15 cu. ft. Chest fermentation chamber - show yours

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Huaco

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Messages
1,361
Reaction score
155
Location
Just south of Cow Town
So, my Grandfather-in-law gave me his 15 ft^3 chest freezer because he is, in his own words "Too old to be messin' with slaughterin' calves." and won't be using it anymore. Well, I guess for a 89 year old WWII vet, he is doing down right dandy.
Anyway, I got the chest home and mocked up some Sanke Kegs with cardboard rounds. See Pictures below.
8746_10151343531104224_1962733259_n.jpg


556835_10151343533814224_674883884_n.jpg


My plan is to sell off most of my 7 glass carboys and purchase (2) Sanke kegs to ferment in. I could easily do (2) - 10 gallon batches in the fermenter at the same time, as shown in my pictures. Has anyone else used a 15 ft.^3 chest in combination with Sanke Kegs? I also have the option to use (4) plastic 6 gallon buckets or carboys. I just like the idea of getting away from the glass and have never been a fan of fermenting in plastic. I would essentially be fermenting the same amount of beer either way.
Anyway, show me what you've got along the lines of a 15 ft^3 chest freezer fermenter. I want to see it!
 
Your back is a lot better than mine to be lifting loaded Sankes in and out of a chest freezer! Or do you have something else in mind?
 
Your back is a lot better than mine to be lifting loaded Sankes in and out of a chest freezer! Or do you have something else in mind?
Yes!! I would highly recommend hinging the front of that chest or something otherwise plan on a two man operation and a lot of dents on the top rim of that pretty cooler:(
 
I may end up going with LME drums from my LHBS. Still 15 gallons, but way cheaper to start. I may build a 2' tall platform for the chest so I can siphon from it to the corny kegs without lifting full drums out of there... Same principal would work if I upgrade to sanke kegs.
 
I use a chest freezer as a fermentation chamber, and I have been using Sanke kegs to ferment in. I can fit 2 1/2 barrel kegs and 2 1/6 or tall 1/4 barrels in the freezer and it works great. I must agree that after lifting the 1/2 barrel kegs in and out you will most likely want to look for something a bit easier. I now split my 10 gallon batches into to tall 1/4 barrels. The other option would be to get Sanke fermentation caps that some vendors sell and use CO2 to push the beer out before lifting out the empty keg.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top