Space saving tips (Stacking FVs)

[giraffe]

Bit of a strange question, with 1 FV I am struggling to keep up with supply and demand. The obvious solution would be to buy another FV. Problem is I am stuck for space and if another FV appears in the kitchen I will have some explaining to do.

So I was wondering if anyone had tried stacking 1 FV on top of another? I would imagine an FV full of beer weighs a fair amount. The problem I see is that most FVs are tapered towards the top, so the bottom of the FV being stacked would be resting directly inside the lid on the one below which might be a bit too much.

Anyone else have any other space saving tips? My other option would be to bottle earlier, but I understand it is recommend to be in the primary for at least 2 weeks? Short of that I will have to put another FV outside in the car park :)

 

[Wolverine]

bigger fermenter ? double up batches

 

[giraffe]

Interesting idea :thumb:, not really seen any bigger than 25L. Going to have to do some searching.. I guess you can kind of use anything. Garden style water butt would hold a fair amount :)

 

[RobWalker]

not really an option imo - the lid of a FV swells when the pressure mounts. stacking two on top of each other would push more co2 out of the brew and probably stunt the protective layer you get...

it doesn't have to be in the FV for 2 weeks. It's when fermentation is complete and at room temperature, that's about 4 days for an average beer, as long as there are no slow fermenters in there. "bottle conditioned" beer is often bottled cloudy - providing you're sure that fermentation has finished it's entirely fine to do so, the **** will drop out just like it normally does - you will just have a slightly thicker layer of sediment. you can do the same in a keg if you're using one. :)

 

[Wolverine]

Interesting idea :thumb:, not really seen any bigger than 25L. Going to have to do some searching.. I guess you can kind of use anything. Garden style water butt would hold a fair amount :)

There are loads of sizes.I

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/container ... plain.html

That's a 60 litre for 25 quid problem solved

 

[eggman]

Personally i wouldn't stack them up, it might be ok with a sturdy piece of board on top of the bottom fv but i wouldn't like to risk it. I use 2 fv's, sometimes they're both in use at once but when the 2nd one is empty i stand it inside the other one to free up floor space. Sounds like you need to sweet talk the other half :lol:
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[giraffe]

Maybe bottling earlier will help to build up supplies. I always thought it was best to leave in the primary beyond fermentation as the yeast cleaned up some of the nasties.. Admittedly I never quite understood this as the yeast is still present in the bottles so surely it cleans up in there.

 

[eggman]

Don't bottle too early, the clearer it is when you bottle the better. Bottling after only 4 days in the fv is asking for trouble

 

[giraffe]

ok, how about finnings. Will they reduce the time need in the the primary?

 

[eggman]

Never used them in beer but yes it will help it to clear quicker but you will still need to make sure fermentation has finished otherwise you could have bottle bombs if you bottle too early.
Rehydrating the yeast will help to start things off quicker and may reduce the time in the fv
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