plastic conical question

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josterhues

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So a fellow brewer buddy of mine swayed me from purchasing a 15 gallon plastic conical from U.S. plastics for fermenting in. His reason was that he heard they are a pain to clean right, meaning get all left over fermentation to prevent mold and bacteria growth and they supposedly just go bad after 5 or 6 uses. So I want your guys input, especially from people that have the plastic conical about the above statement.

Thanks. Let me know how you guys feel about them cause I wanted to go plastic instead of stainless because of cost.
 
i know breweries that use the bigger versions. they have been using the same ones for over 2 years. Just hose off, scrub gently, run PBW through it, and then sanitize right before you use it. Shouldnt be a problem, just dont use anything abrasive to scratch it with.
 
I have a spray ball that I use with mine. First I run clean water through for a couple minutes, then hot pbw for 5 mins, then hot water.....crystal clean.

On 10+ batches.
 
Yea, sorry, but if you care about your equipment, it will last, regardless of what it's made of. I know guys that could ferment good beer in play-dough conicals for ten years if someone paid for it.

All Snark aside, many many small brewers have been fermenting in plastic for quite a while with no issues. This is easily replicated by homebrewers using better bottles. No matter what you have, a soak in HOT oxyclean or PBW will clean it. There simply is no excuse for scrubbing equipment anymore. Anyone who cares a fig for sanitation and cleanliness can make equipment last a lifetime.
 
As long as it's HDPE plastic, it's no different than fermenting in a bucket. You'll have the general plastic problems like staining and odor absorbtion, but not crazy infection problems.
 
As long as it's HDPE plastic, it's no different than fermenting in a bucket. You'll have the general plastic problems like staining and odor absorbtion, but not crazy infection problems.
They are not HDPE, they're medium density, but Ive never have a problem with mine, fairly easy to clean, no staining, or oxidation issues. Since pic, I placed a racking valve with a dip tube on the conical and its made things much easier when transferring.

tn5.jpg
 
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