Yeah it’s pretty dirty… going to require multiple washings before I use it… The inside welds after the inital wash are certainly not the greatest… The majority of it looks good but there are a couple spots that are not so good with some pitting etc…
Dkfick, did you get ported or un-ported versions? I got a ported one, so I picked up a valve to cover that. Do I need to take any special care with a ball valve in a fermenter?
I got the unported ones. If I were going to use a port I would make sure it’s removable and I would remove and clean/sanitize it with each use.
That’s what I was planning on. Just a basic valve, gaskets on both sides, will need to add a barbed connector at least on outside
Gonna be an interesting brew day for my next: new 15gallon BruGear kettle, new 7.9 gallon SS fermenter, and my second batch of lager, BCS Dunkel. Lot of new variables, should make my head hurt trouble shooting any issues, but can’t wait to use both pieces of new equipment!
A good body guy could bump that out. 
Well I heard back from Adam last night. He’s offered me either a partial refund or a full refund. I’m going to try and knock this thing out… if successful I’m taking the partial refund… if not… full refund…
It seems to me a block of wood and my mallet should be good enough to get this done…
Can you hook up CO2 to it and use pressure to pop it out?
That is worth a try, if Dan can apply pressure through the out port. I wouldn’t apply much though.
Edit - no out port on Dan’s.
hmm it’s possible… but I would have to wonder how much pressure would need to be applied… I mean it seals up tight with only a small hole in the lid… in theory it should be able to get a decent amount of pressure in there if I can keep the co2 hose from leaking around that input too much…
Don’t blow the lid off. That would be bad.
The lid clamps are pretty hardcore… Though I’m thinking hammer is what will be used
Those lid clamps are very serious. Took a closer(?) look inside mine and everything looks good inside. The questionable weld looks like it’s just where the base is welded to the unit
Well… Mallet was a no go… I ended up sticking a car jack in there and it mostly did the trick.
Couldn’t you just send it back and get it replaced?
Sadly no. Because only a specific amount were manufactured my options were send it back for a refund or keep it and get a partial refund. I actually don’t mind this because while this may not be perfect looking it’s still functional and now half price 
Yeah, that sounds like a good deal as long as you don’t think the irregular surface will be hard to clean.
You need one of these.
I have not received my fermentation vessel, but you guys are not making me feel warm and fuzzy about my decision to participate in the buy. I was ready to write this buy off as a loss given how long it took to fulfill.
I am going to reserve judgement until I put this baby to work. It’s my first non bucket or carboy fermenter, so it’s all a little strange to me. They were supposed to be leak tested by manufacturer, in China, so we shall see