I apologize in advance if this has already been discussed.
Has anyone had experience in comparing a Stout Tanks conical fermenter and a Blichmann conical? There seems to be a very large difference in price. I understand that the Stout Tanks have welds, and the Blichmanns don’t. Are there any advantages/disadvantages of one over the other?
Blichmann are the highest-quality, most versatile fermentation vessels available (less lab-grade yeast propagation equipment). I ask Santa for one every Christmas.
Check out the pictures and a comparison of similar models here:
http://www.blichmannengineering.com/fermentor/fermentor.html
I’ve done business with both. One of my RIMS modules is from Stout Tanks… Thought about also getting a mashtun, HLT and boil kettle from them, but it was going to take 2-3 months to get it since they come from China. I have a buddy that bought a mashtun and boil kettle from Stout tanks. It was the 10 gal. model… except that it only holds 9.2 gallons… They are nice kettles, but I ended up splurging and buying Blichmann 20 Gal Kettles for my mashtun, HLT and boil kettles because I didn’t want to wait + they are made in the USA. A few other places you should take a look at is maybe www.glaciertanks.com or www.brewershardware.com . Glacier Tanks is fast! They have a pretty cool RIMS module that is nice too.
I was gonna get the Blichmann 7 gal Fermenator but it has ball valves and the Stout Conical 7.3 gal fermenter came with butterfly valves for less. Plus it comes with a thermometer port with thermometer. Issues with the ball valves harboring bacteria that could taint your brew just don’t cut it.