55 gallon SS drums... Where are they found at what price?
 

Where do you find SS 55 gallon barrels and how much should you expect to pay? Used, that is... New would be a bit too much, LOL!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/BARREL-DRUM-STAINLESS-STEEL-BEER-WINE-SYRUP-TANK_W0QQitemZ180409727577QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item2a0141fa59&_trksid=p3286.c0 .m14

Did ya even try? I put in stainless and beer in ebay and BAM! first item.
So how you gonna heat it, why you brewing so much, what kinda system you gonna build? :cross:

-OCD

I've been watching EBAY looking at them, but it's never local. Don't wanna ship an item like that. Every few weeks I hit my local scrap yard, they don't get any, ever, LOL. Craigslist, google, ebay... yeah, been putting in actual effort. Just can't seem to find any localy for a reasonable price. Maybe what I think is reasonable is just half or a quarter of what they usually go for. Maybe here in Oregon there just aren't many used... I want to price everything it would take to start up a nano-brewery. I figure if I get 4 SS barrels to brew in I could set 2 up as mash tuns and brew 4 batches a day(long day, but stagger the mash tuns with the boiling) and crank out 200ish gallons of beer per brew day. Thats 12ish 15.5 gallon kegs or 2000 ish bottles of beer.

That is where you are going wrong... thinking people will sell anything for a reasonable price on craigslist or ebay... Everyone seems to think you can get 80 to 90 percent of the original price of anything anymore. It cracks me up.

I like calling and offering them reasonable prices. Many people are down right offended.

Them: "But it has only been used once!"

Me: "So that makes it USED, right?"

:fro:

Go to google Maps and type "Salem, OR used barrels" in the search box.

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Salem,+OR+used+barrels&fb=1&gl=us&hq=used+barr els&hnear=Salem,+OR&view=text&ei=nc27Sv69EtKBtgeSn YGcDQ&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=more-results&resnum=4#

I like the people who think drilling a hole in the side of a crappy fridge makes it a kegerator worth $300. 'Cuz, you know, it's got a hole in the side'

what are you gonna use the barrel for? fermenter, kettle...?

Ihave seen some on craigslist for $15. I have been thinking about getting one and making a BBQ/Smoker out of it.

I just purchased a 55 gallon boil kettle from Austinhomebrew yesterday for $565 thanks to the 50StateSale2 deal they have going on. I know this isn't as cheap as a used SS drum, but it something to consider.

By the way, you may find that your boil and mash tun capacities won't be your limiting factors. The bottle neck tends to be your fermenting space. If you brew 200 gallons per day, 5 days a week, and ferment/condition your beers for, say, 2 weeks each, you'll need about 65 barrels of fermenting space. 4 weeks of conditioning and you're up to 130 barrels. Just something to consider.

One thing I'd recommend is if you actually want to sell your beer, don't build your commercial brewery like you would build a home brewery. Contact a local used equipment manufacturer. Used commercial vessels and kettles are that expensive (more than a few stainless drums though). If you're going to do it, do it right. It'll pay off in the long run.