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Blinchman vs Stout fermentors?

noodle

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Hi,

We are looking to purchase a couple of conical fermetors with a capacity of 23 to 27 gallons.

Which do you prefer, Blinchman or Stout? Why?

Do these every come up for sale used?

Thanks,

Eric
 
so did you decide which way you're gonna go?  looks like the stout conicals are way more affordable.  i live in delaware so the shipping would probably kill that saving.  still one of these days.
 
Not yet. I'm still waiting for feedback from anyone that has these tanks.

Eric
 
I own a Blichmann and a Stout (7-gallon sizes) and have made many batches in both.  I can't say one is better in performance or quality than the other, since both have their advantages.  Obviously, Stout's prices are awesome compared to Blichmann's.  Stout fermenters are a bit more difficult to transport to a temp-controlled cooler, though, because the cylindro-conical part is not attached to, but cradled in, a support frame with legs.  This is unklike the one-piece Blichmann fermenters, where the legs are directly attached and so are the fold-out carrying handles.  (However, these differences in design make the Stout fermenters easier to wash, IMO, since you don't have to contend with the legs.)  Stout's 7-gallon fermenters also stand a bit taller than Blichmann's 7-gallon fermenters, if that is an issue for you (as in if you're fermenting in a modified chest freezer).  Stout fermenters come standard with a thermometer, whereas I had to add one to my standard Blichmann.  I love that Stout is growing into larger fermentation vessel sizes, unlike Blichmann, which seems stuck at not exceeding the 1 bbl size.  Had good service support with both.  Either way, get the tri-clamp fittings - which makes cleaning them a heckuva lot easier than threaded fittings.  Bottom line is that it's a matter of personal preferences on the above differences; I don't think you'll go wrong either way.
 
That home brew TV guy has a video where he is showing what looks like a stout tank
http://www.homebrewertv.com/
He has some issues with it.
Worth the watch.

I have a thread here where I  talk at length about my search for a conical.
http://www.beersmith.com/forum/index.php?topic=2946.msg12938#msg12938

I  was trying to get a chinese water jacketed  model.
The damn chinese simply  can not weld.   The got their tank sent back to them.
The Stout tanks are welded.  They are welded by chinese who  happen to be superb at polishing things till they glow - but - can't weld.

In that thread I mentioned my interaction with the stout tanks guy.  
Here is the  start of that part of the thread:
http://www.beersmith.com/forum/index.php?topic=2946.msg13462#msg13462
We had exchanged some emails about his products and guarantee etc.
As it turns out he's got absolutely no mechanism  for  determining the actual metal they use other than a magnet, he has not got any weld  inspection equipment  other than his eyeballs (eyesight is not even within shouting distance of adequate).   Unless he's changed, this all remains the case.

BUT thanks entirely to my prodding the hell out of him in this an another forum where he was telling lies about me misquoting me and falsely representing me, (he was really pissed at me)  he has decided to state that he has a  guarantee.  At least he did in that thread.

What that guarantee is  exactly I can't say. Unless you get a guarantee in writing it's worthless.
Maybe he's got one up on his website?  You can check. If not ask him, maybe he'll put it in writing.

While I had a rather rough  go with the stout tanks guy I can't say he's a bad or dishonest guy.  A little irascible maybe but hey~!! He's trying to earn a living and from his perspective I was not speaking well of his business practices.


I really did like the design of his brew tanks that bowl bottom is a good idea
The conical: not so much.




I ended up with a blihmann.  They are Spun Metal -  no welds.


Here is my take on crappy welded tanks
If it's cheap enough  there's no reason not to try one.
You can sterilize bad welds - even the ones with pores you can't see without X-ray fluorescence ) with a friggin propane torch.
On Brew Day  take a torch to all the welded seams and toast 'em up to about 250 or 300 F and you are golden.

If you are willing to do that you won't have any issues with non-sanitary welds.
 
This is John from Stout Tanks and Kettles.

The fermenter on homebrewertv.com is not one of ours.  If you look at our website (http://www.conical-fermenter.com) you can see ours are quite different in the details.  You will also find our warranty there.

I would like to note that the previous poster and I have indeed butted heads in the past (through a couple of emails where I declined to provide him with a quote, and then my replies to his posts after he posted some comments at this forum and another one).

However, he has never bought or even seen one of our products in person.  So, his opinions are not based on anything to do with our products.  I understand from his post that he bought a fermenter directly from some manufacturer in China and it had poor quality welds.  But that hardly means that all chinese can not weld.  That's a pretty broad brush to be painting with. 

It is pretty much a given that a good quality weld provides many benefits - mainly, that bacteria can't get trapped in threaded fittings and pockets between parts, etc.

We have been in business less than a year but have many hundreds of satisfied customers who bought our products and many have bought again.  So, please see what our customers say about our products and service.  I will put our products up against any other stainless steel fermenter with confidence.

Thanks for listening.
 
I just ordered one of these and I have to say so far I am real impressed with their customer service. John was quick to answer my emails and very accommodating of my needs. I'll be sure to come back and post once I get it and get a chance to use it. I cant wait till it gets here!
 
I bought a 14.5 G Stout conical fermenter and it arrived this past week.  I haven't used it yet, but I plan to brew my first 10 G batch with it next weekend.  I'll be sure to post about my experiences with it after I use it. 

I struggled with the decision regarding which stainless steel conical to buy, but ultimately decided to go with the Stout. I wish I was able to find more independent reviews of these product when I was making my decision.  Its part of the reason I signed up for this message board.

One last thing to mention: I emailed some with John before placing my order and he was very helpful and prompt with his responses. 
 
I told you guys a long time ago, that after I bought my conical from John, that I was 110% satisfied with both the quality and the support  from John. I have dozens of batches already run through them, and have absolutely NOTHING to complain about. In fact, just the opposite is the case. Top Notch.

I do think that something could be done to improve the sealing between the lid and the vessel, but HEY, it wasn't that long ago I was fermenting in a plastic bucket. C'mon! No big deal. While a cool domed lid may have been better, it certainly would have driven the cost way up.

I gave rave reviews..... so how anybody searching couldn't find it, I dunno. I  think I even like the sanitary valves better that the blichmans..... extremely easy to clean and sanitize. I WILL DEFINITELY be buying again from him.
 
So I used my conical for the first time.  I must have waited too long to drain the hops out of the bottom (12 hrs) because when I went to do it nothing came out.  It's plugged!  Has anyone developed a good method to deal with this and unplug the bottom of the conical?  Its bubbling away right now.
 
For my mash tun (not a conical) I've have to use a 12-inch piece of thick copper wire to unclog the valve before I started using a bazooka under the false bottom.  Easy to sanitize and stiff enough to pop the gunk.
 
Whats a bazooka? 
I sanitized a hard plastic siphon piece and unclogged my plug with that.  The instructions that come with the conical say to drain hops after 15 minutes. I guess I should've read that closer  ;D
 
Drain hops??

We use pellet hops in a bag. Are you using leaf hops?

eric
 
I boiled with hop pellets and didn't have a good way to keep from pouring them in to the conical.  I'm planning to dry hop with leaf hops in a bag. 

I'm shocked at how much yeast sludge is coming out of the bottom of the conical.  Primary fermentation is pretty much done in my first 10 G batch.  I've removed nearly 8 pint glasses of yeast from the bottom of the conical. 
 
TJ said:
I'm shocked at how much yeast sludge is coming out of the bottom of the conical.  Primary fermentation is pretty much done in my first 10 G batch.  I've removed nearly 8 pint glasses of yeast from the bottom of the conical. 

Eight pints seems like a lot, but once you are through with the trub, start collecting, washing, and canning that good stuff. You are now a rancher! Lots of info on the web.
 
Eight pints does seem like a lot!

I just got my conical 2 weeks ago as well and will be doing my first draining run in another week. I will let you know how much yeast/trub I get out of mine. I used a hop bag so it should be a little less I hope.
 
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