Is there anybody out there who's got "that" conical?

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isac777

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How bout these ebay conicals? They are always on there and always the same pic. good looking conical behind cardboard boxes, 7.1 gallon and I seen them for as little as 225. Are these like the "postcards" they hand out in vegas with "10's" on them and I open my door and get a "2"?

If you dunno what I'm talking bout I'll post a link.......to the conical
 
I've been curious also. It's hard to tell from the pics. I wonder how is the lid sealed?
 
I would be kind of curious myself. And the guy is only 30 minutes from me. I am going to check and see I can visit in person.
 
Actually I believe (Take it for what It's worth) Forrest actually purchased one just to see. I think he said it was thin and chincy....but functional.

The think part I can see, so I'm saving my moneys to get a good one.
 
I actually have four of these.

I first bought 2 of them about 8 months ago. I've subsequently bought two more about 4 months ago. With one of the first 2 that I bought, the only problem I ran into was a leak on the SS elbow joint with the bottom of the conical. I went ahead and disassembled all of the joints for all of the conicals and replaced with new teflon tape. I have not had any issues since.

The top lid the top of the fermenters have a rubber gasket that fits around the each. When closed, you get a tight rubber on rubber seal.

Over the last 8 months, I've brewed 4 batches of beer and currently have 2 batches of wine and one of brew aging in them. I have not had any issues with leaks.

They are pretty nice. Before owning these, I have never owned any other conical, so I have nothing to compare them to. However, I do work for a biotech company at manufacturing plant so I'm around SS equipment, similar in nature to these, and in my opinion there isn't anything about them in terms of material and construction that "looks off" to me.

In addition, the guy who sells them (ebay name: homebrewhousediscount) is on the level, communicates well, and ships quickly. I didn't have any problems.

I'm also not affiliated with this seller in any way. The post here asked for a review from somebody who has experience with these, so I posted.
 
jrm16311 said:
I actually have four of
1
these.

I first bought 2 of them about 8 months ago. I've subsequently bought two more about 4 months ago. With one of the first 2 that I bought, the only problem I ran into was a leak on the SS elbow joint with the bottom of the conical. I went ahead and disassembled all of the joints for all of the conicals and replaced with new teflon tape. I have not had any issues since.

The top lid the top of the fermenters have a rubber gasket that fits around the each. When closed, you get a tight rubber on rubber seal.

Over the last 8 months, I've brewed 4 batches of beer and currently have 2 batches of wine and one of brew aging in them. I have not had any issues with leaks.

They are pretty nice. Before owning these, I have never owned any other conical, so I have nothing to compare them to. However, I do work for a biotech company at manufacturing plant so I'm around SS equipment, similar in nature to these, and in my opinion there isn't anything about them in terms of material and construction that "looks off" to me.

In addition, the guy who sells them (ebay name: homebrewhousediscount) is on the level, communicates well, and ships quickly. I didn't have any problems.

I'm also not affiliated with this seller in any way. The post here asked for a review from somebody who has experience with these, so I posted.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the nice review! Now, how bout some pics of the puppies in action!!
 
isac777 said:
How bout these ebay conicals? They are always on there and always the same pic. good looking conical behind cardboard boxes, 7.1 gallon and I seen them for as little as 225. Are these like the "postcards" they hand out in vegas with "10's" on them and I open my door and get a "2"?

If you dunno what I'm talking bout I'll post a link.......to the conical
Click to expand...


Oooh! How very "mysterious" you are. Wanting an opinion on something but, not "really" disclosing what just in case you've hit upon a limited quanitity bargain.
 
Can someone maybe clue me in on what the benefits of using a conical are? I'm guessing its for aging beer/wine, but just guessing...
 
UnaBonger said:
Can someone maybe clue me in on what the benefits of using a conical are? I'm guessing its for aging beer/wine, but just guessing...
Click to expand...

I don't claim to be an expert on this, but personally I went with the conicals for two reasons.

1. the cone shaped bottom with the two tiered valves allows me to transfer the fermenter's liquid content without also transferring the solid that builds up from the fermentation process.

2. they are made of stainless steel and as such are both durable and easy to clean and sanitize.

Besides that, all my equipment is SS, and so I like uniformity. LOL.
 
I have ordered both the pots and the conicals from him and have been very happy with his stuff.
The first ones he had (conical) were a one-piece design and these are 2 piece. I like the 2 piece better pulse you can get it with or without the temp gauge. I thought they were very good buys.
It is 2 silicon gaskets that seal on the top.
 
BigKahuna said:
Actually I believe (Take it for what It's worth) Forrest actually purchased one just to see. I think he said it was thin and chincy....but functional.

The think part I can see, so I'm saving my moneys to get a good one.
Click to expand...


Of course forrest is going to say they are poor quality, he wants you to buy the ones he sells.
 
I kind of torn on these conicals.

Pro:
I'm seeing good reviews. They are cheaper than others in the home brew supply catalogs.

Con:
I cannot touch one before the purchase. I am unsure why a man on Ebay is the sole source for these. Why wouldn't a home brew shop resell these as well?
 
If they did, do you really think they'd be any where near the Ebay vendor's price?
 
I would think that the EBAY vendor could work out a deal with the Homebrew supply to direct ship to the customer. I'm sure the Homebrew supply would want a cut, which would come from mark-up on the price.

But maybe his supply source is not reliable enough. Who knows. I just get nervous from big mail order purchases on Ebay.

Jason
 
Don't blame you... I oredered one of those plastic conicals on Ebay once...from a vendor with a great rating even... never got it, never got an answer to any emails either. Worked through Ebay and got my money back, but never got brave enough to try it again though.
 
Sager Brewing Co. said:
Of course forrest is going to say they are poor quality, he wants you to buy the ones he sells.
Click to expand...

Yes, that will teach me to answer a thread wanting an opinion.

I bought ten (10) of them and they are functional but not great. I don't care if you buy a conical from me. There is no money in them so I have no vested interest in this. I offered my opinion but you don't have to believe me. No alterier motives here.

Forrest
 
jason.mundy said:
I kind of torn on these conicals.

Pro:
I'm seeing good reviews. They are cheaper than others in the home brew supply catalogs.

Con:
I cannot touch one before the purchase. I am unsure why a man on Ebay is the sole source for these. Why wouldn't a home brew shop resell these as well?
Click to expand...

He had them made in China. He is not selling them to homebrew stores. He has an exclusive. The Blichman conicals are made in America including the cone. They are manufatured to be sold to homebrew stores. Blichman does not sell directly to consumers.

I am not questioning the integrity of the seller. This is just a case of you get what you pay for.

Forrest
 
Austinhomebrew said:
He had them made in China. He is not selling them to homebrew stores. He has an exclusive. The Blichman conicals are made in America including the cone. They are manufatured to be sold to homebrew stores. Blichman does not sell directly to consumers.

I am not questioning the integrity of the seller. This is just a case of you get what you pay for.

Forrest
Click to expand...

That sounds like an informed answer. Thank you Forrest.
 
TerapinChef said:
Talk about an uncalled for attack on an upstanding member of both this forum and the homebrew community....
Click to expand...

An attack is overstating it. I didn't feel attacked. Just to assume that I don't have your best interest in mind is a bad assumption. If you think what I say might have strings attached, you don't know me. I can only assume the poster doesn't know me so I move on.

Forrest
 
Austinhomebrew said:
An attack is overstating it. I didn't feel attacked. Just to assume that I don't have your best interest in mind is a bad assumption. If you think what I say might have strings attached, you don't know me. I can only assume the poster doesn't know me so I move on.

Forrest
Click to expand...

My trip to Austin last April for my brother's wedding allowed me to go to AHS. I can vouch that these guys won't sell you something you won't like or need. Even though Forrest doesn't know who I was, he told me that I shouldn't bother buying one of their chillers if I was a handy DIYer. That was money that I had already spent in my mind, and it kept about 80bucks out of their cash register just based on Forrest's suggestion. I don't think he has any intentions of competing for our business on this site by bad mouthing a vendor or product.

Just my 2 cents...
 
I just received one of the 7 gallon conicals in the mail today.... I got up early to go pick it up from the post office i was so excited!!! My first conical....

I think it is pretty good, especially for the price. I will post a ton of pictures later on when i get back.

One clarification, i believe the seals around the lid are silicon, not rubber. While they may not allow you to pressurize the container, they will work as well as a rubber bung, in my opinion.

My one question is if you guys think the welds are smooth enough.

for me, the decrease in "quality" is worth it to save 250 dollars. Its not like the things are going to fall apart, they just arent as refined as the blichmanns.

Tune in later for some "brewporn", is that the right term?

In addition, I ordered this on Tuesday, got two confirmation emails from the guy, and shipment tracking, and the post office tried to deliver it on Friday.... great service.
 
Sager Brewing Co. said:
Of course forrest is going to say they are poor quality, he wants you to buy the ones he sells.
Click to expand...

Forrest has never been like that on these boards or through my personal dealings with AHS.
He's always been up front and seems to genuinely enjoy helping/promoting this craft.
 
TerapinChef said:
Talk about an uncalled for attack on an upstanding member of both this forum and the homebrew community....
Click to expand...

I don't think this was an attack on Forrest as much as it was the poster assuming too much about salespeople in general. It is true that the vast majority of salesmen are only in it to make a profit, and therefore discount any advantage in a product that they do not carry. Not knowing Forrest, I can't say he is different than this stereotype, but I'm also not going to say he fulfills it. Simply put, it was a broad spectrum statement directed at a very narrow target.

From Forrest's posts, however, I assume him to be an honest man who is out there to make homebrewing more fun and accessible to us all, and I feel that if he judges something subpar, he has the experience and knowledge to back that judgment up. Not trying to plant my mouth on his ass or anything, just giving my opinion, FWIW.
 
I don't personally know Forrest, so this is not aimed at him. I can say that my LHBS owner can be pretty pushy. He tried very hard last fall to convince me that his 150 dollar wine making kits were going to be far and away better than making wine from fresh grapes. Maybe he was right, but i just felt like i was being sold. Seemed like to much of a conincidence that dehydrated grape slurry that he sold (that cost 3 times as much) was better than the way that millions of wineries make it.
 

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