I love the jacketed portion of it. So much better for cleaning. Although it has worked for me recently, I'm still skeptical about the lids on these and the spikes. I don't trust that I'm not going to lose a tank of CO2 whenever I carbonate up to 15psi. All that being said, it looks like a great system and I'm probably just worrying too much! Love the in depth review. Cheers!
Thanks for the incredibly honest review! I think another big benefit worth mentioning, in my opinion, is the more accurate scalability when it comes to commercial brewing. I’m an assistant brewer at a commercial brewery and, since MOST commercial breweries have proper, jacketed unitanks, I think the X2 is an excellent tool for developing your recipes in the most accurate way possible. If that makes any sense. Thanks again!
I love that you engaged the viewer to ask themselves if they actually need a $1000 fermenter. Jacketed means one thing. Achieving the efficiency of a jacketed fermenter can come in many variables. When I mashed in coolers I used a 10 gallon igloo. The 10 gallon igloo would hold a 6 gallon carboy with room to spare, and that was how I temp controlled my carboy. It worked very well using tap water as ours is around 50 degrees year round. If you have an extra thousand, and I am not sure where to find extra grands laying around, and this gem will make your life easier, the price is good. Great Vidya Apartment.
Great, in-depth review Steve! Thanks for the honesty here. All too often BrewTubers only discuss the pros of something they have been asked to review. This fermenter looks like an incredibly versatile unitank. Once I’m in the market for something on this scale, I will revisit this review and the CF5 to make sure I am getting the most bang for my homebrew buck. Thanks 🍻
Very cool, Steve. Most of your experiences with the jacketed X2 resemble my own with one exception; my 14 gal version struggles to hold pressure. I just posted a video on that yesterday.
@@patrickglaser1560 the gasket? No. Could try it but for now just trying to use it as intended. I just think the choice of using v clamps instead of something else like TC clamps is the root problem. V clamps aren’t designed for use in these kind of fermenters.
@BEER-N-BBQ by Larry oh ya, the v clamp also has a right-side-up as well. It was maddening for me, one uni was 15psi capable the other only got up to 7. After fiddling I got both unitanks up to 15psi
Great review! I have the 7 gal. jacketed X2 and your review is spot on! There's definitely some quality concerns and mine does not hold pressure very well. I do love the cooling and temp control when combined with the Brewbuilt chiller though. The Flex Chamber is difficult to reach on the 7 gal. model and it's messy to drop the trub. There's hardly enough room to use the butterfly valve due to the handles hitting the legs. All-in-all, I wish I had waited for the second version of this fermenter but it defintely has it's benefits.
X2 jacketed conical user here. My Flex Chamber leaked on my first few batches, no matter how many times I re-screwed the lid, it would start leaking once it was under water pressure or pressure fermenting. It just could not hold over 5psi pressure before it would start leaking. Finally, I swapped out the Flex Chamber for a 2" Tri-Clamp Hop Bong I had on hand and it solved all my issues. Now I use the hop bong for my trub collector and I got another for a Hop Bong. (2 flex chambers for sale, hmu) I do not use the floating dip tube but I do use the pressure lid to add CO^2 while draining out the included sample valve or setting up pressure testing when pressure fermenting. Another "must have", IMO, is the carb cap air stone! Works awesome for adding oxygen when starting a ferment and for carbing once fermentation is compete. I use mine on the side opening of the hop bong. The air stone can also be bought as a 1.5" tri-clamp if you don't want to use it on the Flex chamber or Hop Bong. I also really like the Spunding Valve and Pressure Gauge from BrewBuilt as they are heavy duty and seemly will last forever if cared for during use (can be bought on amazon for a bit cheaper). Jacket works great, I haven't timed my temp change for CC but I set it at night and by the time I wake up it's at temp (usually 1-2C) regardless of what I started at for temp. I have done 20C D-Rest to 1C CC in an 8 hour sleep with ambient temp of 20-22C with no problems. Side note, I do this over night because ambient temp is typically lower and electricity costs are cheaper after 9pm local time and since this requires a lot of cooling power, I feel like it saves me some change on my power bill. Overall, IMO, great fermenter. Cools faster than my Fermzilla or All Rounder with the chilling coil. Much easier to clean SS walls vs the tight spaced SS coil with the CIP ball attachment. And could technically do no chill fermenting, which the PET fermenters cannot do.
Thanks for the honest review. I don’t do nearly the number of brews you brewtubers do. For me, I use the basics which serves me well. However maybe some day. It is impressive to see the technology that a brewery would use now available to home brewers. Cheers!🍻
I have the CF10 and Flex+, but if I had to do it over, I really love the simplicity of a simple corny keg with a floating dip tube. Best bang for the buck for pressure fermentations imo.
I'm currently planning on "upgrading" from corny keg and floating dip tube fermenting to a conical. Seeing your post is making me reconsider. I'm curious why you would take the keg fermenting route if you had to do it over? Is it just that there is less too clean and deal with? Cheers!
@@beernie1946 Pretty much, plus no leaking issues with the top on those type of conicals. If it were me, I'd look at the Megamouth Torpedo kegs from More Beer. For the price of the CF-5, you could get two maybe three of the 6 gallon Mega mouths. Add the floating dip tubes and your in business. With the larger lids compared to regular cornys, adding a 1.5 inch triclamp bulkhead for other accessory attachments make it a clear cut winner imo. The only disadvantage to the Megamouths that I see are they have a larger footprint vs a standard 5 gallon ball lock. That might be something to consider if kegerator space is a premium.
@@GentleGiantFan Thanks for the detailed response! Those torpedo kegs look awesome! The 10 gallon has a good form factor for its size I feel (taller vs wider). I'm currently using two 6 gallons standard torpedo kegs which have been pretty awesome so far. I'm still tempted by the shiny conicals, but you've made me think twice about it. I think I'll at least hold off for a while longer
@@beernie1946 You're welcome. I have a 15 gallon corny that I use for 10 gallon batches. I added a floating diptube to it. Also, the way the handles are oriented, I was able to reverse the lid's handle (bale?) to where I had room to drill a hole big enough for a 1.5" triclamp bulkhead. I plan on adding Spike's spunding valve to it in the future. I have maybe $130 in it all together. I wished my CF-10 was that cheap.
fabulous and honest review ... thanks for that (and years of top tips that have improved my beer). One question however, why "non foaming sanitiser" with this setup? Did I miss something important? Cheers,
Great video. I love all the information and comparison with the Spike. If I didn't already have a Spike conical, I would be very tempted to get one of these for the jacket cooling.
I've been watching this thing for awhile now. Thanks for a great review. I would like to upgrade my CF10. Having that big port at the top for dry hopping lodo and not messing with a coil would be amazing.
Thanks for this comparison its very relevant as I'm making my decision to go from bucket to conical. My local homebrew shop primarily sells Spike equipment. From talking to them its seems Spike treats the shops they work with pretty well for ordering/supporting through the shop which is always nice. That probably gives it the edge for me.
I'll also throw out there that Spike's customer service is fantastic. I've had two minor issues, one was likely my fault, but they replaced the part in question at no cost to me very quick and easy. I don't know what support is like for the X2. Does anyone else have experience there?
Looking to see which is best uni for creating lagers. Seems like the jacketed would be better but I am a bit nervous about some of the issues people have had. Concerned about the placement of all the ports in the 7gal as well as some of the pressure holding issues with the lid.
Jacketed helps in terms of cooling speed but if you use a coil you'll get close enough once you get down there. Agreed in the ports, annoying but it works eventually
There's a saying among people who fish; some gear is made to catch fish, and some is made to catch fishermen. My brewery plans are evolving to a lower-cost, but effective, method. I would have once drooled at the thought of this fermenter, but now I see fermenting under pressure in a corny keg as a less-sexy, but just as viable option. It won't wow your friends as much, but the beer will be just as good.
I saw this at homebrew con last year. There is a lot I like about it, but as a Spike CF5/10 user, there is not enough to make me switch. The jacket is super cool, but I don't like all the ports smushed together in the cone like you mention and some other things. I'm sort of thinking about a coolbot walkin in the basement, in part, to get around the cold crash shortcomings of the coil in the Spike CF... That and a little bit of a hassle cleaning are my only problems with the cooling coil.
I think of you've already got one it's not enough to switch fully as well. I think though if you're a first time unitank buyer it would be a very useful product.
im looking at this vs the brewtools miniUni+, the jacket on the miniuni seems to cover better for smaller batches, kind of leaning towards the brewtools...
Great video and well articulated. Loving my X2 so far. That cooling jacket is a game changer! Some input related to what you brought up. My lid clamp doesn't bottom out on the threads but it does bottom out where the v portion makes contact with each other. Also, have a half batch in mine at the moment and can confirm, it cools pretty well still even though the cooling jacket only makes contact with an inch or so of the beer. Question, what size conical heater did you get? Unfortunate that they don't have the compatibility chart updated for the X2 and support wasn't sure which ones would fit the 7gal quite yet.
Seems to me there'd be a decent market for a standalone cooling jacket--some sort of a mat or pad with channels/tubing in it to run chilled glycol or water through. Presto, you have a jacketed fermenter. Or does it already exist, and I just don't know about it?
@@TheApartmentBrewer Turns out it does, the "Cool Zone Cooling Jacket." Starts at about $80, but that does include a set of quick disconnects FWIW. Since I don't see me buying an X2 any time soon (unfortunately I didn't win the giveaway from morebeer), I might have to give this a try.
For the price, I can buy a new Fermzilla every time I brew and throw away the old one😂. I would like to see how the cooling jacket connects. Thanks, Steve!
One comment at the end of the presentation caught my ear....Why do you have to use NON-Foaming sanitizer in one of the conicals? I'm looking to set up a Spike CF10 system a long with a 15gal Solo. I've never heard of having to only use non-foaming sanitizer in either the brew or fermenting equipment... Why are you recommending this? And...what is a non-foaming sanitizer product to look into? I'm only familiar with one sanitizer, the Star-San. Thank you in advance!! CC
If you sanitize in place through use of a spray ball you'll want nonfoaming Sanitizer or you'll be up to your nose in bubbles. 5 star makes saniclean which I use.
@@TheApartmentBrewer Ah..thank you. I guess I'd only thought about doing cleaning with the ball....not the sanitize. I'm new to this...I had only thought about cleaning after a brew, but doing sanitization just before putting wort in....and with that I'd honestly not thought about the CIP Ball, I'd assumed pumping some Star San solution in and using a sponge/brush to run it around the inside. But you're giving good ideas. As an aside, there's no need to sanitize just after a brew, right...since it will often set where contaminates could land....you generally need to sanitize just before use for fermentation...is that correct? Thank you in advance, CC
So there's two schools of thought on this, you can either clean and sanitize after a brew and apply pressure, keeping the unitank pressurized until the next batch or you can just sanitize right before receiving new wort, which is what I do
question not necessarily related to this comparison. I watched the video on brewing the treehouse hazy and noticed that the past few brews you've switched from using distilled water to using spring water. Did you get a water prfile done for that brand and know the minerals already present are consistent? I ask because i still am using distilled water and adding minerals, but spring water is easier to find sometimes.
No water profile, but for when you are building up a water profile with 100+ ppm of key minerals, the 5-10 ppm of Base minerals in spring water doesn't matter in the long run
The temp probe location shouldn't be an issue if you're shaving the cone every day or every other day like you should be doing. A lot of Spike CF power users configure the cone with the following: coming off the cone > butterfly valve > sight glass > 90° elbow > butterfly valve > then typically a reducer or barb with X inches of silicone. This gives significantly greater control over shaving the cone, but it's only possible with the leg extensions. Question - is there enough room on the X2 for that configuration?
7 gallons is too small to justify all those expensive things fitted to what is essentially a cheap stainless bucket. The cost benefit ratio is wrong. I would highly recommend that anyone going down this route buys a higher volume unitank as the extra dollar will be worth investing. Weld quality - made in China?
Are you planning on doing them traditionally at cold temps or under pressure? A fermentation chamber chest freezer paired with a bucket is still cheaper than this fermenter and will get just as much consistency. But the unitank is very useful if you commit to it long term.
