10 Gallon batches. Keg conversions. 1/2 Barrel Primary

I have two unused 1/2 barrel sanke kegs and I was considering jumping into 10gal batches (why not I figured).

I was thinking about cutting the top off of one and making it into a Keggle.

Buying a 10gal wort chiller.

Buying a propane stove.

Somehow converting the second keg into a primary fermenter.

That's the one I am kind of hung up on. I have no welding skills. I would like to do closed fermentation. If I just made a small hole and did an airlock, how would I get back in to clean the keg/ empty the trub? If I cut the lid off, and made a small airlock hole on the lid, how would I reseal the lid?

Has anyone done this? Pictures?

I did a search and found one thread relating, but I didn't understand the user's method.

I use one for my 10 gal batches. Just pull out the lock with the dip tube. Then use a rubber stopper with an airlock in its place.

Check out this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=71060&highlight=cleaning+kegs


Here is a cool one for a sanke fermenter w/ a clear lid:

http://users.adelphia.net/~aken75/Fermenter Lid/Fermenter Lid.html

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=44344

A little more complicated than a corny but the same basic idea.

Hey Sacc thanks for the thread plug. You don't have to do a pressurized fermentation for a 10 or even a 12 gallon batch in a Sanke keg. There is way more than enough head space for kraeusen, but doing it as I do makes even more room as kraeusen is diminished with pressure. There is no need to modify your Sanke keg fermenter as the first shot out of the dip tube will be sedimented followed by clear beer if you go slow and you are unpressurized (ie. same as if you used a carboy). Transferring to another keg is as easy as hooking them up and adding a little CO2 pressure to your primary with the target keg able to relieve gas as it is filled. Priming the target keg is easy to for natural carbonation. Hope my thread helps you out, and I would be happy to help you with any type of fermentation in a Sanke. Ohh, and cleaning is easy too.:rockin:

That keg with the clear lid is really what I was thinking of. Looks like a solid idea.

That way I could get the trub out of there and get a real good clean. Thanks!

Cleaning a regular Sanke is no big deal. Oxy or PBW does the trick nicely.

My issue with using sanke kegs for primary fermentation is that 10 + gallons of beer is heavy. I usually move my primaries from patio / garage to the cellar to the kitchen counter.....can't see doing that with ten gallons without some muscular help.

That is what CO2 and pumps are for

I have the keg inside a chest freezer and never have to lift it out of there with anything more than a quart of liquid inside it. I like having everything sealed up for yeast harvest too. I take the whole keg out and tap, fill, and shake it with my wash water and then push out the thin yeast slurry into my large collection jar. Then you can either take it apart and clean it (easily), or you could pitch another batch on top of the remains if you wanted to.

I'm not trying to change your mind about the open lid, I just want it to be said you don't have to do anything to the kegs as far as modifications unless you just absolutely want to.

Here is one of mine (have two of them) being used as a secondary for my Strawberry Wheat.

reference

I also brew 10 gal batches (15 gal keggle and 15 gal cooler MLT), but I like to split the batch into two 7 gal plastic fermenters - buckets. This way it's much easier for me to move them around, keg them into 5 gal corneys, or use two different yeasts per batch. For instance when I brew a Belgian Wit, I will split the batch into 2 buckets, and use US-05 in one for a Blue Moon clone and WY 3944 for an "authentic" Wit.

I just can't imagine caring or cleaning a fermenter made out of a sanke keg, that would kill your back for sure.