SS Brew Bucket Modifications

[cousinjoe]

Hello, looking to get some feedback. Finally making the move to the SS Brewtech Brew Buckets (2x 7 gallon buckets for my 10-12 gallon batches) and was already thinking of some upgrades I wanted to make, pretty much converting it to TC fittings instead of weldless.

The reasons for the buckets is I already have two 5 cubic foot chest freezers as fermentation chambers so conicals are out as they wouldn't fit and I don't want to go through the hassle of trying to sell them to buy two new conicals plus some sort of new fridge or glycol setup - way too much money all around.

So as for the brew buckets, I was originally thinking the brewmaster ones as they have the thermowell I need for my black box temp controller probe but as I'm thinking of converting it to a TC setup, I might as well save the $30 and put that towards welding costs. My idea is as follows:

• Weld on a 1" TC ferrule for a TC thermowell at the same location as their brewmaster series w/ LCD thermometer and weldless thermowell.
• Weld on a 1" or 1.5" TC to replace the 3/8 weldless valve to add a TC ball valve w/ racking arm (butterfly is way too big for this application). Granted due to the short legs of the bucket, I might need to extend them or put it up on some sort of stand to get more clearance for the valve itself.
• Last, purchase the domed lid that comes with a 3" TC fitting in the center (https://www.ssbrewtech.com/products/copy-of-lid-3-tc-7-gal-fermenters) and add a 1.5" TC ferrule for a blow off port/pressure transfer port towards the side of the lid. This would leave the center available for dry hopping (without removing the blow off) or a cool idea like Spike has on their conicals for using a polycarbonate cap as a type of site glass/viewing area to be able to visually check in on the fermentation progress (https://spikebrewing.com/collections/conical-accessories/products/clear-tc-cap). This link also shows what I'm trying to accomplish by modifying the SS domed lid to match what Spike offers on their conicals. This second port on the lid just makes it that much more versatile to be able to attach multiple different accessories or attachments.

Long story short, I'm looking to bridge the gap between conical and brew bucket and modifying it so it's easier to clean and a bit more versatile in terms of fittings. I've already spoken with a local welding shop who are skilled with sanitary stainless welding so no issues there. Do you think it's worth the additional welding costs to modify the brew buckets? Any disadvantages you see in my plans?

Thanks!

 

[Pintabone]

I just posted a similar question about a week ago. I'd be curious to see the results if you go about doing it and what it ends up costing.

 

[cousinjoe]

Sure thing man, I think I'm going to go for it. If all works out, I might even look into adding a port for a bottom dump. Granted it wouldn't work sitting in my ferm chamber, but I don't mind lifting it out onto a bench/table/stand to rack/dump/etc. Again, this is if the costs line up for me. If the welding ends up costing too much, I'll stick with the 3 ferrules per brew bucket (lid, thermowell & valve) and call it a day.

 

[Pintabone]

When I was looking into the cost of everything it started to add up close to what a spike CF5 would cost. Reason I still went with the brew bucket is because it fits in my fermentation fridge.

 

[cousinjoe]

I'm in the same boat. I figure even if it ends up costing near a 7 gal conical (Spike currently has the best bang for the buck, a 7 gal unitank for $525), I'll still be ahead because a glycol setup, temp control, etc. for two conicals will be over an additional $1,600. Somewhere around $1k, $1,100 for a glycol setup and then a Spike or SS temp control system starts at $300 each and goes up to around $335 I believe. I'll chalk it up to having quality stainless fermenters customized exactly as I needed to fit my ferm chambers and setup.

 

[Bowen1911]

If you can TIG weld, these are all easy propositions. The bottom dump would most likely take up too much vertical space in a chest freezer without building a collar.

 

[cousinjoe]

If you can TIG weld, these are all easy propositions. The bottom dump would most likely take up too much vertical space in a chest freezer without building a collar.

Unfortunately I can't weld, but a well trusted shop in town can so that works for me. Agreed, I'll have to talk with them to see about the bottom dump. More of a wishlist item at the moment, more focused on converting the weldless to TC.

 

[Nagorg]

Considering the mentioned costs and related effort on this thread, why not bite the bullet and get a half barrel conical? You can get a used upright freezer for a couple hundred bucks. Seems like the more cost effective route to me plus you can then benefit from all the features that make conicals awesome.

 

[RocketBrewer]

I added some 1 1/2" tri-clover bottom dump valves to my brew buckets. You can find the thread here. Honestly, if you pay someone to do all the welding you want, along with the cost of all the tri-clamp parts, you will likely be well over the cost of a nice conical and will be left with a less-than-perfect fermenter. The angle of the bottom of the brew bucket is not as steep as it should be for a conical dump either, it works, but not nearly as well as my conical fermenters. As I mention in my thread, the material is very thin on these and could be easily ruined by a less than expert welder. Also, I'm not a fan of ball valves of any kind on a fermenter, been there, done that. I would recommend going with a nice conical (don't have one, but the new Spike ones look amazing for the price) and look for another fridge or freezer to ferment in. Maybe look into building a glycol chiller and get the coils for the conical. Good luck either way!

 

[NeoBrew]

I'm in the same situation with my fermentation chamber. The Spike CF5 will not quite fit. I'm thinking of building a collar to get it in there.

I am still troubled by the fact that Spike warns against lifting the CF5 when it is full. This would be a real logistical challenge in a chest freezer. For all the shortcomings of the BrewBucket at least you can lift it full. I reached out to Spike to see what the limitation was, they replied that "We definitely can't recommend lifting that amount of weight on our conicals." I don't have one to see what the issue would be, but I'm guessing the body of the conical is too thin to take the stresses of 5-6 gallons of liquid against the handles.

 

[RocketBrewer]

Maybe lift it by the lid clamp? You could do CO2 pressurized transfer, but yeast harvesting would still be a challenge in a chest freezer.

 

[NeoBrew]

Maybe lift it by the lid clamp? You could do CO2 pressurized transfer, but yeast harvesting would still be a challenge in a chest freezer.

I would definitely do a CO2 transfer. That is one of the drivers that would push me to a conical in the first place. I haven't done much with yeast harvesting yet, but I would at least like the ability to dump yeast before cold crashing.

I have no idea if lifting by the lid clamp would be better or worse than the handles.

(Sorry to hijack this thread!)

 

[cousinjoe]

Considering the mentioned costs and related effort on this thread, why not bite the bullet and get a half barrel conical? You can get a used upright freezer for a couple hundred bucks. Seems like the more cost effective route to me plus you can then benefit from all the features that make conicals awesome.

I would definitely go that route if I was sticking with a single fermenter, but I always split my 10-12 gallon batches to get at least one variable out of each of my brews (different yeast, dry hops, etc.). So I currently have two carboys, two ferm chambers, etc. This solution comes down to cost again as I would need two conicals and two new upright freezers. Appreciate the ideas though thanks!

 

[Nagorg]

I always split my 10-12 gallon batches

Do you always do this??? FWIW, you could set yourself up with a, upright freezer and conical for larger batches and still use your smaller brew buckets when splitting wort. You can but the brewbuckets in the upright too plus they stack! For the dry hop scenario, you could still ferment in the conical and then transfer into the brewbuckets for dry hop experiments, fruit/oaking experiments etc...

Anyway, just my .02 on where I'd spend the money...

 

[cousinjoe]

Yeah I split every batch I make since I don't get to brew as often as I would like to. I prefer it this way though as you get two different beers each time and can test out different hops, yeast, additions, etc.