We recently ordered (and received delivery of) our new 30L Nano - X Flexi Unibucket Fermenter from Cheeky Peak Brewery. Here's some photos and info from our unboxing experience.
Opening the box and we've got our fermenter fitted with the standard lid and a small bag containing the screw in rubber feet on top.
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| Nano X Flexi Unibucket Fermenter |
The fermenter itself, in all it's glory. This is the 30L model so it is quite small - we'd describe it as "cute". Nice and shiny too!
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| 1.5" port opening on the Nano X Fermenter body |
I'm not a welder but the welds look reasonably neat - certainly not perfect but more than acceptable.
Looking inside the fermenter from the top - very smooth and no rough edges where the ports are located.
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| Nano X Flexi Unibucket Fermenter - Front On |
Looking at the fermenter front on and there appears to be an extra 1.5" port opening where the thermowell should be - this differs from the picture on the Cheeky Peak Brewery website as indicated by the red arrow below. The website states this should be a 22mm laser cut hole?
Ultimately not a big deal but a noticeable difference. As it turns out, the included thermowell is a 1.5" tri clover connection which will fit in this opening - as seen in the photo below.
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| The included 1.5" thermowell |
This is our first time dealing with a stainless fermenter using tri clover clamps/fittings - we tested installing the included ball valve sight glass and was pleased at how easy, simple and secure these fittings felt - no doubt this is why it's the standard fitting type for most connections in the brewing (and now homebrewing) industry.
We plan to use the ball valve sight glass in the orientation pictured below, so we can see the wort in the sight glass with the ball valve shut. We reached out to Cheeky Peak Brewery to confirm this wouldn't be an issue with pressure fermenting potentially causing the sight glass to break - they advised the sight glass is rated to 40psi so using the ball valve sight glass in this manner won't be a problem.
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| Nano X Fermenter with Ball Valve Sight Glass fitted |
There is also a 12.7mm racking cane that is designed to be put into the end of the above pictured ball valve sight glass
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| 12.7mm Racking Cane (connects to ball valve sight glass) |
We like the ability to pressure ferment so we purchased a couple of other bits and pieces to go along with the pressure rated lid that comes with the Flexi Unibucket Fermenter.
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| Cheeky Peak 1.5" Pressure Release Valve (PRV) |
This is the 15psi pressure release valve (PRV). A must have if you're going to be pressure fermenting as the pressure lid is rated to 15psi. It's basically an insurance policy for your equipment to ensure the pressure inside the vessel can never exceed the rated maximum of 15psi.
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| 1.5" Ball Lock Gas & Liquid Posts |
We also purchased 1.5" gas and liquid ball lock posts to fit to our pressure rated lid.
We also purchased some extra clamps, blanking plates and seals for the different connections - some were included with the kit but we wanted some extras and spares just in case.
Here's a quick graphic to hopefully help others understand the different connections and openings on the Nano X Fermenter body.
2 - 2" opening
3 - 1.5" opening
4 - 1.5" opening - recommend the ball valve sight glass be fitted here
5 - 1.5" opening - where an additional dump valve would typically be attached to
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| Rubber feet attached to legs of the Nano X Fermenter |
Attaching the rubber feet to the ends of the legs - the finish on the ends of the legs was a little rough
A closeup of the 1.5" opening at the base of the unit with and without the end cap and clamp attached
Fully assembled and washed down ready for duties
Here's a closeup of the 1.5" tri clover thermowell installed along with a top down photo showing it protruding into the fermenter body
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| Nano X Fermenter Pressure Lid |
Here's a closeup of the pressure lid - which includes 3 x 1.5" openings and a single 3" opening in the centre.
Our pressure lid fully assembled with 2 x 1.5" ball lock posts (1 for gas, 1 for liquid), 1.5" 15psi pressure release valve (PRV) and 3" blanking plate. We plan to use the 3" opening for dry hopping in the future
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| Under side of the Nano X Fermenter Pressure Lid |
Under side of the Nano X Fermenter Pressure Lid - blue part is the rubber seal
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| Nano X Flexi Unibucket Fermenter - fully assembled with pressure lid |
And here's our fully assembled Nano X Fermenter with pressure lid and all fittings attached.
We're very happy and impressed with the quality of this unit, and it's parts/accessories so far. Looking forward to putting getting a brew into it ASAP!
Our next step is to perform passivation to ensure we don't get any metallic off flavours appearing in our beers - check out our post all about passivating stainless steel for more details on what passivation is and how we performed it.Related Posts
Cheeky Peak Nano-X Fermenter - Impressions after First Brew
How to passivate stainless steel homebrewing equipment
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