Sanke fermenter; DIY gone wrong

[DanH]

So I tried to cut a hole in the shape of a corny lid to add to my sanke keg. It seems like a decent fit so I filled it with water and tipped it over with the lid on. Water came out in more than small drips. Scrap it or ferment in it even though it's not completely air tight? I guess if water can get out then bugs can get in but it doesn't have noticeable gaps.

 

[grathan]

Know any welders?

You could use keg lube or more than 1 rubber gasket. Or try to find a squishier material for gasket.

 

[acidrain]

O-rings don't work like a gasket... they need pressure to seal and a specially shaped flange to seal against. That's why the corny is shaped the way it is.
Like Grathan said, try to find a soft material like silicone to use as a gasket.
I don't think you'll get a good weld if you completely cut out a corny flange to weld onto your sanke (no way to get to the back side of the weld to grind and polish it).
That's why most people don't do it that way.

Let me be the first to ask, why did you cut the sanke? The factory flange works great with tri-clover fittings.

 

[DanH]

I wanted a larger opening for ease for cleaning.


Silicone is probably a good idea. I'll have to look into that.

 

[acidrain]

Here you go... $12.47 for a 6"x6"x1/4" food grade silicone: http://www.mcmaster.com/#silicone-sheets/=p823kw

 

[DanH]

Here you go... $12.47 for a 6"x6"x1/4" food grade silicone: http://www.mcmaster.com/#silicone-sheets/=p823kw

Hey thanks a lot!!

 

[snackson]

You could also try to find a welder to weld in a 6" tri clover ferrule.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Meh, try and make it seal, for a primary I would ferment in it 10-14 days....RDWHWHB

 

[horseinmay]

It doesn't have to be an airtight seal, just enough to keep dust/spores/wild yeast out. If it's reasonably tight it will work fine. Although you will probably want to be able to pressure-transfer the beer, since that keg will be too heavy to lift. In that case, it will need to seal well, and you'll need an input for gas and a diptube for the beer.

 

[Fordzilla]

How are you going to put an airlock on it if it just has one hole, for a corny lid?

 

[Durhamite]

I'm assuming he was going to drill a hole in the corny lid to mount an airlock in there.

At least that's how I've seen it done before.

 

[DanH]

How are you going to put an airlock on it if it just has one hole, for a corny lid?

I'm not sure if I could attach a blowoff tube to replace the PRV, but that's what I was planning on looking into. Otherwise, I would indeed need to drill a hole in the lid.

As far as co2 assisted transfers, that's a problem for later. I can lift it high enough to syphon to a corny but I'm not getting any younger.

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

For what it's worth, my corny's don't seal under atmospheric pressure, either. Once I hit them with a few PSI from the CO2 tank, the lid presses up against the top and the whole thing seals up. Maybe the silicon gasket will work, and maybe bending the arms down some or shoving pennies under the arms will give you a tighter seal, but as far as I know the lid is specifically designed to seal in the way it does with the assistance of the pressure in the keg. If you have a vent to off-gas during fermentation, I'm not so confident you'll ever get a perfect, air tight seal on the corny lid.

 

[horseinmay]

If you are fermenting less than 12 gallons in there, you won't need a blowoff or airlock as the krausen probably won't rise up high enough to spew. Just open the pressure relief, and leave it open for the duration of fermentation.

 

[DanH]

If you are fermenting less than 12 gallons in there, you won't need a blowoff or airlock as the krausen probably won't rise up high enough to spew. Just open the pressure relief, and leave it open for the duration of fermentation.

And worry about anything getting in? I tend to leave them alone for a month.

 

[horseinmay]

As long as any opening is too small for a fruit fly, and isn't a vertical opening where stray yeast/bacteria can fall through via gravity, you'll be ok. A closed corny lid that fits snug, but isn't airtight (ie, won't hold pressure) is fine, since you want the gas to escape anyway.