muzzag Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Just had my first major disaster with the failure of a Cooper's tap seal, ending in about 3 to5 liters of brew all over my shed floor (luckily I don't brew inside the house or I would be in deep you know what). Fortunately I check on my brews every day, so not all 23 ltrs ended up -- very authentic on the floor. So now my shed smells like a brewery🤪. One thing I've taken out of this experience,is always replace the spare tap assembly when you use it .( I've just ordered 2 spares online) I decided to risk saving the brew by firstly sterilizating the old craft fermenter, filling it, then leaning the large vessel over (leaning on the shed wall) and taking the dodgy tap out (carefully) and used plumbers thread tape on the damaged ' O ' ring, sterilized it, and then put the beer back into the main fermenter,added more filtered water, and will hope for the best, but am not holding my breath. Cheers muzzag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Lao Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Where did it fail? Through the O ring seals, or leaking through the actual tap - spring type mechanism? I have a recurring stress dream about this scenario as I brew in a carpeted spare bedroom! Cheers James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzag Posted July 6, 2019 Author Share Posted July 6, 2019 Hi James,it failed at the O ring seal. Mindyou, I will add that this fermenter (including tap assembly) was about 15 months old,so totally my fault for not changing to the new white O ringed type tap. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Baron Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 How did it taste off the shed floor?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzag Posted July 6, 2019 Author Share Posted July 6, 2019 If only I had swept the bloody floor first🤪 The big question is,how will it turn out after topping up with 4 or 5 lts of water and I added a a sachet of smooth malt from the craft range (left overs). I might have my first disaster 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDT2 Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 (edited) 17 hours ago, muzzag said: If only I had swept the bloody floor first🤪 The big question is,how will it turn out after topping up with 4 or 5 lts of water and I added a a sachet of smooth malt from the craft range (left overs). I might have my first disaster Better take notes on the process in case it tastes nice 🤣 and everyone wants you to make it again Edited July 7, 2019 by RDT2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 19 hours ago, muzzag said: Hi James,it failed at the O ring seal. Mindyou, I will add that this fermenter (including tap assembly) was about 15 months old,so totally my fault for not changing to the new white O ringed type tap. Your setup looks very much like mine with the 2 fermenters. Even the ply looks the same. I am anticipating you also have the same issue with me in regards to the temp difference between top and bottom. I usually stick the probe on the top fermenter. If the top one is running at 18c the bottom one usually is atound 20c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellScott Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 11 hours ago, Greeny1525229549 said: Your setup looks very much like mine with the 2 fermenters. Even the ply looks the same. I am anticipating you also have the same issue with me in regards to the temp difference between top and bottom. I usually stick the probe on the top fermenter. If the top one is running at 18c the bottom one usually is atound 20c. Wouldn't the bottom one be a few degrees cooler since hot air rises and cold air sinks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Instigator Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 26 minutes ago, MitchellScott said: Wouldn't the bottom one be a few degrees cooler since hot air rises and cold air sinks? No idea about Greeny's setup, but in my all-fridge setup, the cooling element is up the top, right behind the top FV. That FV tends to cop the full blast of cold when the fridge turns on. To balance the temp across both FVs I have put a carpet square behind the top FV to add a little insulation between it and the cooling element. Going from the thermometer strip on each FV, they both read about the same now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzag Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 My fridge is fan forced through several vents on the back wall with the air return at the top,so I've also placed some insulating foam on the back of each fermenter, with the probe from the inkbird attached to the bottom tub, and an independent thermometer probe reading the top temp of the fridge. I don't seem to get much more than half a degree difference, so that's good enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 I have a similar set up but drilled multiple 25mm holes through the plywood to help air circulation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 14 hours ago, Instigator said: No idea about Greeny's setup, but in my all-fridge setup, the cooling element is up the top, right behind the top FV. That FV tends to cop the full blast of cold when the fridge turns on. To balance the temp across both FVs I have put a carpet square behind the top FV to add a little insulation between it and the cooling element. Going from the thermometer strip on each FV, they both read about the same now. Yah my fridge is the element up the top with nothing down the bottom. I dont have a fan in there but yeah i like your idea about insulating it from the full blast. My idea at the moment when doing two at once is either use a different yeast which likes the higher temp. I do US05 at 18 and S04 at 20 regularly. Or time them so i have the active ferment up the top and one thats cleaning up down the bottom so the temp diff doesn't really matter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzag Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 Well the good news is that I botteled it today, and it was ok, but it will be known now as workshop floorbra 🤪 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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