CO2 Transfer with Ss Brewtech Brew Buckets

For the past 8 years, almost every beer I have brewed has been fermented in plastic bottling buckets. Yes, even the ones that have won awards in local homebrew competitions and BJCP competitions. I have always been a believer that you can make good beer using almost any equipment and that process and recipe design are more important than equipment on the homebrew scale. That being said, I did recently bite the bullet and purchase a 7 gallon Brew Bucket Brewmaster Edition fermenter from Ss Brewtech.

Moving To A Stainless Steel Fermenter

I have wanted to move to a stainless steel fermenter for awhile now, but I just couldn’t justify the cost or the extra hassle of something like a conical fermenter. I didn’t feel that the features of a conical fermenter (such as being able to dump hops and yeast from the bottom of the fermenter) were worth spending $600 – $800. Then there’s the issue of controlling temperature with conicals. Yes, I could’ve put the fermenter in a larger freezer or refrigerator, but I already had a small chest freezer and a small refrigerator which are just the right size for my plastic bucket fermenters. Having used stainless steel conicals from Ss Brewtech during my short stint as brewmaster at The Vegetable Hunter in Harrisburg, PA, I also knew that there were a lot more pieces to clean, sanitize and assemble every time I wanted to brew. This also means more chance of infection or leaking which is never a good thing.

I was pleased with the quality of the Ss Brewtech equipment and after doing some measuring I determined that their 7 gallon Brew Bucket fermenters would fit perfectly in both my chest freezer and my small refrigerator. The price of these fermenters is pretty steep, but they do include a couple of nice features which I didn’t have on my plastic bottling buckets. In addition to being made of stainless steel, the Brew Bucket Brewmaster Edition fermenters include a thermowell for use with either the included digital thermometer or the probe on your temperature controller, a rotating racking arm, a 3/8″ ball valve for taking samples and for draining the fermenter, and a conical base where your yeast and dry hops can settle below the racking arm. After using the fermenter recently, I can also say that it is very easy to clean.

I also wanted to be able to transfer beer out of my Brew Bucket fermenter using CO2 pressure which is not something you can easily do with the standard, out-of-the-box buckets. After doing some research, I put together my own plan for modifying my Brew Bucket so I could do CO2 transfers from the bucket to my dry hop keg, serving keg or to a carboy. While researching conical fermenters, I came across a CO2 gas manifold offered by Spike Brewing. This manifold was designed for their uni-tank fermenters and it connects to any standard 1.5″ tri-clover port. I really liked the design of this manifold since it allows you to connect a standard gas ball lock connector like you would normally use to serve beer from homebrew kegs. Ss Brewtech also sells a pressure transfer fitting which would work, but I liked the design of the Spike Brewing product better. One thing to be aware of with the Spike Brewing setup is that the pressure relief valve is set for 15 psi which is way too much pressure for the Brew Buckets. Don’t rely on the pressure relief valve to keep your Brew Bucket from exploding!

Edit: A user on Reddit recommended yet another 1.5″ tri-clover pressure transfer option from NorCal Brewing Solutions. This looks like a very nice option and the pressure relief valve is adjustable.

Modifying the Brew Bucket Lid

SAFETY FIRST: This is my disclaimer that some of the steps and processes described in this post can result in injury or permanent damage to your fermenter. Please use proper safety equipment when drilling holes in stainless steel! You must also be very careful not to apply excessive CO2 pressure to the Ss Brewtech Brew Buckets (1-2 psi is plenty for doing a transfer). Applying excessive pressure can damage the fermenter and possibly result in injury if the lid blows off of the fermenter or the fermenter bursts due to too much pressure.

Items Needed

(in addition to a Brew Bucket)

Steps

Drill a 42 mm hole in the Brew Bucket lid. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about drilling a hole in my brand new lid that I had not even used yet. However, it was relatively easy with the brand new carbide hole saw. I drilled the hole about half way between the outer edge of the lid and where the lid recesses in near the center (see photo on the right below).

Use a household razor blade or a metal file to deburr any rough edges around the new hole. Be careful not to cut yourself as the edges of the hole will be VERY sharp! Install the 1.5″ tri-clover compression fitting in the hole from the top of the lid. There should be one silicone o-ring which goes between the fitting and the top of the lid. Tighten the nut from the underside of the lid. You should just be able to hand tighten the nut in order to form an airtight seal.

Install the 17 mm plug through the smaller hole from the top of the lid. There should be one silicone o-ring which goes between the bottom of the plug and the top of the lid. Tighten the nut onto the plug from the underside of the lid. Note: there may be 2 o-rings included, but there is no need to use both. Keep one as a spare.

During primary fermentation, I attach the 1.5″ TC x 5/8″ elbow to the lid and then attach a 1/2″ piece of silicone tubing which gets placed in a jar of sanitizer. This allows CO2 to be released from the fermenter into the sanitizer. You’ll need to place one 1.5″ TC gasket between the fitting on the lid and the elbow and then use the tri-clover clamp to secure the elbow to the fitting on the lid.

Transfer Beer Using the CO2 Manifold

After fermentation has completed and you are ready to transfer, loosen the tri-clover clamp and remove the 1.5″ TC x 5/8″ elbow from the lid. Attach the gas manifold using the TC gasket and the tri-clover clamp.

Attach the ball-lock gas connector to the gas manifold. Note: The CO2 should be turned off at this point. You should also lower the pressure on your CO2 regulator as far as you can (so the pressure is at zero).



Rotate the ball valve/racking arm clockwise 1/4 of a turn to get the racking arm above the yeast and hops that settled at the bottom of the fermenter. This is assuming you had the racking arm pointing straight down when you started fermentation. I like to keep the racking arm pointed down towards the bottom of the fermenter during fermentation so nothing gets into the tube and clogs it. Attach a sanitized piece of tubing to the ball valve at the bottom of the fermenter. I use a worm clamp to secure the tubing to the barb so it does not slip off when pressure is applied to the fermenter. Insert the other end of the tubing into the vessel you are transferring to (carboy, keg, etc.). If you’re transferring to a Cornelius keg you can put a liquid ball lock fitting on the other end of the tubing and attach it to the liquid out post on the keg. This will allow you to transfer into a keg through the dip tube. You’ll need to open the pressure relief valve on the lid of the keg when you are transferring into a closed keg in this manor. Open the valve on the CO2 tank and adjust the pressure to about 1 psi.

Open the ball valve on the keg so the beer starts flowing through the tubing.

Tip: I like to keep my fingers on the pressure relief valve on the gas manifold during a transfer so I can quickly release pressure if needed. I have noticed that the lid of the bucket sometimes starts to bulge even at 1-2 psi. When I see that happening I usually release some pressure by pulling out on the pressure relief valve. After all beer has been transferred, you can turn off your CO2 and close the ball valve on the fermenter.

VIDEO: Transferring a Saison into a Carboy