Check this out. It’s a pretty nice setup for converting a Sanke Keg to a fermenter. http://www.brewershardware.com/fermenter.htm
Gimme til tomorrow to get the pics up . .
OCD . . don’t give up on me . . I’m gonna get a pic up fer ya. :-[
This lid is just a cheap plastic plate from WalMart, but it’s pretty much what dhacker describes. The hole in the top is 6.5" and there is a 7.25" X 0.25" o-ring from Fastenal used as a gasket between the plate and the top of the keg. The hold-down bar is made from a keg spear, some all-thread and a few nuts, and is held on with a couple c-clamps.
I have used kegs converted in the same manner as described above and they work great. My old brew partner had two fermenters like this with a drain valve welded on in the same manner as a converted keg boil kettle. For his lid, he cut a smaller hole (10") in the keg he used for a fermenter and a larger (12") hole out of another keg for a boil kettle. He then used the scrap sankey top from the larger hole with a bead of silicone for his lid. Boiling water in the keg was the preferred method of sanitation.
For a commercial product I have the Sabco “yeast brink”… essentially a sankey type keg with a corny-style top welded on and the same gas-in and beer-out ports as a corny. I am not sure they still sell these, but it would be worth the call. They ran about $175 when I bought mine. I can’t compare it to a stainless conical, but it has worked great for me using the gas-in line, a short length of hose, and a cup of water on top of the keg as an airlock. I have a 12 gallon batch of Classic American Pils fermenting in it now. If they don’t sell these anymore it might be worthwhile to hire a welding shop to tig weld the top of an old corny to a (legally obtained) sankey keg.
I’m trying to post pics . . what a PITA. >:(
Finally . . The pics!
Nice work.
Thanks! Looks good.
This may be a bit late, but I found this website about the same time as the original post.
Check out www.conical-fermenter.com The guy has SS conicals for better then half the price of the same-size Bilchmans. I’ve got a 14.5 gal on it’s way right now and John’s been super to work with.
Tommy Boy. BAM!
It’s obvious that I’m easily distracted from the main topic.
$410 bucks for a 14 gallon conical isn’t “better than half” the price of a Blichmann. They are a bit less expensive though.
A Blichman with tri-clamp fittings (which all the others have) at Homebrew Heaven is $921
$830 for a 14.5g Blichman on both Midwest and Williams Brewing.
$895 for a 14g on Morebeer. (Not Blichman, but their house brand, but comparable)
Now, NB, Austin and Brewmasters Warehouse all have the Blichman for $599
So, with 4 places with higher prices, and three with lower, I’m willing to state that on average, the price is higher for the Blichman fermenter.
830/2=415
415>410
So, yes, better then half price. At most some places.
Right around 600 bucks is what I have been seeing them at at the places I shop.
There is a company in St Louis that makes a half barrel (holds a total of 20 gallons) stainless conical for under 400. One was donated to the STL Microfest Homebrew Competition for BOS. For a brochure call 888-207-8802 and ask to speak to a Brewhemoth rep.
I found this pic on the Brewhemoth at St. Louis Brews
I did just find these, though I’ve never used them before. I’m actually considering buying one and seeing if I can make it work. Does anyone have any experience using something like this?
70 bucks for a 15 gallon “FDA standard compliant tank” (unsure if that means food grade, I’m still doing research) sounds pretty good though, and even if you have to add extra fittings to it, it might still be worth it.