SKU: FE191
$199.99
WARNING
: This product can expose you to chemicals including Lead and lead compounds, which is/are known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to
www.p65warnings.ca.gov.
In my 50 degree garage I can ferment at any temp I need plus Brewzilla 3.1.1 neopreme blanket fits this perfectly. I modified the lid of mine to add 1.5 triclamp and do oxygen free transfers. It's great!
It would be nice if it came with a thermowell for monitoring rather than that being sold separately. The heater maintains temperature well in a sub-60F room. So far so good.
Con: Valve and rotating dip tube are junk. Bought two fermenters and both valves went bad after a couple of uses. Dip tube is way to loose and has a tendency to stay pointing down. Lastly, when you rotate the valve (attempting to rotate the dip tube) the valve has a tendency to leak. Pro: like the ability to control fermentation temps, I put these into my beer fridge, wrap them with insulation, and they hold temp well- whether ale or lager temps. Stainless is easy to clean & sanitize. Multiple grab handles make moving easy. Size allows for plenty of head space for 5 gal batches. Would give these five stars if they had better quality valves & dip tubes. Cheers ??
In my 50 degree garage I can ferment at any temp I need, plus Brewzilla 3.1.1 neopreme blanket fits this perfectly.I modified the lid of mine to add 1.5 triclamp, and do oxygen free transfers. It's great!
It would be nice if it came with a thermowell for monitoring rather than that being sold separately. The heater maintains temperature well in a sub-60F room. So far, so good.
Worked like a charm for the first fermentation. So much easier to just set a temp and let it do its thing.
No instructions were included. I didn’t know how to adjust the heat controller. Boiled my new kit.
I got two of these on sale, I have to say they work good controls are easy and comes with everything you need. There are some things I would change but for the price it's hard to complain. One more thing they will heat a mash to temperature.......would I recommend these and I have to say yes they make things easier when it gets cold temperature stays where you need it the jacket is a must......to all be well
Nice new shiny fermenter with temp control? Hell yes!!! Ordered and received within 4 days!!! Works great holds temp within a couple degrees and looks badass all at the same time!!
The Bucket Buddy fermentor works exactly as I hoped. I used to use a heating pad/strip taped to my glass carboy then wrapped with silver bubble insulation. It worked but was a hassle every time. Now I just set the temp and walk away, easy! I use my BrewZilla neoprene jacket as insulation to assist the temp controller. Cleaning is by far the best advantage of getting away from glass and plastic. Cleaning this fermentor is quick and simple. I plan to drill extra holes in the lid to add my temp twister cooling coil for brewing lagers. No more lifting heavy carboys into my fridge. Just want to mention the first Bucket Buddy I ordered arrived dented. MoreBeeer took care of me super fast. Three days later I had a new replacement. Great customer service!!
The unit is easy to assemble but it would be nice to have guidance on setting temp etc. I figured it out and the product works fine.
No scorching and holds temp very well. The domed bottom has a high polished finish that makes it super easy to clean. Perfect for my basement in the colder months.
Received and well constructed! Like the fact that I can use it in the winter, to get an accurate fermentation temperature for brewing beer here in northeast in my cellar. Gets cooler down there and need the heater
Works very well. Nice design. The lid/top is substantial and has a good gasket and latching clips. You can tell the temperature of the contents at a glance from the digital readout if plugged in to electric and the heater will kick on if the temperature drops below your desired setting. Things I would change: The inner spout for draining off the liquid should be permanently attached to the drain spigot/valve. It's too loose and flops around and is easily moved if you stir the contents(easy fix). The temperature is adjustable in two degrees increments. I would change to one degree increments. I personally don't like the air lock device so I used my old standby (a minor detail). All in all, I would recommend this purchase.
Overall a very nice affordable fermenter but some minor things to be aware of:.The display and control buttons are accessible thru cutouts, i.e. not protected from spills. But then, what homebrewer ever spills anything??The temperature setting is only in two degree increments.In the end, I'm very pleased with the product and am thinking of buying another one.Mine did not come with any documentation - no user guide, specs, or warranty card. Hopefully that was just a packaging for the one I received.A minor thing, the stick-on label over the display and controls leaves adhesive behind that is very difficult to remove. Goo-Gone, WD-40 and isopropyl alcohol didn't phase it. Finally, soaking with Oxyclean laundry gel did the trick.
Just finished my first batch in the Bucket Buddy. It kept the temperature in the right range, and cleaned up easily.
Great birthday gift for my son! He really likes it!
It works great. I have my second batch in it and it is having no trouble keeping the temperature where I want it.
Good quality generally speaking. The heater works Sorta. Keeps things warm and will heat up cold liquids, but don’t expect any boiling miracles. Also the gasket for lid isn’t glued on and falls of easily but fits good so its eh.
Is it a good idea to use this fermenter for 5 gallon batches? Worried about waaaaaaaaay too much headspace.
I've used it for 5 & 6 gallon batches and it has worked good. I actually like the extra space. Good luck.
About 6 inches from the 5 gallon mark to the 8 gallon mark and about 8 inches to the top rim - Nice head space for my 5 gallon batches. Cheers!
I have used for 3 and 4 gallon batches without any issues. Would agree that maybe not ideal but seems to have worked for me. Have done kveik and Belgian stuff mostly.
I never had any issues with it. It makes great beer
I use it all the time for 5 gallon batches. Headspace hasn’t been an issue.
Don't worry about to much headtspace. The rule of thumb is twice the volume of the batch you are shooting for. So 5 gallons is 10 gallon fermentor. I have two 17.3 and 1 of the 9 ish gallons and will probably get another.
I have brewed 5 gallon batches of beer and six gallon batches of wine using this fermentor. So far haven't had any problems. All have turned out great.
Is there a false bottom that fits this unit?
Doesn't come with one not sure if there is one that fits it but not sure what you would use it for in a fermenter. There is a dip tube to keep yeast out of secondary or bottling.
Nope
i have not tried to put in a false bottom because it has a adjustable drain arm inside to leave your trub and yeast behind
The bottom of the fermenter is like a bowl and you can position the racking arm to be as high as you want. Never heard of a false bottom in a fermenter!
No
Can you add the Brewzilla extension and ferment 10+ gallons of wort in this?
I'm the one that asked this question but I tried because I didn't have larger fermenter available and needed to put 11+ gallons of wort in a fermenter an this one plus an extension was available. It worked but I had issues in getting the beer out and into kegs. My issue was I clogged up the valve with trub and had to siphon out the beer into kegs. I had not planned or prepared for this. I tried to push CO2 through the valve which started a small leak at the seal so don't do that. Itried turning the valve to maybe clear it or the tube inside. Apparently this loosened the valve so it had a small now too. I would suggest if you do this be prepared to siphon the beer just in case into your kegs. Again it works but be prepared for the clogging problem to use a siphon.
Although I have not tried that yet I would say yes you could do that. Everything between the two seems to be compatible. The top of both kettles are the same same diameter same clamps. The fermentor lid should fit perfectly on top the extension. I can’t remember if the extension has clamps on it’s top edge but even if it doesn’t the fermentor lid has a nice gasket and should still seal especially if you put a little weight on top. I used to ferment in an open bucket with clear wrap over the top so this would be completely doable.
Im not sure about this.
MoreBeer sells the proper extension for this. Find it here: https://www.morebeer.mom/products/boiler-extension-kit-35l-brewzilla-digiboil.html It will get you to 12+ gallons.
Sorry I'm not familiar with the extension but I do know you can ferment 6 gallons with no problem. Works great!
I think it's only rated at 9.2 gallons
What is the size of the bung for the airlock? Original one broke
I used my micrometer to measure the orginal stopper with hole that came with my fermenter. It is a number 3 stopper with hole and that hole is 3/8 for the airlock.
Just measured 1 1/16" long top 7/8" dia bottom 11/16" dia with a 1/4" center hole for the airlock. Hope that helps.
What is the temperature setpoint range?
The digital display will read from 32° to 284° Fahrenheit in 1 to 2 degree increments. Celsius will show from 0° to 140° in 1 degree increments. The inconsistent Fahrenheit increments might have something to do with the conversion from Celsius.
