Where to buy Chronical 26.5L fermenter

Bazzo · Post by **Bazzo** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 11:54 am

Hi everyone this is my first post.

I am yet to brew my first pint but after a long time thinking about getting into brewing I am finally ready to get started. I have a few questions regarding equipment.
I want to start off with good equipment that will help me get the best consistent results so I have ordered a Grainmaster and some corny kegs, I also have a load of 500ml amber swing top bottles. I am now after a fermenter.
I want to keep costs down as much as possible whilst obtaining the best equipment so I am looking at getting a blichmann or Ss conical stainless steel fermenter. Brewstore has the 26.5L Chronical for £359. I was hoping to pay less than that. Does anyone know where I can get one cheaper or know of any cheap alternatives of the same quality?

Cheers

Jocky · Post by **Jocky** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 12:32 pm

Sorry to sound like I'm being the fun police here, but like any new hobby it's tempting to dive into the high end shiny stuff straight away, but I'd really recommend doing some basic brews with much simpler (cheaper) equipment first.

There is a lot to learn, and whether you have stainless steel or a plastic bucket will make precisely zero difference to the quality of your first few batches. Once you have made a few you can then decide whether your enjoyment of the hobby will be enhanced by better, more expensive equipment.

For a fermenter, at this stage I wouldn't recommend anything more expensive than a food grade fermentation bucket that costs under £10 from a home brew store. Buy a couple, and possibly a couple of smaller ones too. They are very useful for all kinds of things on a brew day. A chronical is a pretty serious investment, and I think that starter money can be better spent elsewhere.

Matt12398 · Post by **Matt12398** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 1:08 pm

The Malt Miller is £328 but is currently out of stock. Rob regularly restocks though and advertises dates when he knows when he'll be restocked.

Also worth trying www.homebrewshop.be which is a similar price. The owner, Niels, uses the forum and from all accounts is super easy to deal with despite being based in Belgium.

Jocky is right though. Even with best intentions it's tough starting out and you may end up with some lacklustre beers initially which will knock your confidence. If you decide it's not for you it's much easier to bin a cheap plastic bucket. At least do that a couple times first before jumping in with conical fermentors.

Rhodesy · Post by **Rhodesy** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 1:10 pm

Are you planning to use temperature control? To echo the points above, not to be a killjoy and by all means buy all of the equipment you desire however I personally found it beneficial to have temperature control having started on kits and moving to extract. Once on extract I wanted to control the conditions better and also be able to crash cool, lager etc. I then made the step up to AG at the start of this year and plan to move onto RIMS.

The point I suppose I making is that there are lots of things you can focus on getting used to, building up etc before you even worry about fermentation.

Post by **Aleman** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 1:43 pm

Of the two places I know of Both Rob (Mat Miller) and Niels would be the place I would buy them from. With the Euro rate as it is that's a further saving especially if you have a credit card that does not charge for foreign transactions (Like a Halifax Clarity Card

). It almost makes a 50L Braumeister affordable

If you want a Chronical then go for it, plastic buckets are cheaper,but have zero resale value. The one thing that 'top end' shiny has, with some limits you have to be realistic, is a good resale value, so even if you decide to chuck it all in you should be able to sell it with little loss.

Bazzo · Post by **Bazzo** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 3:15 pm

Thanks for your reply Jocky but I have had a good long think about it and I want a high end set up to help keep quality consistent so I can concentrate on the actual recipes. I studied chemistry and biology for a number of years so the science side of brewing really appeals to me so I would rather concentrate my efforts on the chemistry aspects of brewing so if good equipment allows me to do this I am prepared to pay for that, it's one reason I went for the Grainfather, high efficiency and accurate temperature control. I like the fact that you can keg straight from a conical with no exposure to air, that has to be a big factor. Also Ss technologies make a temperature controller which I will probably buy.

Bazzo · Post by **Bazzo** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 3:29 pm

[quote="Aleman"]Of the two places I know of Both Rob (Mat Miller) and Niels would be the place I would buy them from. With the Euro rate as it is that's a further saving especially if you have a credit card that does not charge for foreign transactions (Like a Halifax Clarity Card

). It almost makes a 50L Braumeister affordable

If you want a Chronical then go for it, plastic buckets are cheaper,[b]but[/b] have zero resale value. The one thing that 'top end' shiny has, with some limits you have to be realistic, is a good resale value, so even if you decide to chuck it all in you should be able to sell it with little loss.[/quote]

I do indeed have a clarity card it makes the 7 gal conical £329 or the 14 gal £365 delivered. Bit of a newby question this but with the grainfather what is the maximum brew length I could achieve and bearing this in mind would it be better to go with the 7 gal or 14 gal fermenter

Post by **Aleman** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 4:13 pm

I've no idea with the grainfather, personally I'm looking to downsize (Currently I can brew 95L batches) as it's a lot of the same beer to get through . . I do already have a 20L pilot kit so that's not an issue, apart from 'needing' a smaller conical to ferment in.

Unfortunately it's down to you, and where you think you'll go with your brew length . I know a lot of people have gone bigger and are now downsizing, and finding that the FV's in particular don't downsize very well. . . . I think The Chronicals might though

sbond10 · Post by **sbond10** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 4:50 pm

Aleman wrote:I've no idea with the grainfather, personally I'm looking to downsize (Currently I can brew 95L batches) as it's a lot of the same beer to get through . . I do already have a 20L pilot kit so that's not an issue, apart from 'needing' a smaller conical to ferment in.

Unfortunately it's down to you, and where you think you'll go with your brew length . I know a lot of people have gone bigger and are now downsizing, and finding that the FV's in particular don't downsize very well. . . . I think The Chronicals might though

Awaits your for sale post

barneey · Post by **barneey** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 8:40 pm

Bazzo wrote:. Also Ss technologies make a temperature controller which I will probably buy.

That's quite a bit of money for what is basically an STC + stainless coil, don't forget you have to add your own coolant.

Cxp073 · Post by **Cxp073** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:49 pm

Sorry guys, but it's a conical fermenter he wants, not a chronical fermenter, right?

In any event, I would not buy a conical right now. They are difficult to have in temperature controlled environments. I would buy a fridge, stc1000, a tube heater and a glass carboy instead. It will probably cost the same as a SS conical and will make your brewing much more consistent. Fermentation control is key.

Post by **Andy** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:00 pm

Cxp073 wrote:Sorry guys, but it's a conical fermenter he wants, not a chronical fermenter, right?

Not sure if serious but he really is after a chronical fermenter

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/products/7-gallon-chronical

Cxp073 · Post by **Cxp073** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:10 pm

Oh man my mistake - didn't realise they call it a chronical!

darkonnis · Post by **darkonnis** » Sun May 10, 2015 4:32 pm

I'm not saying don't buy a conical, but what I will say is you need to set out your priorities right.
You've bought a grainfather? thats the hot side sorted then. The cold side, more important than any stainless vessel is temperature control. Good temperature control is the key to a good ferment, you can have the shiniest fv in the world, but without temp control you are pissing into the wind. As you seem to be going down a prebuilt/bought route, see hombrew builder or someone like that and get yourself a STC-1000, a brew belt to warm and preferably a Maxi 110 or something like that to cool. Brewtech's gear is well priced, but I'd see homebrewbuilder (Mrlard on here) and get a conical with a built in cooling coil save youself some hassle.

Cornies for dispense is good, if you want to do bottle also save yourself a tonne of effort and get a counter pressure bottle filler.

simon12 · Post by **simon12** » Mon May 11, 2015 12:06 pm

This guys got a 52L one for sale viewtopic.php?f=8&t=71423

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