive. This little company really is trying. For boutique beer devices, I still like this...

Bummed to have a batch fail from a siezed gray valve. Valve for output got stuck, never opened fully. Stupid me -- didn't test for gravity flow before pressurizing. There is no elegant way to depressurize the system if the field tap can't do it. Lost much of the beer. Discovered the gray...

There's that, too. :)

Been there, done that. Used a glass 6 gallon carboy for decades. Would pour hot wort into it via funnel directly from the brewpot many times (>80 batches). One time I was getting ready to pour with my pre-teen daughter holding the funnel for me. After most of the brewpot was in it (~3...

Big fan of big sinks in a garage. I built a 2+ car 'garage' for my wife's soap-making hobby a few decades back. As I was remodeling a bathroom, I repurposed a pulled bathtub to be her work sink. Built a frame for it so it's belly-high, plumbed it in -- has been fantastic for washing dogs...

Your description is spot on for my first leak :) The second one, 'though, was a creased area a few millimeters long at the base of the bag's female flange. The drips came from that tiny tear. So -- finesse. Not my strongest suit but I'm learning.

Just started a Chubby Stout. I gravitate to the darker side of the force when drinking. Last batch of something lighter ended in near disaster. Transferring the beer bladder to the BeerTap, a leak started where one of the white valve females welded to the bag began to leak at its seam...

My operation is much smaller -- both carboy and BeerMKR brewing. Needed something to contain a full leak from the BeerMKR, ~7L of fluid. Found this online: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Funnel-King-Wirthco-40092-Funnel-King-Drip-and-Spill-Containment-Tray/168639367 and it works great. (This...