Chapman stainless fermenters, are they good?

[Joerg]

Looking for something that isn't much larger than the standard 12"
diameter 6-1/2 gallon plastic pails I finally saw these:

https://www.chapmanequipment.com/products/7-gallon-steeltank-fermenter

Any experience?

I'd be interested in the non-spigot version because the spigot might get
in the way when cramming it into the temp-controlled chamber. Also, one
less part to clean and sanitize. The racking cane method into secondary
is fine. Looks like the handles may be foldable downwards which would
really help.

The only more serious problem to solve would be getting my 3/4" bulkhead
fitting mounted into the lid for very violent Belgian yeasts. Drilling
stainless steel is tough so I may have to remove the rubber grommet and
make myself some sort of adapter that can switch between airlock and
blow-off pipe.

[Joerg]

Post by Joerg
Looking for something that isn't much larger than the standard 12"
https://www.chapmanequipment.com/products/7-gallon-steeltank-fermenter
Any experience?
I'd be interested in the non-spigot version because the spigot might get
in the way when cramming it into the temp-controlled chamber. Also, one
less part to clean and sanitize. The racking cane method into secondary
is fine. Looks like the handles may be foldable downwards which would
really help.
The only more serious problem to solve would be getting my 3/4" bulkhead
fitting mounted into the lid for very violent Belgian yeasts. Drilling
stainless steel is tough so I may have to remove the rubber grommet and
make myself some sort of adapter that can switch between airlock and
blow-off pipe.

I just ordered this stainless steel fermenter and shall report once the
first brew went through it.

Can't get outline drawings from anywhere and they say that it's a 12"
bucket but 14" max diameter (probably lid and hardware). That would be a
very tight fit in my chamber and might require mods if I buy a 2nd one.
At least the handles fold down which was a problem with a lot of other
stainless fermenters I found.

Tomorrow is brew day again. First a Cream Ale and in the afternoon
another Belgian Tripel, the one with the "nucular" fermentation.

[baloonon]

Post by Joerg
I just ordered this stainless steel fermenter and shall report once the
first brew went through it.

Good luck. Stainless has a lot of obvious advantages over plastic and
glass.

Post by Joerg
Can't get outline drawings from anywhere and they say that it's a 12"
bucket but 14" max diameter (probably lid and hardware). That would be
a very tight fit in my chamber and might require mods if I buy a 2nd
one. At least the handles fold down which was a problem with a lot of
other stainless fermenters I found.
Tomorrow is brew day again. First a Cream Ale and in the afternoon
another Belgian Tripel, the one with the "nucular" fermentation.

I had an old ale start to blow through the airlock and I had to put a
blowoff tube in. The fermentation seems to have stopped now and I've put
some oak chips in it before cold crashing and bottling and then letting
it age for next Christmas. I'm grinding tonight a bunch of grain for an
IPA I'll make soon that will probably be ready to bottle at the same
time as the old ale to help avoid the temptation to drink too much of
the Christmas beer right away.

[Joerg]

Post by baloonon

Post by Joerg
I just ordered this stainless steel fermenter and shall report once

the

Post by Joerg
first brew went through it.

Good luck. Stainless has a lot of obvious advantages over plastic and
glass.

Well, it arrived alright but they messed up the weld positions and clamp
lengths of the closing clasps. One of them flops around when in the
locked position and one is so tight it would squish the seal if forced.
So I wrote to them whether they can be fixed by bending.

That was a disappointment but otherwise the quality appears to be good.
Nice thing is they have a large hole for a big carboy grommet so I can
build something to have a 3/4" hose thread connector for Belgian beers
and other vigorous fermenters.

The good news is that it's only slightly over 13" in diameter up top
instead of the stated 14", especially when backed into a corner
correctly. So I could get two of them into my fermentation chamber. If
the clasp thing can be fixed I'll buy another one.

Post by baloonon

Post by Joerg
Can't get outline drawings from anywhere and they say that it's a 12"
bucket but 14" max diameter (probably lid and hardware). That would be
a very tight fit in my chamber and might require mods if I buy a 2nd
one. At least the handles fold down which was a problem with a lot of
other stainless fermenters I found.
Tomorrow is brew day again. First a Cream Ale and in the afternoon
another Belgian Tripel, the one with the "nucular" fermentation.

I had an old ale start to blow through the airlock and I had to put a
blowoff tube in. The fermentation seems to have stopped now and I've put
some oak chips in it before cold crashing and bottling and then letting
it age for next Christmas. I'm grinding tonight a bunch of grain for an
IPA I'll make soon that will probably be ready to bottle at the same
time as the old ale to help avoid the temptation to drink too much of
the Christmas beer right away.

We would never have the patience to wait until Christmas but I have an
Imperial IPA in secondary right now that won't be ready before May. It's
way in the back of the lower chamber which reduces the temptation so
siphon some off.

Initially I tried the blow-off via the little air lock grommet passage
and that did not go well. It plugged with Kraeusen quickly, the lid
lifted and I had a little mess to clean. Then I went to a 3/4" hose
thread bulk-head connector and hooked a sanitized washing machine hose
to it. Still to small -> partly fermented wort oozing all over. So I
built this concoction from irrigation piping parts and that works like a
charm:

Loading Image...

The Starsan solution turned slightly yellow because some Kraeusen pushed
through. I have another Belgian Tripel in primary right now and just
switched it back to airlock because the "nuclear phase" of fermentation
is done. This time it didn't push Kraeusen out the pipe but it sure was
burping the CO2 faster than an airlock could handle. Like massive farts.
For some reason I ended up with only 4-1/2 gallons which could have been
the reason. When I switch back I put a hose thread cap on the blowoff
port and remove a home-made plug from the grommet hole. With the new
Chapman fermenter I'll have to make some adapter where it goes from 3/4"
port to a little red grommet for a standard airlock, for "normal" beers
and for when the first 3-4 days of vigorous fermentation are done. The
lid doesn't have a 2nd hole and I really don't want to have to drill
stainless steel.

[baloonon]

Post by Joerg
With the new
Chapman fermenter I'll have to make some adapter where it goes from 3/4"
port to a little red grommet for a standard airlock, for "normal" beers
and for when the first 3-4 days of vigorous fermentation are done. The
lid doesn't have a 2nd hole and I really don't want to have to drill
stainless steel.

I'm not sure I can picture this but wouldn't a normal drilled rubber
stopper work?

[Joerg]

Post by baloonon

Post by Joerg
With the new
Chapman fermenter I'll have to make some adapter where it goes from 3/4"
port to a little red grommet for a standard airlock, for "normal" beers
and for when the first 3-4 days of vigorous fermentation are done. The
lid doesn't have a 2nd hole and I really don't want to have to drill
stainless steel.

I'm not sure I can picture this but wouldn't a normal drilled rubber
stopper work?

Sort of, that is one of the options I am mulling. Drilling rubber is a
messy affair though. The other downside is that rubber flops about when
the fairly heavy pipe arm moves a bit.

The best solution is a rigid connection which is why I have a bulkhead
connector right now. However, with the slightly dome-shaped Chapman lid
that would have to be disassembled after each run for cleanliness, too
many slots where contaminants could linger. No idea why they made it
dome-shaped.