Stainless 55 gallon barrels

I've got a lot more batches to get under my belt. I still havent retired my water cooler all grain setup. I'm just now beginning to acquire kegs for keggles in a hopeful single tier build in the future. In looking for places to buy kegs, I noticed a website, usedstainlesssteelbarrels.com. I have no intention of really ever needing brewing vessels this big but a boy can dream cant he? Has anyone ever used these type of barrels in a brew system? Most of they're barrels are under $200 and some seem to have thick enough steel to boil with. I don't have any intention of buying any of these any time in the near future but I bet some of you more experienced brewers could use some of these barrels to make some beautiful setups.

Just spreading the word

Seems more hassle than the typical brewer would want. I wouldn't know what to do with 55gal barrels. I would need a ladder just to stir the stuff. Nice find though. I saw one barrel that mentioned food grade. That would be the one I would want.

Many people that want to get into the 1bbl real use stainless barrels. They are usually cheaper than any other sized vessel.

Usedstainlessbarrels, is in Cincinnati, OH. I have been very tempted at getting a few of the food grade models. However they are closed top barrels that have been cut for open top. The rims are not rolled and could be a little dangerous if not protected. I considered running split tubing along the rim to avoid getting cut. They also sell dented ones on ebay but only at a $20 savings.

Hi

You are going to burn a lot of energy heating one of those up. Unless you always need 30+ gallon batches, it's probably not the way to go. Might be fine for a club setup though.

Bob

carlisle_bob said:

Hi

You are going to burn a lot of energy heating one of those up. Unless you always need 30+ gallon batches, it's probably not the way to go. Might be fine for a club setup though.

Bob

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I don't know. I kind of like my 1 bbl set up. I don't have to brew every other week anymore and I always have plenty of brew on hand. And if you're worried about having 30 gallons of the same beer, you can split it into seperate boils and make two or 3 totally different beers all in one big batch. Not to mention (if you use small fermenters) you can mix it up quite a bit with the yeast as well. And as far as energy usuage goes, I've never noticed it affecting my gas bill. You burn a lot more energy on the hot water heater than you will brewing.

Hi

Don't try a 55 gallon drum with one of these electric setups people keep talking about ....

Bob

I use the 55 gallon barrels for the nano i set up. It was my personal brew system prior to that (like, last month). I would use it for anything over 15 gallon batch sizes. Smaller than that I would use the old keggle. Experements would go in the still older 7 gallon aluminum pot.

Heres a pic of the older system with the hdpe plastic barrels. I switched over to direct fire and upgraded to stainless recently. If you have any questions, please ask.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.208620352597594.44929.100118656781098&type=3