FastFerment Conical Fermenter 7.9 Gallon Home-Brew Kit SPECIAL EDITION - BPA Free Food grade Primary Carboy Fermenter. Beer Brewing, Wine Fermentation or a Hard Cider brewing kit (Special Edition)

I received this as a gift in August 2019 via a friend's recommendation. It works great. I previously was using a 6 gallon food grade bucket and lid, but had trouble with the primary fermentation foaming up into the bubbler and plugging it up, which resulted in the lid blowing half off and exposing the brew to the air. Quite frustrating. This fermenter resolved that problem as it has plenty of head space....actually a 7.9g capacity. It also speeds the transfer to the keg from a 20 minute process to about 1 to 2 minutes, as the tubing to the keg is 3/4" in diameter, vs. 1/4", or 5/16". It also cleans easily and has a great design for capturing the yeast, should you want to use it again and save a few bucks.The only issues I had were, sealing the lid. It seems relatively easy to cross thread, or maybe it is just me. It works great when you get it right. I have only used this a couple of times, so I will be more cautious going forward. Probably the need to cover the wert quickly results in my not taking the time to get it right. If the wert isn't moving the bubbler soon after sealing it up, check the lid. Also, the bottom valve must have been defective from the box and would catch either opening, or closing it. After a few uses it had to be replaced. I had to reach out to the team at fastbrewing.com a few times, but it was over the holidays. They did get back to me after the 1st of the year and sent a replacement valve right out. It seems to work as designed. Overall - a great product and gift!Thanks,Mark

I ordered this fermenter because I read that I can skip the whole transfer into a secondary fermenter thus limiting the exposure of my homebrew to the outside elements that can affect the taste and quality of my brew. It was easy to setup and if you take the time to watch the setup video you will have NO LEAKS. It was not rocket science folks and I love it. On my second batch of beer now and glad I made the switch!

After receiving my fastferment, and inspecting everything -- I noticed the airlock they gave me had a crack down the side, but luckily it didn't leak.Some of the other fittings were weeping after putting it together and filling it with water -- especially around the thermowell.I think this is mostly due to the angle the threading was drilled. Basically every time you screwed it in the Teflon tape would tear at the top and then became exposed as it rotated. If it had been drilled perpendicular to the surface then this wouldn't be such a problem, but since the angle is off, you need a lot of Teflon tape -- I practically used the whole thing on the thermowell.There was a bit of leaking around the collection ball, but nothing more Teflon can't fix.Had to also sand down the top of the lid and in between the threads to ensure an airtight seal -- since I wasn't lucky enough to get one of the new ones pre-sanded and with the silicone gasket.I've only done one beer using the fastferment for one brew so far. It's a good product when it works, but when it gets glogged, it can be a bit of a pain -- especially with really hoppy or trubby beer.During my primary fermentation it became clogged with hops just above the ball valve. Now after adding hops for dry hopping it has happened again. I have to use a long wooden dowel to unclog it and get it to settle in the ball valve.As for bottling, unless you use the mounts, the stand won't allow much room for the hose line and it easily becomes kinked. Would have been much better with a 90 degree barb fitting.Since my first brew I have ordered a t-pipe junction, 6" SS thermowell, and a mini valve to fit into the thermowell -- so that I can take temp and gravity reading without oxidation.All in all pretty good product, but limits amount of beer you can make compared to a two carboy/bucket system

I started with one of these and now have three. I haven't had any problems with leaking. If the connections are wrapped correctly and not over tightened you won't have an issue. Reading some of the bad reviews, if I hadn't purchased my first one in 2015, I probably wouldn't after reading them. However, I assure you they are not accurate. I purchased my third one last week and I'm purchasing another one today. I received everything pictured. The only thing I didn't like was the stand. My first two had a stand already put together and I like that better. This weekend I filled all my Fastferments and a Big Boy Bubbler with wine for my niece's upcoming wedding. The reason I'm ordering another one is I can't keep the top on the bubbler. I will switch the wine to the FastFerment instead of a carboy. The FastFerment is worry free for the first 2 weeks, empty the collection ball, add ingredients, degas and leave it alone until the wine clears. Very easy clean up.

First item in instructions is to dissemble the valve using the red handle, but the handle doesn’t fit the valve. The metal rods for the stand were not properly threaded, the cap screws were defective and the directions were sketchy at best. Never got it assembled, sent it back. I love the theory, but not the presentation!

Two brews through this so far and both turned out great! I read the other reviews and do agree, being molded the way it is, the threads would definitely leak if used right out of the box. Thankfully the advise was here, that one should file and smooth out the molding lines where the threads are. A little jeweler's file and then the Teflon tape worked like a champ for me. I have no leaks s far. This thing is amazing and really steps up the fermenting process. No more bucket or carboy transfers for me!

Set up was easy could use thicker Teflon tape, just make about 12 rounds with what they supply.Threads needed some work before you tape test the fittings for rubs this will help smooth them down.As far as wine process Great idea and easy to clean and use. It is very light and easy to see what is happening with your brew. Great idea for a gift!