Coopers FV

[iBooz2]

8 minutes ago, Graculus said:

yes, I get what you're saying. First tap I took apart, cleaned etc like you say.

Second tap lasted two brews, so obviously a lemon.

Sorry to hear about your second replacement tap failure @Graculus and if you don't mind I will drag Frank in from Coopers here. @Coopers DIY Beer Team He is the 'GOD' of Coopers customer service, the best there is (as everyone who has had dealings with him will testify).  He will contact you and send a new tap I am sure.  Good luck with this replacement tap.

[Graculus]

1 minute ago, iBooz2 said:

Sorry to hear about your second replacement tap failure @Graculus and if you don't mind I will drag Frank in from Coopers here. @Coopers DIY Beer Team He is the 'GOD' of Coopers customer service, the best there is (as everyone who has had dealings with him will testify).  He will contact you and send a new tap I am sure.  Good luck with this replacement tap.

Thanks. It was quite some time ago now. As I said the FV is still up in the  rafters gathering dust.

[Uhtred Of Beddanburg]

34 minutes ago, Graculus said:

Thanks. It was quite some time ago now. As I said the FV is still up in the  rafters gathering dust.

Give it a good bleach and rinse and it's good to go but let's not start that argument again

[Classic Brewing Co]

10 minutes ago, Uhtred Of Beddanburg said:

Give it a good bleach and rinse and it's good to go but let's not start that argument again

I agree it just needs to be cleaned thoroughly, sanitised & you are good to go.

[Graculus]

21 minutes ago, Uhtred Of Beddanburg said:

Give it a good bleach and rinse and it's good to go but let's not start that argument again

 

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Graculus

[kmar92]

2 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

 I never use the tap as a lifting / maneuvering handle as some do.  I never flick it open or flick it off, always hands-on open and hands-on close. 

I am not sure how many brewers would do that @iBooz2.

I think that most of the problems that occur with the Cooper's taps are to do with the inner reddy coloured sealing surface. I know that if you sanitise the tap and leave any sanitiser on it and it dries out it will destroy that material. Most people that use StellarSan have seen what it can do to the bottle it comes in if it dries out on the plastic surfaces!

If you sanitise the Coopers tap make sure that some wort or beer goes through it before the sanitiser dries out. If the sanitiser dries out it is a very concentrated phosphoric acid that will eat most common plastics.

[Oldbloke]

To dismantle the $2 bunnings taps:

 

Turn the tap half way between open and closed and pull the tap straight out with a pair of pliers or insert a wooden dowel in from the inside and tap the two parts apart.

The first time will be pretty tight  after that much easier. I do it every 3 or 4 brews.

 

Regarding coopers taps  yesterday I noticed there is a thread with a few complaints. Could be a faulty batch, or perhaps design? They are easy to pull apart tho.

Edited December 30, 2022 by Oldbloke

[Korbo]

On 12/30/2022 at 6:12 PM, Graculus said:

I've kept out of this thread but....

I used the Coopers FV for quite some time and was quite happy, and then the tap broke.

Ordered new tap and waited. And waited. Contacted Aust Post.

Apparently it was nothing to do with me. It was between them and Coopers.

Contacted Coopers who said they'd chase it up. Waited.......

Rang Aust Post and had a rant. Their excuse was the address labeling was an issue.

When it arrived the address label looked like 99% of the stuff I order off ebay.

Anyhow two brews in and the tap broke. It was around the time PB2, the bloke from Coopers left the forum. He usually replied to people who had said the taps broke.

I couldn't be bothered to wait a month or so for a new tap and then have it break after two brews.

what's wrong with buying a 2nd hand FV or just a tap from facebook marketplace or gumtree?

[Graculus]

4 minutes ago, Korbo said:

what's wrong with buying a 2nd hand FV or just a tap from facebook marketplace or gumtree?

A 2nd hand FV or tap isn't something I'd consider. The possibility of scratches etc on an FV.

Not worth the risk. I'm not that hard up.

But the wait for the new tap just put me off waiting.

There was obviously a flaw in some of those taps and I didn't see why I should have to splash out on a spare one just in case.

[RDT2]

I use the coopers fermenter and I think they are great. The tap height is also perfect IMO especially when dirty batching as you end up with more trub/yeast and gives more clearance!

Don’t have to worry about airlocks!

Can see the ferment in action!

If you’re expecting a large krausen can use the collar! 

The taps were crap about 4-5 years ago with the orange seal which sealed between fermenter and tap which has been rectified by coopers!

The only reason I would use another fermenter would be if I was going to pressure ferment (stainless steel) or I wanted to do batches in excess of 27litres although I could just use two fermenters just need another fridge

[Tricky Micky]

2 minutes ago, RDT2 said:

I use the coopers fermenter and I think they are great. The tap height is also perfect IMO especially when dirty batching as you end up with more trub/yeast and gives more clearance!

Don’t have to worry about airlocks!

Can see the ferment in action!

If you’re expecting a large krausen can use the collar! 

The taps were crap about 4-5 years ago with the orange seal which sealed between fermenter and tap which has been rectified by coopers!

The only reason I would use another fermenter would be if I was going to pressure ferment (stainless steel) or I wanted to do batches in excess of 27litres although I could just use two fermenters just need another fridge

Agreed. They really are exceptional. I've got two spare taps and two sets of O rings on stand-by should they be needed. Two and a half years in on the Brewing journey and the original taps are still chugging along nicely.

[Classic Brewing Co]

6 minutes ago, Mickep said:

Agreed. They really are exceptional. I've got two spare taps and two sets of O rings on stand-by should they be needed. Two and a half years in on the Brewing journey and the original taps are still chugging along nicely.

I also agree, there are NO bad points about the Coopers FV. I have 2 of them & a Craft Fermenter, easy to clean & perform well.

The only downside is I cannot fit the large one in my fermenting fridge, the small one fits but I use the Ampi style FV's in there & they fit fine. My keg fridge was bigger & took the larger ones, but I am good with having kegs in there.

[iBooz2]

On 12/30/2022 at 9:03 PM, kmar92 said:

I am not sure how many brewers would do that @iBooz2.

I think that most of the problems that occur with the Cooper's taps are to do with the inner reddy coloured sealing surface. I know that if you sanitise the tap and leave any sanitiser on it and it dries out it will destroy that material. Most people that use StellarSan have seen what it can do to the bottle it comes in if it dries out on the plastic surfaces!

If you sanitise the Coopers tap make sure that some wort or beer goes through it before the sanitiser dries out. If the sanitiser dries out it is a very concentrated phosphoric acid that will eat most common plastics.

I hear what you are saying K,  I have actually grabbed the tap when the FV got out of balance whilst putting it in the FV fridge, just a normal reaction to save the day.

I have seen what sanitser can do to a laminate bench top.  If it was to happen to my Coopers taps I would have thought it would have by now.  I assemble them straight out of a tub of sanitiser and fit into the FV.  I never take a OG sample through the tap, I use a refrac so the tap will have dried sanitiser on it, well the open air side anyway.  The tap does not get used until well into the ferment these days.  Maybe I have been lucky.  No leaks and no failures yet.  So far so good as they say.