Priming for bottling with a FastFerment

I got a FastFerment conical fermenter for Christmas and immediately made a batch of red ale, but when it came time to bottle I couldn’t figure out if I should add the priming sugar directly to the FastFerment or if I should draw off the beer into a bucket with the sugar to make sure it gets mixed. I wasn’t able to find any clear answers online, only speculation.

I ended up taking a gamble because I didn’t want to mess with a bucket. I boiled the priming sugar in water as directed and poured it directly into the FastFerment. I then let it sit for 2-3 hours before bottling. I bottled with the hose fitting and a very short (around 4-5 inches) segment of hose, using the provided hose clamp to reduce flow rate.

Two weeks later, the bottles were nicely primed and ready to drink. I have not yet found any undercarbonated beers, nor have I had any bottle bombs, so I consider it a success.

Update, August 2019: Having made a couple more batches, I’ve decided I prefer to pour the priming sugar mixture into a bucket and drain the FastFerment into it. Bottling with a autosiphon and wand is simply easier than using the fitting on the FastFerment. However, either method seems to produce acceptable results.