Wortmonger, while your attention is here, I've been wanting to ask... Didn't you say at one time (can't remember the thread) that you had cut some length off the valve stem, but later regretted it? What are the pros and cons of cutting vs. not cutting the stem? If you didn't cut it, couldn't you just draw the yeast off the bottom and eventually the beer would run clear? I'm about to set up a 50 liter Euro sankey as a fermenter and I'm hesitant to do any cutting, especially since the stems for these are less than abundant.
I say don't cut it! You can always cut it later if you aren't happy. Yes, you will get a couple of glasses of higher sediment beer, but that tapers off fast. You are right too, those dip tube assemblies are hard to find.
Couldn't you just use a Sanke for fermentation like a carboy? Bung and gas lock?
I mean it would be a PITA to clean.....But no more PITA then a carboy I suppose.
You can use one any way you want to and they will work great. They aren't any harder to clean than a carboy, you just can't see though the side of them to visualize them clean. Trust your cleaning regiment and you can trust your Sanke for fermentation.
yeah I got the stem out I was thinking about just getting a bung to fit in that part. I don't think it will be too much money to get the whole set-up though
It will work just fine, but I would recommend the orange carboy cap. Later it would make for easier transfer.
This is what I ordered for my spunding valve:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/catalogsearch/result/?q=bleeder+valve&x=32&y=15
Still haven't gotten the prv for it, so I'll have to work it manually. You'll also need a tail piece that will fit the sankey coupler and provide the proper thread for it to attach to:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/kegging/dispensing-hardware/shanks/tail-piece-1-4-mfl.html
If you start ordering stuff for sankey couplers, go ahead and get a bunch of the little black gaskets. They are so easy to lose, and it doesn't hurt to have too many of them on hand.
Yeah, manual release is fine, but it is just so much easier with the adjustable back-pressure release valve. The black gaskets are a must, order a plethora. I had to have the tail piece I use made, but they are out there I am sure. I just got tired of looking for them and have a friend at a machine shop.
As mentioned earlier in the thread, an orange carboy cap fits perfectly over the neck, which may be easier to find than a correctly sized drilled bung.
Even buying new, a sankey coupler and the plumbing parts for a spunding valve should be under $50. Setting up for counter pressure transfers takes some more plumbing parts, and a CO2 set-up.
As von-zwicky said, using it as a carboy is easy enough until you have the parts and knowledge to try pressurized fermentation. And once again, it's easy enough to transfer normally until you have the additional parts and knowledge for counter pressure transfers.
Oh, and +1 on buying extras of the little black gaskets.
What this guy said! LOL, start off with baby steps if you want, just use that Sanke baby!
I already have the co2 set up but I would have to get another attachment because I can only have two kegs attached and those are for serving. If I put a bung over the neck where do you put the airlock?
Another good reason for the orange carboy cap!
You wouldn't need another CO2 line. The only time you'd use CO2 for what we've been discussing is for counterpressure transfers, and you could simply disconnect one of your serving kegs, use that line to make the transfer, and then re-connect to the serving keg. I will admit that a spare CO2 line for transfers, purging, sealing cornies, etc. is very handy, but it's definitely not neccessary. A $2 harbor freight aluminum manifold and $5 in plumbing parts is an easy way to get an extra couple of gas lines if you need them.
As for using an airlock instead of pressurized fermentation, you either find a drilled stopper that fits the opening, or use an orange carboy cap with the tube to put an airlock in. It's really no different than using a carboy.
+1
I don't think you'd want to leave it full length. It would be like using a racking cane and just shoving it into the yeast cake before starting siphon. I think the flow of the beer would continue to stir up yeast throughout the entire transfer, and your beer would end up super yeasty. Lot's of people have leftover spears from making keggles. There are even threads here about what to do with the spears, so you should be able to find an extra from somebody if you accidentally cut off too much.
Not the same at all. The beer has probably been resting a while in a keg prior to transfer. This means the yeast is more compacted and the only stuff coming out will be that right around the dip tube. Just dump the first couple of pints if you are worried and save from there. To have a closed system and carbonated beer is well worth dealing with the little bit of sediment IMHO.
Why would the pressurized system be easier to clean then just putting a carboy cover on and doing it that way?
It wouldn't be any easier other than the fact you wouldn't have to open the sealed up keg. It isn't hard with practice to take the ring and assembly out of a Sanke. After that, cleaning is identical.
Otherwise, just keep asking and we'll keep telling. 
