Question on fermenting in corny

I want to try fermenting in corny kegs since they fit in my chest freezer and i can control the temperature better then using carboys in the closet. I think I have it rigged up with things i already have at the house but wanted to see if anyone saw problems/better ideas. I unscrewed the out line and took out the dip tube and inside valve so i just have a hole when I screw it back on. Then added a picnic tap line that I will just leave open in water as a blow off. I know its not the best, but should work with what i had at the house.

Hermish, Layne (of Layne's Backyard Brewpub fame) has been fermenting in kegs for about 8 months or so now and loves it. Shoot him a message, I am sure he can give you some tips.

Intrested as well. Are you doing full 5 g batches?

It's a common question around here. Sorry to be that buy but do a search for it and many threads will pop up. Also, take a look at the similiar threads below here as they often help.

Getting that out of the way.... It should work well. I have removed the dip tube before and put some tubing on which works well. It's especially helpful when the keg is in a fridge as flies and dust are less likely to be traveling around.

PartyBible said:

Intrested as well. Are you doing full 5 g batches?

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Typically you are not able to do a full 5 gallon batch. Some people use fermcap-S to maximize the volume they can ferment by minimizing the krausen. I typically will split a full 6-6.5 gallon batch between two corny kegs as I want a full 5 gallons when it's all said and done.

PartyBible said:

Intrested as well. Are you doing full 5 g batches?

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I normally brew 10 gallon batches, so I was thinking of bumping that down to 9 gallons and splitting it into 2 kegs. And I'm going to use defoamer, which i guess is like fermcap.
It will be in a chest freezer so things shouldn't get in, but i think I should have an airtight seal the way I am doing it. Kiind of part of what I was asking though.

From the sounds of it you should have a pretty good seal.

I ferment in kegs becuase they fit in freezer much better than carboys do. They're easier to load and unload also. The only down side is they hold just under 5.5 gallons. THe weld line about in inch and a half down from the top (on the inside of the keg) is just under five gallons. Thats where I fill to. That leaves me less than a half gallon of head space for krausen which is a little less than ideal but not horribly worse than a 5 gallon carboy. I get blow off but this hasn't effect anything as far as I have noticed. No stuck fermentations or higher than normal final gravities. I don't use fermcaps but if you have them then I see no reason not to use them.

I went from using a 6.5 gallon carboy that I was used to putting 5.5 gallons into so that I got a full 5 gallons at bottling even on dry hopped beers. It was an adjustment only getting 4.5 gallons out and I felt like I was getting ripped off at first.

I brew a lot though so I realized that getting a few bottles less out of each batch isn't a huge deal to me. I just like to brew a lot of beers and see how they turn out, let others try them, drink a few here and there, send them into comps, etc.

If you're a "pipeline" stock kind of guy then the half gallon might be more crucial to you. Just depends how you look at it.

No issues with sealing or anything like that to worry about with cornies. In my experience they have worked just as well as a carboy with blowoff/airlock. Just use a vinyl tube and hose clamp for blow off.