Recommendations on fermenters?

Mickiboi

Yep sure is for a piece of moulded plastic.

fadge

@Drunkas said: I use one them 1000lt cubes as a coolant tank. It seems to be working prity good in the cooler weather but I recon she will need a cooling tower for the summer.

Yes, I use a cube for cooling, one run is no problem, but 2 in a row it will warm up a notch depending on what I'm running ie 2 x stripping at 7200w or a long spirit run at say 3000w for a few hours. In summer the tank itself can be sitting on 30 degrees + before I start.

At times I have diverted the hot outlet water to the lawn, and at the same time have been running colder tap water into the tank, works fine, no radiator or anything else to watch or run.

fadge

Sunshine

@Mickiboi said: Alternatively this is cheap!!!!! 200L Home Brew Conical Fermenter

well, i've seen one of those in real, the quality was not so impressing that I would have wanted it. Ask SD for a quote, at least, you know, what you get. It's worth some extra bucks.

I am generally not a friend of using any plastic in the process. There is not much experience about how much of the plastic gets in your wash and so. At least, we intend to drink our booze, we sure don't want unhealthy stuff in it.

Mickiboi

I didn't think the quality would be that good anyway. Didn't know that punkin/Lloyd could get those things. When I'm cashed up I will more than likely get a SS fermenter.

Lloyd

Micki, I know those folks in that link. Beware! They are ripoff artists.
Another 6 months and they'll probably change the company name again.

Mickiboi

Thanks Lloyd, do you get SS fermenters?

Moonshine

Yes, @Lloyd is right, there is an extraordinary amount of scumbags around on Alibaba. I'd not buy anything like that there on my own. It really is worth the extra dime that @Lloyd inspects and approves every vessel at the factory before it's shipped off to the respective SD distributor.

Sunshine

ripoff artists LOL!

The last bad experience I got with Alibaba direct purchase was in a complete different goods department: we wanted to buy chair covers, but it needed 10 sample deliveries and 3 different sellers to get at last what we wanted. But even this delivery was flawed. It was not a lot of money, but it was a hassle. The same with some led lightning: the wrong color, the wrong style and months of work to get the money back.

I am quite happy, that Lloyd and Tan handle all this, it is easier, it is the best quality for the best price.

Lloyd

@Mickiboi said: Thanks Lloyd, do you get SS fermenters?

Sure. The bigger the better. The price per liter gets right at about 1000L for a fermenter but below that there is an increasing price premium as the labor out-weighs the material costs.
A bit like 'the same effort and fittings to produce a 100L or a 500L' kind of thing.

We found this to be true with boilers also and the break point for them seems to be around 380L (100 US gallons). Below that the price per liter increases. Above that and the wall thickness needs to increase which has a big impact on cost. We vend A LOT of 380L boilers because it has the greatest liters per dollar value. (And I suspect 100 gallons is an easy number for a micro to develop recipes and procedures for - and to operate and be able to go home at night.)

The same folks that make our milk can boilers can make small (less than 100L) fermenters in pretty good quality. I have one from them in 50L size and love it. Naturally, I ordered mine with all the bells and whistles which drove up the price but I'd do it again because it's almost impossible to add a fitting later and get a sanitary polish on it. If I COULD do it all over again I wouldn't change a thing. Cept maybe go 70 or even 100L :D as the price wouldn't have been too terribly much more.

Lloyd

Oh, also a big thing about fermenters is if it is open or closed.
That's a fermenter term that means it can hold pressure of 15 PSI or not.
A closed fermenter in 1000L is expected to hold 2+ bar of pressure (29 PSI) and is rated to at least that.
My little fermenter is an open fermenter, although it is air-tight, it is not built to carbonate beer inside the fermenter.

Mickiboi

Well SS lasts forever and plastic lasts for not very long. If that link I posted wants 400 for a plastic 60 ltr conical drum and it wont last 2 years SS is worth it, twice or three times the price, buy it once and once only. I will send my request to punkin.

Lloyd

'won't last 2 years but SS lasts forever' - paraphrasing ... does that go into infinity and screw the equation? Enter your age into the calculation and ... whammo ... says you need a SS fermenter =))

I have a few good years left, maybe, and bought a conical SS fermenter. But I'm habitually optimistic. If I thought I'd die soon I'd have gone plastic.

Mickiboi

I just used that calculator, says I need a SS fermenter.

Moonshine

Stainless steel is sexy! \m/

Sunshine

like that?

punkin

Yep, it's much cheaper over there.

CothermanDistilling

I have just got a 300 gal rotomolded fermenter with stand, but will be adding a 7bbl stainless one from SD to it soon... $728 delivered:

Ace Roto Mold 300 Gallon - 45 Deg. Cone Bottom, Dome Top CB0300-42 @ RuralKing

irishman

To @Lloyd 's point, if you're looking for a stainless conical fermenter to hold pressure look at the brewhemoth (if you're in the states). I use them for the beer side, and it can certainly handle the pressure. I think it's about the only thing going if you want to force carb or ferment on pressure. Atleast in the states that'll go above 5psi and still be a reasonable cost. They do custom fittings and all as well.

These guys have a 17gal
These guys sell the Brewhemoth

That brewhemoth does have a 4" triclamp on top...guess you could use it as a single vessel if you wanted. Never really thought about it, but don't see why it wouldn't work. Just put an element in from the side.

Drunkas

@Sunshine said: like that?

Im looking real hard but I cant see SD on em

Moonshine

@Drunkas said: Im looking real hard but I cant see SD on em

Better? B-)

Grudaire

Brewers hardware makes what appears to be an excellent fermenter from all my research. It is what I will buy when I get the funds together. It has not been rated yet for psi but apparently that is in the works. I know brewers run it to 10 psi without issue. I also like that it doesn't use custom lid gaskets like so many others conicals as everything is TC.

irishman

Just a head's up, the brewers hardware unit is more expensive than the brewhemoth unit. And the brewhemoth does take all triclamp if you get that model. Worth a look. Yes I use one. No I don't have any affiliation other than that. I just like it at the pricepoint. It's hard to beat.

punkin

Just had some released in Australia at an unbeatable price. Wish i was able to sell them at this price point, but i can't buy them anywhere near this, so as a public service announcement here ya go...

Ss Brewtech 6.95 Gal Brew Bucket @ Newera Brewing

Brew Bucket @ Full Pint Brewing

cooperville

wow i like the look of those fermenters very good setups price is getting there for sure

Grudaire

I'm currently having my stout 20 gallon boil kettle modded by a welder. Hope is to make it air tight so I can boil and ferment in the same unit with the help of a few SD parts. Not quite as fancy as a conical though, but still better than a carboy, cheaper, and saves garage space.