Speidel Plastic Tanks

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I'm using mine for the second batch in a row. It was empty for 1 day before I used it again. I now have 4 fermenters and 3 are in use but the one I like perving on the most, is the Speidel. This thing is solid. I think I'll have this until I die.
 
I have 2 of the 120L which I am finding to be a wee bit too large except for double batching.

Anyone tried to stuff 15 gallons into a 60L Speidel tank?

Seems like it would work with a blow off tube since the lids are so secure.
 
spiffy78 said:
I have 2 of the 120L which I am finding to be a wee bit too large except for double batching.

Anyone tried to stuff 15 gallons into a 60L Speidel tank?

Seems like it would work with a blow off tube since the lids are so secure.

I did a batch of 11 gallons in a 60L and it was less than 2/3rds full. I wouldn't do a 15 gallon batch of high gravity beer in a 60L but you can probably get away with a more regular gravity beer.
 
I did a 12 gal batch in my 60L with tons of space. The first use was a double batch of imperial stout. I got the first 8 gallons fermenting and by the time I added the second batch the krausen was nuts. I had to stagger adding the wort so I wouldn't lose too much beer. So yeah you can do 15 in there but have blow off hooked up for sure. I'd have blow off hooked up for anything more than half anyhow depending on gravity of course. I had serious blow off at only 8 gal but it was a 1.120 stout.
 
Thanks gents, that helps. Yeah, mainly looking at 1.070 OG or below for the 15 gallon batches. I've had these beers in buckets without blow offs so I wanted to be sure I wasn't getting too ambitious. :)

Using the spigot on top hooked to a tube for blow off should be pretty dang sturdy.....nothing to pop out....it HAS to follow the tube. At least that's my theory. :)
 
I got a couple of the 13gal HDPE containers and I can say they are very nice and will work quite well for fermentation vessels. If the Speidel fermenters are all out, this is a great alternative. I have four different types of fermenter.
1. I have two of the standard PET bucket fermenters
2. I have three of the 8gal HDPE containers with the blue lid. They are very thick and very good quality. I inserted small bungs in the lids for standard three-piece air locks. Two of them were drilled at the bottom for spigots and one is undrilled. These have no handles but extra wide mouths which I like. They are a little difficult to open after primary, but I just wedge a small block of wood intoone of the grooves in the lid and tap it with a hammer to break the seal. I have 7.5 gallons of Dunkelweizen in one of these and I had to use a blow-off since the head space was maxed out.
3. I have one 30L Speidel. These are also nice heavy HDPE and purpose made for fermenting.
4. I have two 13gal HDPE containers with the red lid. They are also a nice quality and just a little thinner than the blue lid and the Speidel containers. I bought two additional speidel stoppers and airlocks to use with them. They also have the large openings and handles. The lids on these have lugs to hold onto and will be easier to open than the blue ones.

Both the blue and red lid containers were used in the pharma industry and the product inside was contained in plastic bags.

DSC_0608.jpg
 
I was interested in these things before the price jumped up. But $65? I'll stick with my US Plastics 7 gal. buckets. Three delivered, with lids, for $33.
 
My 30L will be receiving it's inaugural beer later this week and that inaugural beer will be Pliny The Elder. It could wind up a permanent IPA fermenter if all those hops taint it :mug: Yeah, I said taint: giggity!
 
Hey Limulus,

What a beer to christen it with! Hope the brew and fermentation go well for you. These things shouldn't ever be tainted by hops or malt, so don't be afraid to dry hop the heck out of it!

Cheers!
 
Hey Limulus,

What a beer to christen it with! Hope the brew and fermentation go well for you. These things shouldn't ever be tainted by hops or malt, so don't be afraid to dry hop the heck out of it!

Cheers!

I received my Pliny from you guys a couple of weeks ago. Even knowing the beer, I was still just a little surprised to see all those hops. I'll be in the Bay area next week and I'll be buying a few bottles while there. I may even try to ship some home.
 
I checked more beer yesterday and they were not available. I got on the email waiting list. I checked today and they're available! I never received an email. i just checked, and they are currently available, FYI. I can't wait for mine to arrive.
 
Hey All,

These Speidel fermenters are all in stock and available now! I don't know how long they're going to last though, so don't kill the messenger - just wanted to make a quick mention of it because I know these have been out of stock for awhile.

Cheers!
 
Here is a breakdown of the 30L. Looks like we can do 8 gl pretty comfortably in these. To bad I don't do 8 gl batches... I'll be doing an IIPA tomorrow so 5 gl is perfect with all of the extra hop additions and a high OG

image-232346309.jpg
 
I just did my first brew yesterday with my new Speidel 30L fermentor. I did not think in advance about my usual method of straining my wort while pouring it into my buckets with a 5 gal. paint strainer. Well, I found a 5 gallons strainer fits nicely inside the speidel, and you can attach it around the handles.... But, after it fills up, it is so full of gunk that you cannot pull it thru the opening. I panicked! I had a bag full of crap stuck inside my fermentor! Luckily, I had a bucket of star san right next to me, which I dunked my hands in, and proceeded to wring out the bag of gunk like a wet sponge... Eventually, I got it to come out. I was, and still am, a little worried I may have infected my brew. Thankfully, I had a fat starter, and fermentation began within 3 hours of pitching.

Anyone have any other ways of straining into these? The method I used yesterday clearly is not the way to go. I thought that next time I would go into a regular bucket as usual, then pour into the speidel. Just another piece of gear to clean out, but I cant think of another way to make it happen

Any suggestions?
 
I recently received 2 60L Speidels and I can't wait to try them out.

With my Better Bottles, I usually cold crashed them for a few days, carefully lifted them on top of my chest freezer and then forced the beer into kegs using a couple pounds of CO2 pressure into the BB. I assume the Speidels will weigh close to 90 pounds, so lifting them out of the freezer will be a back breaker. Any lift-free suggestions as to how I could get beer from a Speidel sitting on the bottom of the freezer into a corny also sitting on the bottom of the freezer? Siphoning doesn't seem like it would work and I'm not sure that I can pressurize the Speidel enough to push beer into the keg. Maybe some sort of pump?
 
Hey Derp,

Glad you've received your fermenters! A pump might be your best option, and the H305 or H308 might be your best option. I've also seen people hookup a pulley system where they attach a couple of hooks to the handles and tug on a rope, but not sure how feasible that would be for you.

I would suggest against pressurizing these, as I'm uncertain how much pressure they could actually hold. I'm guessing that they'd be fine at a couple PSI, but again don't recommend this. If you do find a good way to transfer make sure to let us know though; I'm sure you're not the only one!

Cheers!
 
I can't for the life of me find the dimensions of a fully assembled 30L version - with air lock. MoreBeer says 18.5" height without it, but I know that airlock is huge and can't find the dimensions for it alone. Could one of you with a 30L take a measurement for me?
 
Hey 241,

I just measured one of the airlocks, and it looks like it add's about 5.5" to the 30L fermenter. That puts it at ~26" total with the airlock in.

Hope this helps!
 
Hey 241,

I just measured one of the airlocks, and it looks like it add's about 5.5" to the 30L fermenter. That puts it at ~26" total with the airlock in.

Hope this helps!

Wow that would give me 1" of clearance in my chest freezer. My kinda fitment. Thanks Jipper :mug:

Edit: just ordered from morebeer. Can't wait to ditch the blowoff tube on my 5-6 gal brews
 
Glad I could help 241! Just keep in mind that 1" is cutting it pretty close! But, I'm like you. If there were 4" of clearance I'd feel like I'm wasting precious space ;)

Good luck, and let us know how that fits / works out for you!

Cheers.
 
For the record, MoreBeer is by far my fav homebrew supplier. Placed my order at 9:30 am, shipping notification at 4 pm - can't wait to get my Speidel
 
They are still in stock, just purchased mine. I was going to wait till next week for budget reasons plus so I can get some ingredients to brew right away. After reading this thread I decided to get it now! Would rather wait another week with the 30L fermenter before I begin brewing, than another 6-8 months without it lol...
 
Hey All,

These should all be in stock now, so if you've been waiting on them now's your chance! We're hoping that our latest shipment will stay in stock for awhile, but can't guarantee anything!

Cheers,
Matt
 
Hey everyone,

I was wondering: would leaving sanitizer (Starsan) in the Speidel fermenter hurt the plastic?

I just kegged a batch and dumped the sanitizer into the fermenter when I was done with it. I plan on brewing tomorrow so the sanitizer would only be in there for about 24 hours. Any problems with that?

Thanks!

mpjay
 
Hey everyone,

I was wondering: would leaving sanitizer (Starsan) in the Speidel fermenter hurt the plastic?

I just kegged a batch and dumped the sanitizer into the fermenter when I was done with it. I plan on brewing tomorrow so the sanitizer would only be in there for about 24 hours. Any problems with that?

Thanks!

mpjay

no. i've had star san in mine for months.
 
I love mine; I just realized you can cap these suckers like a conical during cooling (as long as you're not still fermenting, I guess). I've had a British pale ale sitting at 40 for about 10 days with it all buttoned up, which is really nice
 
I've got two of these, 30l sizes. In another thread, someone commented on having to much head space would result in oxidation after he saw a picture of mine with 6 gallons of beer in it. Is this something to consider when using these tanks?
 
What's the max you can fit in the 60l?

Could you get 15 gallons in it?

It'll fit over 15 gallons of liquid, but if you're talking about fermenting 15 might be pushing it unless you've got a big-bore blow off tube.

I use an extra spigot on the lid as a blow-off tube (that can be closed) but the opening is small and if krausen and leaf hops reached that it would plug up very easily. I don't use the lid strap specifically to give it a place to blow if that ever happens.
 
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