Sanke Fermentation Vessel

SSBrew - 728
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.
Simphoto02

Simphoto02

WoodyBlue
Joined
Jun 8, 2009
Messages
422
Reaction score
13
Location
Spencer County, KY
Well I have a couple of those Brewer's Hardware Sanke fermentation caps. I LOVE the way they work and the quality. Only issue I have is the cleaning of the keg AFTER the beer is kegged and the trub is left behind.

How do you guys that use these things, if any, clean the inside of an un-cut sanke so it can be used again as a fermentation chamber?
 
Simphoto02 said:
Well I have a couple of those Brewer's Hardware Sanke fermentation caps. I LOVE the way they work and the quality. Only issue I have is the cleaning of the keg AFTER the beer is kegged and the trub is left behind.

How do you guys that use these things, if any, clean the inside of an un-cut sanke so it can be used again as a fermentation chamber?
Click to expand...

I found it can be a challenge.

I built a keg/carboy washer using a small utility pump. Basically just sits in a rubbermaid tub of warm oxiclean sprays and recirculates into a a vessel sitting upside down over it. I ran it for probably an hour and could still see "stuff" stuck in the keg.

I went at it with a carboy brush... did a full 15 gallon oxiclean soak for a week, attached a piece of cloth to a wooden dowel in a drill and spun it against the sides... and could STILL see bits of crap stuck really high up on the side.

For me the problem is that as hard as it is to get anything into the keg to clean it with, its just as hard to see whats actually going on in there.

I know you said un-cut, but...
I ended up cutting the top out. I made the hole smaller than the one in a keggle and used a keggle cutout, a couple clamps and a big silicon o-ring as the new top. I just fermented my first batch in it and used co2 to transfer out of the sanke, so it makes a great seal. Obviously cleanup was no problem.
 
I do a good rinse and then a soak with Oxy-clean for a few days. I actually have one full of solution now that has been that way for a couple of weeks. I will drain it out and give it another rinse and then hit it with some white vinegar and then a rinse with a little star san. On brew day I will put about 1 gallon of water in it and through it on a burner and let it boil for a while with the lid on it, but slightly offset and not sealed up. A good steam killing. Anything that makes it past the soaking and rinsing and boiling will not hurt anything. A dozen or so batches and not a single issue.
 
bwiens said:
I do a good rinse and then a soak with Oxy-clean for a few days. I actually have one full of solution now that has been that way for a couple of weeks. I will drain it out and give it another rinse and then hit it with some white vinegar and then a rinse with a little star san. On brew day I will put about 1 gallon of water in it and through it on a burner and let it boil for a while with the lid on it, but slightly offset and not sealed up. A good steam killing. Anything that makes it past the soaking and rinsing and boiling will not hurt anything. A dozen or so batches and not a single issue.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I wonder if my heatstick would fit down inside of my kegs?
 
Ohio-Ed said:
I found it can be a challenge.

I built a keg/carboy washer using a small utility pump. Basically just sits in a rubbermaid tub of warm oxiclean sprays and recirculates into a a vessel sitting upside down over it. I ran it for probably an hour and could still see "stuff" stuck in the keg.

I went at it with a carboy brush... did a full 15 gallon oxiclean soak for a week, attached a piece of cloth to a wooden dowel in a drill and spun it against the sides... and could STILL see bits of crap stuck really high up on the side.

For me the problem is that as hard as it is to get anything into the keg to clean it with, its just as hard to see whats actually going on in there.

I know you said un-cut, but...
I ended up cutting the top out. I made the hole smaller than the one in a keggle and used a keggle cutout, a couple clamps and a big silicon o-ring as the new top. I just fermented my first batch in it and used co2 to transfer out of the sanke, so it makes a great seal. Obviously cleanup was no problem.
Click to expand...

This is what I tried, but can not get a good seal.
fermentere.jpg

fermenterf.jpg


Please elaborate on your set-up.
 
Oxyclean or PBW! Then rinse well. Then more oxyclean/PBW if you need it. It isn't hard to make a stick mirror if you are too overly paranoid (a one inch square stick with some of that plastic mirror on it, and a flashlight). Trust me, this ain't my first rodeo. I absolutely love using a keg as a fermenter that I can always go back to using "as a keg."
 
Simphoto02 said:
This is what I tried, but can not get a good seal.

Please elaborate on your set-up.
Click to expand...

Your new "lid" is probably flexing where your clamps are applying pressure. Cut a donut from 3/4" plywood with an OD that will fit inside the keg handles and an ID smaller than your o-ring (I used a 6" hole saw). Put it under your clamps to distribute the pressure.

I'm clamping from the top, so I used several plywood rings.
 
WortMonger said:
Oxyclean or PBW! Then rinse well. Then more oxyclean/PBW if you need it. It isn't hard to make a stick mirror if you are too overly paranoid (a one inch square stick with some of that plastic mirror on it, and a flashlight). Trust me, this ain't my first rodeo. I absolutely love using a keg as a fermenter that I can always go back to using "as a keg."
Click to expand...

Me too... that's why I turned mine into a convertible ;)

Mine seals back up just dandy.

So do you mix up enough PBW or oxiclean to soak the entire keg inside? And then you do it again if needed? Sounds like you could go through quite a bit of PBW that way.

Maybe I just had stubborn beer stone but after a week, I had to decide to live with it or change my method.
 
Ohio-Ed said:
Your new "lid" is probably flexing where your clamps are applying pressure. Cut a donut from 3/4" plywood with an OD that will fit inside the keg handles and an ID smaller than your o-ring (I used a 6" hole saw). Put it under your clamps to distribute the pressure.

I'm clamping from the top, so I used several plywood rings.
Click to expand...

Thats a great idea. But can you show me your "Clamping from the top"
 
WortMonger said:
Oxyclean or PBW! Then rinse well. Then more oxyclean/PBW if you need it. It isn't hard to make a stick mirror if you are too overly paranoid (a one inch square stick with some of that plastic mirror on it, and a flashlight). Trust me, this ain't my first rodeo. I absolutely love using a keg as a fermenter that I can always go back to using "as a keg."
Click to expand...

yes, well we all know you are the king of closed keg fermenting around here ;)
 
Ohio-Ed said:
Maybe I just had stubborn beer stone but after a week, I had to decide to live with it or change my method.
Click to expand...
Yeah, beerstone would be a ***** to clean with PBW or Oxyclean. Works great for yeast and trub, but you need a strong acid to take on beerstone. Angle grinders with brush pads work well, but you need to shrink yourself first to fit in the keg, or just buy bigger equipment like a 465 gallon kettle ;).
 
I have two of the conversion kits from derrin as well....top notch stuff. I first rinse them out with hose water, add soap and let them soak for a few days. Luckily I have a pressure washer to clean all my gear with after brew day. I fire it up, dump out the soaking liquid and start blasting the inside very maticulously. I clean each sanke atleast 10-15 minutes with the pressure washer. I constantly turn the sanke over and check for debris....then I smell the inside.....you'll know when it is clean. I have never had a contaminated batch this way 60+ gallons.

Good Luck
 
944play said:
Or maybe get one of these?
Click to expand...

FYI, The "one of These" you are talking about is the "Carboy Cleaner."

SLICK AS SNOT!!!

Just got an email from the company/dude making them. been testing a Sanke 1/2 barrel version with GREAT results. Hope to have them on his site in a couple of weeks.

Seems HBTer's have been bombarding him with requests all of a sudden. The power of this forum never ceases to amaze me.
 
This is good news! Very good news! I could never get my idea figured on how to make sure it would flail outwards and contact the walls of the Sanke. I was looking into chimney brushes, however their shafts were always right at the ID of the o-ring lip in the keg opening. I needed it small enough to for sure fit, and at $50-$60 plus having to retro-fit it to a drill would not have been worth it in my mind. I can't wait until he makes the 1/2 bbl version. Schweet!:ban:
 
What about using a pressure washer with a bend on the end of the wand? I was thinking about something like that to really power out the grime.
 
knightbeer39 said:
What about using a pressure washer with a bend on the end of the wand? I was thinking about something like that to really power out the grime.
Click to expand...

I bought the parts to make a modified wand for my pressure washer. Then i realized that if it failed it was basically a spear gun. I rethought that idea.
 
Ohio-Ed said:
I bought the parts to make a modified wand for my pressure washer. Then i realized that if it failed it was basically a spear gun. I rethought that idea.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm, that's a good point. They have various angles of sprayer attachments, 40 degrees being the least acute. Not sure that would be enough angle to get those tough to reach spots higher up in the keg though.

Call it paranoia, but until I can be completely confident that all the grime is out of the keg, I just can't bring myself to trust one as a fermentation vessel without cutting the top off and devising some sort of lid as many of you have.
 
Hey guys, Teri Fahrendorf just messaged me about my Closed System Pressurized fermentation article. Apparently she saw it through a Google report and replied with the information I was never able to obtain. Wow, the woman in hot pink muck boots. Anyway, had to brag about meeting a famous Brew-Goddess. Carry on! LOL.
 
knightbeer39 said:
Call it paranoia, but until I can be completely confident that all the grime is out of the keg, I just can't bring myself to trust one as a fermentation vessel without cutting the top off and devising some sort of lid as many of you have.
Click to expand...
A good soak, rinse and then a 10 minute boil and all is good. Nothing is going to infect your fermentation that could possibly be left inside.

They are really the best single thing I have added to my process, now I just need to use them instead of my corny kegs for conditioning and serving. I hate splitting the batch part way through, but cornies are more practical for lifting into the keezer.
 
bwiens said:
A good soak, rinse and then a 10 minute boil and all is good. Nothing is going to infect your fermentation that could possibly be left inside.

They are really the best single thing I have added to my process, now I just need to use them instead of my corny kegs for conditioning and serving. I hate splitting the batch part way through, but cornies are more practical for lifting into the keezer.
Click to expand...

Ummm, 1/6bbl kegs anyone?? :mug:
 
What if you would put on a 6 inch triclover with a 2 inch ferrule on the 6 inch cap? This would let you get into it for cleaning. I'll soon be building my new fermenter/hlt this way.
 
Been fermenting in sankes for the last 10 years. Fill with water for a few days, tip upside down, rinse with hot water till clear, add one gallon and boil for 10-15 minutes with foil on the top. done.
 
Dert said:
Been fermenting in sankes for the last 10 years. Fill with water for a few days, tip upside down, rinse with hot water till clear, add one gallon and boil for 10-15 minutes with foil on the top. done.
Click to expand...

What about rolling it with some water and gravel or chains? That's how YUengling cleans their wooden barrels. Would that do the trick? I guess you could do double duty if you've got kids too. "kids, you're misbehaving. Now, go outside and roll daddy's fermenter around the yard for a while to burn off that extra kid energy."
 
A good rinse when emptied and then about 2-3 gallons of PBW solution (slosh it around inside really good while it's hot) and then let it soak for X days. I then use one of the carboy/keg cleaners and spin that sucker inside. Cleans it really well. I then rinse fully and set aside for use later. When I'm getting ready to use it, I just put a few quarts of StarSan in it, put the bung in (with the hole closed/blocked) and shake/swirl to coat the entire insides.

I do use a telescopic, bending, mirror to inspect the underside (of the top) to ensure it's clean before calling it clean.

So far, this has worked really well for me. I do have one keg that I picked up the other weekend that's the first I've needed to do a full fill soak with PBW solution. It's a miller keg, so it's got nasty all inside it. :drunk:
 
Islandboy85 said:
Yay! 2 sankes for $30. Now i need to make beer.
Click to expand...

What size?? I usually put 6.5-7 gallons in one of the pony (1/4 bbl) kegs.

I need to do some more work on the remaining 1/6 bbl kegs I have, fitting them with gas posts. I need to order more posts (liquid and gas) so that I can finish fitting the kegs I have yet to modify. Using the sanke fermenter kit, I found that I can put a Cornelius ball lock post on it, with a dip tube under it. I simply fit two o-rings on the dip tube and it seals up nice and tight. I'm in the process of getting, marking, and cutting liquid dip tubes so that I can push my finished brew out of the fermenter that way.
 
Golddiggie said:
What size?? I usually put 6.5-7 gallons in one of the pony (1/4 bbl) kegs.

I need to do some more work on the remaining 1/6 bbl kegs I have, fitting them with gas posts. I need to order more posts (liquid and gas) so that I can finish fitting the kegs I have yet to modify. Using the sanke fermenter kit, I found that I can put a Cornelius ball lock post on it, with a dip tube under it. I simply fit two o-rings on the dip tube and it seals up nice and tight. I'm in the process of getting, marking, and cutting liquid dip tubes so that I can push my finished brew out of the fermenter that way.
Click to expand...

They're half barrel kegs. I've seen some guys on here simply use the sanke spear to transfer their beer as the keg was originally designed to function. A carbon cap is what I'm going to use until I get my parts in from brewers hardware and make a nice triclover fermentation dealio like he sells, but with a bit different design to it for my personal uses.
 
The large universal bung fits in the opening nicely. It's also far easier to use than the orange carboy cap. I was using the cap to transfer my brew after fermentation (barb fitting on the tall post, stainless racking can in the center post). If you don't get the caps soft (running it under hot tap water for a few minutes is usually enough) they're a PITA to get onto the keg.

Since I don't have any metal working machinery where I am, I'm using the kit from Brewer's hardware, slightly modified. I'll try to get some pictures of my modifications this weekend. Basically, I could do without the 1/2" tube part for the airlock or blow-off tube. Since you can fit a 1/2" ID hose on the fitting that takes the racking cane. I do like his thermowell design. I plan on getting a few more from him, with shorter thermowells. That way I can use them in my two 25L and one short pony keg.
 
Golddiggie said:
The large universal bung fits in the opening nicely. It's also far easier to use than the orange carboy cap. I was using the cap to transfer my brew after fermentation (barb fitting on the tall post, stainless racking can in the center post). If you don't get the caps soft (running it under hot tap water for a few minutes is usually enough) they're a PITA to get onto the keg.

Since I don't have any metal working machinery where I am, I'm using the kit from Brewer's hardware, slightly modified. I'll try to get some pictures of my modifications this weekend. Basically, I could do without the 1/2" tube part for the airlock or blow-off tube. Since you can fit a 1/2" ID hose on the fitting that takes the racking cane. I do like his thermowell design. I plan on getting a few more from him, with shorter thermowells. That way I can use them in my two 25L and one short pony keg.
Click to expand...

I was playing around with the carboy cap last night and didn't have too much trouble with it.
 
bwiens said:
A good soak, rinse and then a 10 minute boil and all is good. Nothing is going to infect your fermentation that could possibly be left inside.

They are really the best single thing I have added to my process, now I just need to use them instead of my corny kegs for conditioning and serving. I hate splitting the batch part way through, but cornies are more practical for lifting into the keezer.
Click to expand...


This is what I do too. Hot PBW soak (keg holds heat for a long time). rinse well. Boil a few gallons with tri clamp fitting sitting on top. Steam works magic.

Flush with star san (about a half gallon) and turn upside down with cap/tri clamp for storage.
 
Ohio-Ed said:
I found it can be a challenge.

I built a keg/carboy washer using a small utility pump. Basically just sits in a rubbermaid tub of warm oxiclean sprays and recirculates into a a vessel sitting upside down over it. I ran it for probably an hour and could still see "stuff" stuck in the keg.

I went at it with a carboy brush... did a full 15 gallon oxiclean soak for a week, attached a piece of cloth to a wooden dowel in a drill and spun it against the sides... and could STILL see bits of crap stuck really high up on the side.

For me the problem is that as hard as it is to get anything into the keg to clean it with, its just as hard to see whats actually going on in there.

I know you said un-cut, but...
I ended up cutting the top out. I made the hole smaller than the one in a keggle and used a keggle cutout, a couple clamps and a big silicon o-ring as the new top. I just fermented my first batch in it and used co2 to transfer out of the sanke, so it makes a great seal. Obviously cleanup was no problem.
Click to expand...

Do u have pics?
 

Similar threads

homebrewdude76
Does anyone make a coiling coil that will fit in a standard Sanke keg?
Replies
17
Views
665
Bobby_M
Bobby_M
bovine_OB
Sanke fermenter build
Replies
11
Views
1K
bovine_OB
bovine_OB
erichsmith
Spunding for lager in Sanke Keg
Replies
12
Views
917
Broken Crow
Broken Crow
M
Keg sanitation ?
Replies
16
Views
1K
sodbuster
S
Rob2010SS
Cleaning a sanke keg
Replies
21
Views
3K
apache_brew
apache_brew
Yakima 300

Latest posts

Back
Top