Sanke fermenter

I heard somewhere that you could use a sanke as a feremnter cheaply using a carboy cover (orange) and a stainless racking cane. I have a spare keg and would like to do something similar. Does anybody have a pic of setups that seem to work well? I don't want to have to weld anything.

I use a keg and a carboy cap...nothing else. I use a wine theif to take readings and an auto siphon to empty.

After a ferment I usually have a brew day...empty the keg and full it with hot water from my chiller output. Then I add two scoops of oxy clean and a day later it is ready to go.

And do not use genetic oxy clean...it will leave a film. Go to Sams club if you can and get a big box

I have two keg fermenters. the one is a clamp on with a racking cane, temp probe and a vent tube all built in. I do really like it and it works well but was around $80 bucks if I remember right.
The other I just use the orange carboy/ airlock with a hose down to a jar of sanitized water. This works really well and is my favorite. cheap and easy also.
Hope this helps.

Later.......TangleFoot-out

Holly Crap......ya gotta be careful takin pic's of shinny objects when your'e about ready to go to bed.
Beware!! Old man legs....don't look Ethal

Later.......TangleFoot going to bed now-out

haha nice, now I know not to waste my monet on a 2in triclamp fermenter setup and just use a orange cap. EXCELLENT

awesome. thanks guys.

You will have to initially dunk the carboy cap in hot water to stretch it out a bit

If you're just looking to fit an airlock, you can also use a large universal bung in the opening. Get the one that's NOT for the Better Bottle carboy's (this one is a bit larger I believe). Push it all the way into the opening then fit the airlock in (or blow-off tube if needed). I did that for many batches before going towards being able to push my brew out with CO2. Now my fermenters have gas ball lock posts on them, and I have my own 2" TC caps with a liquid post and thermowell welded in place. I change the dip tubes (in the liquid post) to leave specified amounts in the keg fermenter.

I also have the machine shop welding a 4" ferrule into a short pony keg and fitting the cap with my liquid post, gas post and a thermowell. I've ordered a few more sets so that I can also convert a 50L keg into a fermenter with the 4" opening.

BTW, being able to push your brew out of fermenter with CO2 is beyond great. This will come in handy, especially, with my next planned batch. I'll be putting 10 gallons into the 50L keg fermenter, once it's in my brew-buddy's basement (where we ferment). Since it's not really an option to bring that back up to ground level, I'll fill my serving kegs (three 3 gallon corny kegs) in the basement (it's a finished basement). With the CO2 push, there's also zero need to lift the fermenter off the ground. All I'll have to do is open the lid enough to see the level in it, and have the brew going in through the serving keg's liquid post (to fill from the bottom without any worries).

I have the tri-clamp thingamajigger that TangleFoot uses. I also use aluminum foil. My barleywine, which sits in a 7.75 gal Sanke has the foil, and it'll sit for about 6-7 months before transferring to the keg. I recently acquired another 15.5 gal Sanke, and it currently has my Oktoberfest with aluminum foil over the top.

I now have what I need to do pressurized fermentation, as found in this thread. My next batch will be with pressurized fermentation.

The best thing about using Sankes is that you can steam sterilize. Just put a gallon of water in, put it on your burner, and boil for 10-15 minutes. I use the foil to create a little pressure, but I suppose you can leave it open.

Above being able to pressure ferment, and steam sanitize with sanke keg fermenters, there's a few other benefits over either plastic, or glass fermenters.

Stainless steel means NO light can penetrate them. Ever look from inside a bucket fermenter? It's not 100% light blocking.

Tougher than either plastic or glass fermenters (again, since it's stainless steel). If you drop either a glass, or plastic, fermenter, chances are it will either break or crack (plastic will flex more, so it has a better chance than glass). With a sanke fermenter, you'll probably put a dent in your floor. If one happens to go down the stairs on you, it won't shatter. If you fall on top of it, you might be sore for a few days (or hurt some ribs) but you won't get punctured by glass shards and bleed out.

Zero oxygen permeability. Again, due to stainless steel's very nature. If you seal the keg (with either a tight fitting cap, bung, or TC cap) no gases will go in either direction. I have my wee heavy aging on oak in a 25L sanke keg (fitted with a gas CO2 post) that has a TC cap over the opening (with an o-ring under the cap). I purged the air from the vessel before I fitted the cap, so zero oxidation risk there. I'll be able to age for an extended period without any worries this way.

BTW, I also have about four of the assemblies from Brewer's Hardware... While they do the job for the vast majority of brewers out there, I wanted something a bit different. So, I'm making my own version of them with just the features that are of value to me. With the gas post in the keg itself, I don't need it on the 2" TC cap. I do have the thermowell welded into the center of the cap. I then have a fitting to accept the liquid post reamed out (to accept a dip tube) and welded into the cap. All sanitary TIG welds too. I'll probably use the assemblies I got from Derrin for a while, unless someone expresses an interest in them (and it makes sense to me). I've also used liquid posts, and dip tubes, on Derrin's setup. It's a bit more tricky to get the liquid side to seal fully. It can be done, it's just not nearly as easy as what I'm using now. I'm even getting some caps fitted with just liquid posts so that they're just for transferring.

I just came into 6 sanke kegs and was thinking about making a fermenter as well but question is how to inspect inside for cleanliness from krausen and such?

I fill mine with PBW solution after emptying, and let soak for a couple days. I also bought the Carboy Cleaner to clean the kegs. With that, and steam sterilization, I have no worries.

The carboy cleaner is ok, but if you want to look inside (under the top and where you can't normally see) get an inspection mirror... I have a couple, one from harbor freight, another from Sears (not the one with a light, yet)... If you wait until they're cool inside (so don't do it after a hot rinse) you'll be able to inspect pretty much the entire thing. Just be sure you get one that will fit through the opening in the keg.

BTW, Amazon also has a good selection of inspection mirrors, including ones with lights built in.

Golddiggie said:

If you're just looking to fit an airlock, you can also use a large universal bung in the opening. Get the one that's NOT for the Better Bottle carboy's (this one is a bit larger I believe). Push it all the way into the opening then fit the airlock in (or blow-off tube if needed). I did that for many batches before going towards being able to push my brew out with CO2. Now my fermenters have gas ball lock posts on them, and I have my own 2" TC caps with a liquid post and thermowell welded in place. I change the dip tubes (in the liquid post) to leave specified amounts in the keg fermenter.

I also have the machine shop welding a 4" ferrule into a short pony keg and fitting the cap with my liquid post, gas post and a thermowell. I've ordered a few more sets so that I can also convert a 50L keg into a fermenter with the 4" opening.

BTW, being able to push your brew out of fermenter with CO2 is beyond great. This will come in handy, especially, with my next planned batch. I'll be putting 10 gallons into the 50L keg fermenter, once it's in my brew-buddy's basement (where we ferment). Since it's not really an option to bring that back up to ground level, I'll fill my serving kegs (three 3 gallon corny kegs) in the basement (it's a finished basement). With the CO2 push, there's also zero need to lift the fermenter off the ground. All I'll have to do is open the lid enough to see the level in it, and have the brew going in through the serving keg's liquid post (to fill from the bottom without any worries).

Click to expand...

Do you have pics of your setup?

Posted this first in another sanke fermenter thread... Deleted that one and am posting it here...

Pics that I took earlier today...







While I'm fermenting, I remove the liquid ball lock post and fit a 1/2" ID silicone tubing piece over the threads. I can then push an airlock into the other end of the tube and let it go. If needed, I also use the blow-off stainless tube fitting that came with my kit from Derrin. I use some 1/2" ID vinyl tubing on that to a bucket/jug 1/2 filled with StarSan solution. Once fermentation is complete, I sanitize, and install a liquid dip tube under the liquid post (cut to a length to leave a designated volume behind) and then use CO2 to push the finished brew into my serving kegs.

I'll post up pictures of the assembly using the 4" TC ferrule and cap once it's done. I'm planning on getting my 50L keg fitted with that as well, to make cleaning up easier. I might even do some new 1/4 bbl kegs that way (plan to order in a week or two).

I ferment in my sanke with a bung and airlock, but put on the orange carboy cap and stainless racking tube when I want to transfer to serving kegs using CO2, works great. I also highly recommend making a bucket/pump carboy/sanke cleaner to get a good wash and rinse on it.

HawkATP, I've been looking for a good pump to use in the cleaner... Any thoughts on this one?? I plan on running PBW solution through it while cleaning the fermenters. Probably 1-3 gallons in the bucket at the start, so that there's enough weight in the bucket to handle even a 50L sanke fermenter. I'll probably need to do something to reinforce the bucket lid, to handle the 1/4 and 1/6 bbl fermenters. The larger ones (diameter) shouldn't be an issue.

I'm working on some sanke 1/4 barrel fermenters and was also thinking of welding the ball lock fittings to aid in transferring the product. In looking at your picture it looks like there is a liquid post on the sanke itself that you are going to push product out of. Is that correct?

rtrevino said:

I'm working on some sanke 1/4 barrel fermenters and was also thinking of welding the ball lock fittings to aid in transferring the product. In looking at your picture it looks like there is a liquid post on the sanke itself that you are going to push product out of. Is that correct?

Click to expand...

Gas post is in the keg, liquid is in the TC cap along with the thermowell. The fitting under the liquid post is reamed out to allow the use of a corny liquid diptube.

I have a 4" assembly going into a short pony keg. I plan on using the 4" assembly for the 50L keg too. I'll post pictures when I get it all back from the machine shop/welder.

rtrevino said:

I'm working on some sanke 1/4 barrel fermenters and was also thinking of welding the ball lock fittings to aid in transferring the product. In looking at your picture it looks like there is a liquid post on the sanke itself that you are going to push product out of. Is that correct?

Click to expand...

FWIW I use a sanke coupler with MFL tailpieces. I can attach a blow off tube to ferment, or a spunding valve to ferment under pressure (like in the link above), and counter pressure transfer with CO2 into my corny kegs for serving quickly and easily. I doesn't have the thermowell like Golddiggies set up, but it's also much cheaper and easier, everything is sanitary, and it doesn't require modifying the keg.

Golddiggie said:

HawkATP, I've been looking for a good pump to use in the cleaner... Any thoughts on this one?? I plan on running PBW solution through it while cleaning the fermenters. Probably 1-3 gallons in the bucket at the start, so that there's enough weight in the bucket to handle even a 50L sanke fermenter. I'll probably need to do something to reinforce the bucket lid, to handle the 1/4 and 1/6 bbl fermenters. The larger ones (diameter) shouldn't be an issue.

Click to expand...

That pump looks more than adequate for the keg cleaner. I used the 620gph model from harbor freight. You shouldn't need to reinforce your lid at all, just set the keg down over the spray nozzle and it will sit along the bucket lip.

HawkATP said:

You shouldn't need to reinforce your lid at all, just set the keg down over the spray nozzle and it will sit along the bucket lip.

Click to expand...

I think he meant that he'd have to modify it for sixtels and slim quarters that have a smaller diameter than the bucket.

JuanMoore said:

I think he meant that he'd have to modify it for sixtels and slim quarters that have a smaller diameter than the bucket.

Click to expand...

Exactery... The additional support is for the smaller diameter kegs. Those that will rest on the lip/edge should be fine.

Golddiggie said:

Exactery... The additional support is for the smaller diameter kegs. Those that will rest on the lip/edge should be fine.

Click to expand...

Ok, I see what you mean. I cut about a 6 inch hole in the middle of my homer bucket lid, so when I am washing my corny kegs, they rest on top of that.

Maybe I'll sacrifice another bucket and either use it's bottom as the lid/support for the smaller kegs, or figure out a way to support the smaller ones. I really only need the hole in the lid large enough to allow the keg opening through.

Snapped up one of Darrin's ferm caps from Golddiggie yesterday. What a class act! He's got pretty much every HB toy imaginable. He's also got some great ideas on the new fermentation stuff he's building. Can't wait to see what the finished design winds up being. Spent almost 4 hours talking gadgets, brewing, and sampling his awesome British styles on tap. He even gave me a sample and a takeaway of some rockin mead.

Thanks man!

Was good to connect with starsailor too. Turns out we were both at one of the 'free' brewing events at Strange Brew last year (before they moved). Always good to talk with other local home brewers. :rockin:

If anyone else is interested, I have a few more of Derrin's kits that I'm probably not going to need. Not looking to ship these, rather dealing locally. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.