It’s time for us to answer a bunch of questions to the best of our ability (and our ability to research). Sit back and relax we’ve got 32 questions and about 63 answers! We’ll cover your Fermentation, Ingredient, Packaging, Recipe and Technique questions. (Don’t forget you can always drop us a line and get questions answered in a regular episode).
For the guy who was asking about where to purchase 10 gallon corny kegs, CHI Company carries them (both new and refurbished). Like you mentioned, they aren’t cheap, but they’re still my favorite fermentors.
If you are planning on using it as a fermentor, I think you will be very happy with it. One thing I would suggest though is to cut the liquid dip tube a bit. I’ve got mine to the point where it sucks up virtually no trub and leaves virtually no clear beer behind.
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My plan is to cut the tube to leave around 2 qts for yeast harvesting. Otherwise it seems perfect for closed fermentation and transfers and easy cleaning and sanitation. I’ve thought about these for a while. Other options have more small articulated parts, valves, etc than I’m comfortable with sanitation wise.
So I got my new 10gal today, with one problem. Lid wouldn’t seat. Called Chi Co., a few pics and texts, and they identified the issue: die improperly struck the top opening. They gave me simple instructions to reshape it with basic hand tools, walked me through it, and sent my pics and a heads-up to their factory in PA (yes, made in USA) where this item is on the line right now (they saw this on a few several years ago.) So I think I’ve got a good seal now, it’s a dream of a fermenter if so, didnt have to ship it back, and these guys have top-notch customer service. My new first place to look for kegs and parts.
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True, but all’s well that ends well. If it’s in production now I wonder if they just pulled one off the line to fulfil my order. They were super helpful and responsive anyway. Bet QA gets a review after this. On the upside, this thing is not just made in the USA, it’s made like an old Detroit behemoth, a ton of heavy gauge steel with robust sanitary welds.
(Good thing about this company, it’s all vertically integrated. If I’d bought from a retailer, who bought from random distributors, who bought from random manufacturers, I’d have been screwed.)
Yeah, glad to hear they cared enough to walk you through a fix. I looked hard at these a while back and I’m still considering. I think this fermenter with a Clear Beer Draught System or shortened diptube could be very effective. I like the idea of crashing under pressure to avoid o2. Wish they made an in-between 7.5 gallon.
Got a text, the problem was caught about 50 kegs into the run, they stopped production to recut the die. So anybody else ordering these, inspired like me by narcout’s tip above, should be good. I raised the issue of pressure testing, and the response was essentially, “yeah, that would make sense, it is a pressure vessel…”