Co2 for pressure fermentation

[Ray Porter]

So I took the plunge and ordered a fermzilla to give pressure fermenting a try. I have no real idea what I'm doing - I have watched a few YouTube videos.I bought the kit from Malt Miller that comes with blowtie, dip tube and heat belt. I understand that the brew process will generally produce enough co2 for fermentation but will need gas to push the beer out when finished. My question is what tank is suitable and what else would I need? Any recommendations for where to purchase/what to avoid?
Thanks you

 

[RichardM]

There is a Malt Miller video and probably many others showing how to do closed transfers from fermenter to keg. Watch a few of those, decide which method suits you and then buy the appropriate kit.

 

[Its6pmsomewhere]

Are you planning on transferring to another keg or using the fermzilla as a unitank and serving the beer direct from it? You could go all out and get a big CO2 tank and regulator which you'll probably end up getting eventually but if you want to keep things simple to start with just get an adapter for sodastream gas cartridges and a small regulator. I got one on Ali express for 20 quid. I find the Pluto beer gun way better than a party tap for dispensing and well worth the extra expense. Get some push fit reducers to suit it and a few feet of 3/16 beer line that you can kind of coil up and cable tie to keep tidy. It's also a nice mobile little system to have if you go down the oxibar/mini keg route. You can get little gas cartridges and a 'charger' built into a gas connect but they're a hassle and you'll get sick of them fast and upgrade.

 

[Ray Porter]

What kind of use do you get from soda stream bottles? A couple of brews/transfers?

 

[Its6pmsomewhere]

Depends on your process really. Try to get as much out of fermentation co2 as you can, I spund at 15psi, the blowoff goes into a keg full of sanitiser that's hooked to an empty keg, use the blowoff to push the sanitiser from the full keg into the empty and then from the now full keg back into a bucket and stick another spunding valve on the kegs when empty and get those pressurised and ready to go, this is also a good way to get your transfer lines santised and ready to go. If your not using the sodastream to purge your serving kegs you'll get more out of it. I have a big co2 bottle, I got the sodastream setup for a minikeg but woke up one morning to an empty co2 cylinder thanks to a leak and the sodastream kept me going until I got a replacement. They're a handy fallback if nothing else, you will get mileage out of them, how much is kinda subjective because temperature and desired co2 volume will dictate a lot of your usage. Its a good option as a jumping in point (in my opinion, others may disagree) and it has a place in your inventory even when you move to a big co2 tank and unfortunately that's not always the case with homebrew equipment

 

[hoppyscotty]

With a fermzilla you will need a co2 cylinder to transfer. You could take the lid off and siphon but that would mean pressure fermentation was pointless.

Dont bother with soda stream bottles. Expensive co2 and not very useful. Can serve ready carbonated beer but not much use for pressure transfer.

It’s simple set up once you have the co2 cylinder and regulator and make up a line with a couple of ball lock connectors.