1/2 BBL Conical Fermenter?

I am wanting to move up to a 1/2 bbl brew system, and I was hoping to get a stainless conical that would work as a primary/secondary fermenter. The only ones I seem to be able to find are the 14.5 (too small) and the 27 gallon sizes (I think too big). Anyone know where I can find a fermenter that is ~ 20 gal?

I've only seen the sizes you mention. Probably because it is more common to do a 20 gallon system than a 1/2 bbl....Why not move up to 20 gallons?

Either go with the larger volume SS one or look for plastic induction tanks. They come in a variety of volumes and you'll probably be able to source something close.

Michael, the reason I was looking at 1/2 bbl is I was planning to set up a "tree" style brewing system, that would put off 15 gallons. I did find this online, which looks like an interesting possibility...

http://www.brew-magic.com/fermenter.html

Anyone used something like this before?

You could also use this with a standard sanke for a fermenter. This is what I use.

http://www.brewershardware.com/fermenter.htm

Niederhofer said:

Michael, the reason I was looking at 1/2 bbl is I was planning to set up a "tree" style brewing system, that would put off 15 gallons. I did find this online, which looks like an interesting possibility...

http://www.brew-magic.com/fermenter.html

Anyone used something like this before?

Click to expand...

$600 for a 15 gal fermenter?!?

Just use a sankey keg with a carboy cap on it and save $500+

If you're going to spend that much cash on a fermenter...

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=1128

You could contact this company. They will likely make a conical in a 20 gallon version. I personally don't know to much abour their products though.

Conicals

I'll go for it again...

I have this one from synergymetalworking.com. It is 15.5 gal. I am doing 13+ gallons in it at present with a blow-off vessel (corny). It's working quite well and I know I can do more (gonna try 14 next).

I can fit my whole arm down the 4" triclamp to the bottom to clean (and the top as well) since I'm no he-man. Sure it's not a 60 degree cone, but with a sanitized spatula, I can harvest the whole cake very conveniently and separate it in a glass container (with some sterile water). Even without doing that, I got about 2 vials worth of yeast out the 1.5" bottom dump with just one purge.

Best things about this are:

1) It can be pressurized to 60 psi, unlike all others I've seen on the market (EDIT: Well, I guess except the Sabco which is like the same thing). My last batch was fermented, cold crashed, boost carbed, and served from the same vessel, just like a brew pub. My current batch is seeing a pressurized ferment.

2) It's American made. Well, the keg is actually French, but it's not a Chinese import (not that there's anything wrong with that but,....)

3) On mine, I have only one weld below the beer line (the 1.5" dump) and zero threads. Having everything accessed (even thermowell, racking port, etc. except the dump) from the top makes using a chest freezer a preferred choice. Very low profile. I just put a 90 degree triclamp elbow so I could reach the dump valve in the chest freezer.


It was about $450-ish +/-.



HOWEVER-

I also bought a 15 gallon corny keg for ~$200 (factory second) as a lagering/second primary vessel. This thing is really cool. It's easily half the weight of the Sanke and has a nice thick rubber bottom. Haven't used it yet, but going to shortly. That's a pretty good price for stainless with posts and dip tubes already present. Again, just harvest the whole damn yeast cake this time out the bev out post with a little CO2 and separate in a different container.


My humble opinion: The whole 60 degree cone thing is just not that important on the homebrew scale. When you have multiple barrel volumes of beer pressing down on the yeast cake in a big brewery, you need to remove the yeast (as much of it as possible) so it doesn't cook and loose viability. That's just not the case with 15 gallons.

jcdillin said:

You could also use this with a standard sanke for a fermenter. This is what I use.

http://www.brewershardware.com/fermenter.htm

Click to expand...

+1 on the Sanke Fermenter kit from Brewer's Hardware. I bought a couple of them and they work great. I even use low pressure CO2 to transfer, though it isn't recommended. I've found that 3 psi is all you need to transfer to another vessel at the same level.

I haven't tried harvesting the yeast yet, but I'm sure it's possible.

The only reason that pressure isn't recommended with those is that there isn't a pressure relief valve. Also the blowoff/bev out is connected with just hose, so.

Otherwise there is no reason.

I chose not to have a PRV welded onto the 4" cap on my Synergy keg (because they are 130 PSI rated for cornies) and instead chose to have an appropriate 60 PSI (the rating for kegs) put on in the gas line right before the ball lock QD.

It's only there in case the one on the regulator fails and also to purge keg pressure when needed. I think you could rig one of those brewershardware ones like I did and it would pressurize just fine (and safely) but that's just my opinion.

So, for 15 Gal Stainless, we have:

~$150+/- for Brewers Hardware Sanke Converter and keg
~$200 for 15 Gal Corny - no bottom dump, fully pressurizable
~$410 for 14.5 Gal Chinese imported stainless w/ Tri-Clamps
~$450 for 15 Gal Sanke convertion with bottom dump, fully pressurizable
~$700 for 14.5 Gal Fancy Pants Conical Fermenters from whoever and more $ for tri-clamps and casters. Not pressurizable except to racking pressures (3 or 4 PSI).

I have a 20 Gal. Fermenter in stock right now.

If you are still looking for one, contact me through my website: www.conical-fermenter.com.

Cheers,

John/Stout Tanks and Kettles