15.5 gal keg for fermenter

I just picked up a ½ keg from an auction and will turn it into my primary fermentor. I have been reading a ton of good stuff posted on transfers etc. Has anyone installed a ball valve on the bottom of the keg? MY thought is if this is large enough, but still shielded by the bottom ring, it could be used to dump trub and yeast and help with cleanout when empty. Obviously the keg would have to be raised off the bottom to do this at the time. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Gary

I don't think the "cone" is steep enough for the trub and yeast to fall down through like it would in a conical. I use a few sanke kegs for fermenting and I just use a racking cane to pull it out the top(spear removed) just like you would with a BB or carboy.

Agreed. The slope of the bottom of a keg will not emulate a conical. However, if you put a coupling or something similiar in the bottom with say a 1/2"-1" raised portion internally it would have the same function as a racking can and still give you the functionality of a built in valve. However, it would make the keg more difficult to use with the bottom being non-weight bearing as the you would then need a stand for it. This would make cleaning more difficult and would require you to have more room for a refrigerator if you use one for fermentation temp control.

How are you going to make that connection sanitary without tearing off the top of the keg?

What is the point? The bottom of the keg is not steep enough to create a real funnel of trub and yeast that can be removed.

Really, you're just going to make your life complicated for no gain (or negative gain if you can't make a sanitary connection)

How are you going to make that connection sanitary without tearing off the top of the keg?

Click to expand...

It is possible to weld a sanitary fitting in from the outside. Food production factories do it all the time for smaller diameter pipe.

Seems more hassle than its worth.
Configuring the keg, storing the keg with valve, sanitzing the valve, cleaning the yeast, etc.

I ferment in a sanke with just the stem removed, cleaning is easy. If you want to reuse yeast you can pitch on top of the yeast cake. Another way to make your yeast go farther is to make an extra large starter and preserve a cup of starter in a sanitized container in the fridgde.