DIY 15 Gallon Fermenters

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RCBW

RCBW

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Thought I'd share my most recent DIY project. I just finished making (4) 15 gallon fermenters made from used pharmaceutical pill containers that I found for sale on Craigslist. The pills were in sealed bags inside the containers, so they are like new. Then I drilled a 1/2" hole in the tops, added grommets and three piece air locks.

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Is there a gasket on the inside of the lid so it seals well? Those would make nice ferm chambers and make cleaning easier than using the 15g malt barrels.
 
Yes there is a gasket inside of the lid, I couldn't get a picture of it since it is also black. It's a bead of a rubbery compound in the lip that makes contact with the top of the barrel. Then the metal clamp ring squeezes them together. They were originally used as airtight shipping containers.
 
I have similar fermenters (13 & 8 gal) that were also used for pills. I drilled 1.5" holes in mine and I use Speidel stoppers and airlocks. The nice thing is they are HDPE. The ones with the red lids are 13 gal and the ones with the blue lids are around 8 gal. I have three blue and 2 red. They work great, I think you'll be happy with them.

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After using these for 6 months, I noticed the original black rubber/foam seal was starting to develop a distinct smell.

So I recently removed all of the seals and replaced them with food grade silicone caulk.

After two brews they seem to be working great, and they require less cleaning/ sanitizing.
 

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