sanky fermenters

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blacksailj

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I use 6 gallon buckets to ferment in right now and soon plan on getting a refrigerator to control my temps as well as upgrade to 10 gallon batches. While looking at my sanky kettle I'm wondering if any one uses them as a fermenter (cut open with foil over the top or with the standpipe taken out with airlock). This way I ferment all in one vessel. Any ideas, tips, or suggestions? Thanks folks.
 
Beer magazine last month had an article talking about different items used as fermenters, those using kegs took out dip tube and used one of carboy caps on top.
 
Look at brewers hardwares site. They have a kit that runs $70 mol. It's a tri-clamp fitting with a thermowell, a built in SS racking cane and a port for blow off or an air lock. I have been considering going this route myself. Sounds like another advantage is that you can sanitize by tossing in a couple gallons of water and boiling for 15 min or so
 
Thanks guys I think this looks like what I'll be doing. I first was thinking about using a cut open keg to specificlly use ringwood yeast because it requires open fermentation but a sanke with the spear taken out will do.
 
Look at brewers hardwares site. They have a kit that runs $70 mol. It's a tri-clamp fitting with a thermowell, a built in SS racking cane and a port for blow off or an air lock. I have been considering going this route myself. Sounds like another advantage is that you can sanitize by tossing in a couple gallons of water and boiling for 15 min or so

+1 on the Brewers Hardware Sanke kit.

And, I just pour a gallon of water in, install the Sanke kit, and boil for about 10 minutes. To clean, buy one of the Carboy Cleaners. I fill my Sanke with PBW, soak overnight, drain most of it out, and then use the Carboy Cleaner to scrub it. Works great.
 
Seems like it would be hard to siphon out of it without getting a lot of yeast.
 
I ferment in an unmodified sanke in a freezer with the ebay controller from the DIY forum. I remove the spear to clean (oxy soak), sanitize and fill. Then I pitch the yeast and replace the spear.

I have a modified sanke coupler that has the check valve removed and attach that to the keg and a blowoff tube. After 36-72 hours (depending on style) I remove the blowoff tube and attached a pressure gauge and bleeder valve. I bleed excess CO2 regularly to maintain a pressure consistent with desired carbonation based on temperature.

There is a picnic tap attached to the beer side of the coupler for taking gravity readings and samples.

If you have the time, I highly recommend the information by WortMonger linked above (http://iam.homebrewtalk.com/WortMonger). His information on sanke fermenting and pressure fermentation is very informative (and very long). https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/closed-system-pressurized-fermentation-technique-44344/

After fermentation I cold crash and counter pressure transfer using CO2 to sealed kegs. When starting the transfer I pour some off into a pitcher but never get more than a cup of yeast.

Have been using this system for about five batches with success. Re-installing the spear is the hardest part, but by the third or fourth time it gets easier.
 
homebeerbrewer said:
Not at all. The racking cane can be adjusted to wherever you want it. I also use pressure to transfer to my cornys. (Brewers Hardware doesn't recommend that, but I only use about 3 PSI, and have had no issues.)

Question about pressurized transfer. Maybe I am just missing something when I look at the brewers hardware picture of the kit. You have 3 ports right (racking cane, thermowell and blowoff/airlock)? I see the thermowell staying sealed, and obviously the beer would flow through the racking cane. But how do you apply gas? I am assuming you use the blowoff port somehow, but how?
 
You can force a small piece of 1/2" ID tubing onto your gas hose and use that to bridge to the airlock/blowoff port. Use either a zip tie, worm clamp (not too tight with either) or just hold it there.

This is one of the short-comings that I identified pretty early on. I resolved it, in my nwrrow kegs, by installing the base fitting for a gas post. I have a 4" TC ferrule and cap setup for my 50L fermenter. That has both liquid and gas posts on it along with a thermowell. I'm considering getting a ferrule welded to the next tall pony keg I get to make cleaning a bit easier.
 
Question about pressurized transfer. Maybe I am just missing something when I look at the brewers hardware picture of the kit. You have 3 ports right (racking cane, thermowell and blowoff/airlock)? I see the thermowell staying sealed, and obviously the beer would flow through the racking cane. But how do you apply gas? I am assuming you use the blowoff port somehow, but how?

You just need to step your CO2 regulator output to the right ID to fit snugly on the "gas in" which you correctly identified.

Not to take business away from Brewer's HW, but I sold off my BH kit (& my stout tanks conical) and just use orange carboy caps. They work just as well for fermenting, will hold up to 10 psi (IME, you only need 2-3 psi for transfer, I simply tested this by accident)... I have 6 sanke fermenters and only have 2 SS racking canes (really you only NEED 1). 6 BH kits would be a pretty penny, but a couple SS racking canes and a pile of orange carboy caps can be had for around $50-60 in total) I like the ability to have 2 blowoff hoses attached to the carboy cap outlets for some of the more high krausen-prone yeasts.

I use my pump to clean by recirculating PBW solution through a sprayer arm. There are many threads on the subject which can be found with the search function (same with this topic of fermenting in Sankes). I have a little LED flashlight I can lower into the sanke and a dental mirror for inspecting them, but I have found the pump method to be nearly perfect unless I was dumb enough to leave dirty kegs to dry the crusted on junk.
 
I ferment in an unmodified sanke in a freezer with the ebay controller from the DIY forum. I remove the spear to clean (oxy soak), sanitize and fill. Then I pitch the yeast and replace the spear.

I have a modified sanke coupler that has the check valve removed and attach that to the keg and a blowoff tube. After 36-72 hours (depending on style) I remove the blowoff tube and attached a pressure gauge and bleeder valve. I bleed excess CO2 regularly to maintain a pressure consistent with desired carbonation based on temperature.

There is a picnic tap attached to the beer side of the coupler for taking gravity readings and samples.

If you have the time, I highly recommend the information by WortMonger linked above (http://iam.homebrewtalk.com/WortMonger). His information on sanke fermenting and pressure fermentation is very informative (and very long). https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/closed-system-pressurized-fermentation-technique-44344/

After fermentation I cold crash and counter pressure transfer using CO2 to sealed kegs. When starting the transfer I pour some off into a pitcher but never get more than a cup of yeast.

Have been using this system for about five batches with success. Re-installing the spear is the hardest part, but by the third or fourth time it gets easier.

I have virtually the same set up, but I use the S type Kegs (Heineken for example). Once you get the special retaining clip removed, the spear screws in and out easily for future use. I cut about 3/4 inch off the spear also.
 
Question about pressurized transfer. Maybe I am just missing something when I look at the brewers hardware picture of the kit. You have 3 ports right (racking cane, thermowell and blowoff/airlock)? I see the thermowell staying sealed, and obviously the beer would flow through the racking cane. But how do you apply gas? I am assuming you use the blowoff port somehow, but how?

These two replies are exactly what I do. The kit comes with a small 1/2" piece of tubing, and I use that to bridge the tubing coming off my regulator to the blowoff port. I don't even use a clamp. As long as my pressure stays below 5 PSI, it'll hold - YMMV.

You can force a small piece of 1/2" ID tubing onto your gas hose and use that to bridge to the airlock/blowoff port. Use either a zip tie, worm clamp (not too tight with either) or just hold it there.

You just need to step your CO2 regulator output to the right ID to fit snugly on the "gas in" which you correctly identified.
 
These two replies are exactly what I do. The kit comes with a small 1/2" piece of tubing, and I use that to bridge the tubing coming off my regulator to the blowoff port. I don't even use a clamp. As long as my pressure stays below 5 PSI, it'll hold - YMMV.

Hi

You do not want much pressure when doing this. A couple of PSI is *plenty* to get the job done. If you blow off an un-clamped tube, you are have it set to high (or your regulator doesn't work right down there).

Bob
 
Yeah, as I mentioned in a previous post, I only use about 3 PSI. When I said that the tube will hold without a clamp at 5 PSI, I accidentally adjusted the pressure too high. It didn't do much except leak, so no harm done. But yeah, it doesn't take much pressure to transfer.
 
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