# Conical Fermenters



## msfgroup (Jan 9, 2017)

I posted this in KIT WINEMAKING yesterday and did not get any replies so I thought I may give the equipment group a try. 


My daughter and her husband Own a very successful Microbrewery and I was down there the other day and we were talking about fermenters and such and noticed that everything they were fermenting in was Conical. We started looking in some catalogs and found Conical Fermenters for wine too. The reviews were from A-Z great to terrible. My question to everyone is this, what is the experience everyone here has had if you have used them or continue to use them. My thoughts are that all of the sediment will settle in the bottom above the wine and racking would be so much cleaner and better.

I am asking for your input due to the VAST KNOWLEDGE I have enjoyed in my short time of home wine making.

Happy New Year

Mike & Sherry Fultz
MSF GROUP


----------



## bkisel (Jan 9, 2017)

I think the lack of responses may have to do with folks having already responded to a recent thread on the same subject.... http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54007&highlight=conical


----------



## mankooo (Jan 25, 2017)

It's no a necessity to ferment in a fermenter with a conical bottom to make wine. Fermented has to be equipment with a draining valve and an upper valve for racking. Also you could rack the wine with a positive displacement pump. Conical bottoms facilitates cleaning and collect all the sediment. But in winemaking tanks the cone is smaller ( 14-15 degrees).


----------



## bkisel (Jan 25, 2017)

mankooo said:


> It's no a necessity to ferment in a fermenter with a conical bottom to make wine. Fermented has to be equipment with a draining valve and an upper valve for racking. Also you could rack the wine with a positive displacement pump. Conical bottoms facilitates cleaning and collect all the sediment. But in winemaking tanks the cone is smaller ( 14-15 degrees).



Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for making your first post a contribution to a forum subject.


----------



## Mismost (Jan 25, 2017)

I think your thoughts are on point. In my case, the expense can not be justified.
But, if I ever find one of those really cool stainless steel conicals at a garage sale or on Craigslist at a really good price....I reserve the right to adjust my opinion!

I simply don't like any of the plastic ones I've seen. The SS ones do have a strong cool factor going for them....I like shiny stuff.


----------



## Mortalpawn (Jan 26, 2017)

If you have the cash to burn, a stainless conical would be perfect for primary/secondary fermentation of just about any fermented beverage. I have an SS Brewtech 14 gal Brewmaster series which I use primarily for beer, but it is a pleasure to use. Easy to clean, temperature control, sampling, port, separate racking and dump butterfly valves, 1.5" tri-clamp sanitary fittings. You can easily primary and secondary in one tank and is a stainless thing of beauty.

I don't bulk age in it - I either transfer to kegs or carboys for bulk aging, but you can primary, secondary and clear it in one vessel as long as you dump the sediment/lees every few days. It also supports low pressure transfer (i.e. its a pressure vessel) so you can do pressurized transfers under CO2 or nitrogen to eliminate contact with any air. Mine has a large 3" port and completely removable top so you can degass in it also.

It does not come cheap though - you could probably get a wine fridge or a whole army of carboys and plastic buckets for the price of one of these!


----------



## msfgroup (Jan 29, 2017)

*Thank you everyone*

I wanted to thank everyone for their input on the Conical Fermenters I have decided to stay with the plastic buckets and carboys for right now. They may be great but I think I will hold off for the moment. Thanks for all the input

Thanks Again 
Mike and Sherry


----------

