Use stainless steel kettles as fermenters or conditioning tanks

[Chinaski77]

Hi,

I seems to be able to get a good deal for 300 litre stainless steel pots with a lid and tap.
Apart for their use as HLT, mash tun and Copper, would/could you use them as fermenters or conditioning tanks?
Cheers

 

[Chinaski77]

That's the ones

 

[rekoob]

don't see why not.

 

[Rivenin]

i've been debating the same thing myself.
a wrap of cut silicone tubing and a few bolts would make it air tight as well if you're into that.

 

[starscream]

as long as you could get the lid to be able to give you an air tight seal, shouldnt be a problem. maybe look into having some sort of clamping system welded on. as with anything post boil, clean and sanitize it.

 

[caskman]

That's exactly what I use for my fermenter. It's not that tall of course. Big fan of open fermentation. Perfect shape. Mine holds about 8 gallons. So perfect for 5 gallon batches. I ferment in it then rack into a 6 gallon carboy. That's where I dry hop or just cool it down before kegging. Great for skimming yeast off the top for next batch. And don't need to siphon with spigot on the bottom. Highly recommended.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Wow, are you brewing 2bbl batches?

 

[Chinaski77]

Noy yet at 2bbl, thats's why i'm considering which equipment to buy.
Thanks for tour input everyone.
Why would the conditioning tank have to be hermetically sealed unlike the fermenter?