Keg as fermenter

I can't seem to get the search function to work, so sorry if this has been asked and answered before. I am just starting out with home brewing (minus some Mr. Beer experience which I don't really count), so I have a starter set on the way, but I am sure that I am going to want to graduate to higher volume runs. I have a buddy that owns a bar so I have easy and cheap access to kegs. I've seen the posts on using a keg as a boiler, I can definitely make that work (I love doing DIY projects anyhow), but is there a way to make a keg into a fermenter? I have an angle grinder, step drills, and arc welder, you name it, but obviously the easier the better, because with a wife, 2 dogs, and a 1.5 year old daughter, my time for projects is severely limited.
Thanks

anything that isn't air permeable and can be sanitized can be used as a fermenter

what you might wanna do is look for DIY on making a conical fermenter out of a keg, so you can take advantage of dumping the yeast from the bottom and just skipping having to rack to secondary.

Yeah, check out Yuri's DIY conical project; if only I were so mechanically inclined...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14855

DaveGerard said:

...I have a buddy that owns a bar so I have easy and cheap access to kegs....

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Okay. I hate you already.

Ha ha, hate away. I'm gonna read that conical thread, that a lot of pages, but I was just thinking that I can essentially make another keggle, and then rack to my 5 gal bottling bucket, 3 times. Would I be alright if I just gasketed the "lid" of the keg and strapped it down with a bungee cord? I'd obviously run an airlock or penny bubbler thru a stopper and jam that in the tap hole.

I modified a 15.5 gallon sankey into a fermentor. Not cronical, but a good fermentor none the less. works well with 10-12 gallon batches. I havent yet, but I could lager with it in a chest freezer...




I removed the stem from the top. (there is a retainer ring, once you rip that off the stem turns and slides right out)

In the top where I removed the stem, I just stick a large stopper and blow off hose in there, and later an airlock.

the bottom:
Cut a whole in the bottom and installed a corny lid and gasket. when I say corny lid, I mean the part with the pressure release valve and lock down hinge. (good for opening it up and cleaning it)
I would suggest making a patern template thing for tracing the hole on the keg to be cut out. Check 5 times and cut once ;-)


Once the bottom is installed, the keg will have to sit ontop of something to keep from crushing the lid on the bottom. Three short 2x4 pieces work well.


Good luck!


p.s. I still want to install an gas in and fluid out poppet on a sankey keg and replace the stem on top with the hinge. Havent gotten around to trying that yet.

Cutting the top of a corny and welding it on the sankey would seem easy, but the metal is not the same thickness, and I dont have that kind of welding skills ;-)

Thanks. Yeah, I only have a stick welder, so any kind of thin metal would get burned right thru. Are you just siphoning to a bottle bucket thru the top hole (where the airlock and stopper are)?

I've been using kegs for years, and love them. I use them for my HLT during brewing and do a quick sanitize and use them for fermenters. I cut the tops off, installed a weldless spigot, and a hole for my thermometer. As far as the lid, I use a 12" lid with a hole/fitting to accept a 1" blow off hose. I made a gasket and a lock down bar that goes through the holes for the handles. Then a thumbscrew to apply pressure for an air tight seal. Let me know if you have anymore questions on set-up. Russ

Sabco makes one. A picture is worth a 1000 words. Here the web page. Maybe this will give you some ideas.

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

Cool, this is definitely workable. Now I just have to drop by my buddy's bar for a few, and oh, ahem, let me grab a couple of empties while I'm there.

DaveGerard said:

Cool, this is definitely workable. Now I just have to drop by my buddy's bar for a few, and oh, ahem, let me grab a couple of empties while I'm there.

Click to expand...

Still hating you..... :cross:

Ha ha, I should let him know there is a market, although I think his distributors would be pissed if a ton of empty kegs started disappearing.

Not to mention the breweries.