Switching from glass carboy to Stainless Fermenter for < $50

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

HopSing

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2007
Messages
145
Reaction score
184
While the debate rages on about plastic buckets vs glass carboys vs stainless fermenters, I made the switch to stainless for less than $50 after I had an "event".

I've used 6.5 gallon glass carboys for the last 6+ years. I loved how they don't take on flavors or smells a plastic bucket will over an extended time. I also didn't need to worry about any of the controversial topics like plastic leaching or oxidation associated with plastics. The downside of glass carboys is they are heavy, fragile, a bit difficult to clean, and take up a lot of storage space when they're not in use, but they worked flawlessly for me...until a few weeks ago. The plastic clip on my carboy carrier broke at the worst time. If it was not for the carboy neck handle I had a grip on, I would have had a mess and likely a few more stitches to add to my collection. Those neck handles are meant for empty carboys, not one filled with 5.5 gallons of wort @ 40+ lbs. Gladly it held, but my commitment to glass carboys broke at that instant. It's not a matter of if you're going to drop and break one, it is a matter of when. I now believe that.

Stainless conical fermenters are a fortune (at least for me) and corny kegs only hold 5 gallons, which means my final yield will be about 4 to 4.5 gallons after I rack it off the trub. My solution that others have taken was to buy a 10 gallon stainless turkey fryer from Craigslist for $20 and turn it into a fermenter. It worked so well, I also purchased a cheap 8 gallon brew kettle from Craigslist (also $20) and made a second one for those double batch brew sessions. If buying used freaks you out, you can buy a new stainless 8 gallon pot from Amazon for $50.

It's now a breeze to safely move a full fermenter with the built in handles. No more nylon carriers with plastic clips that can break. I don't need to worry about shattering a glass carboy, nor any of the potential issues with a plastic bucket or plastic carboys. I also ferment 6+ gallons, which is enough to fill a corny keg, and a few bottles that I individually prime with corn sugar and use as samplers prior to the keg being tapped. They also become a space-saving storage vessel between brews unlike a carboy that takes up space. Cleaning is so easy and simple and with the help of a large sanitized stainless spoon, I'm able to easily harvest the top layer of yeast off the trub without a lot of washing steps. I simply boil and cool water, add the top layer of yeast to three quart-sized sterilized mason jars, fill with the sterilized water, put the lid on, and refrigerate until the next brew day. Simplified yeast harvesting alone will quickly pay for these stainless fermenters as I can get dozens of batches from a single yeast purchase by splitting a single harvest into 3 future batches and going 3 generations deep.

To convert a turkey fryer or kettle to a fermenter, I simply took 3/8 inch silicon tubing and slit it down the middle and put the open slit over the lip of the kettle. Clear vinyl tubing does not work. The walls of silicon tubing is more squishy so it forms a better seal. The lid then seals against the slit tubing to form an airtight seal. I then use a bunch of 1-1/4 inch binder clips to keep the lid in place. Use a 1-1/8 inch hole saw to drill a hole in the lid, deburr with some sandpaper or file. The bung that fits in a carboy will fit in that hole, as will the auto-siphon when it comes time to rack out of the primary.

If you cannot afford to shell out a few hundred bucks to buy purpose-built stainless fermenters, you have other options to consider.




slit silicon tubing over lip.
upload_2018-3-1_10-0-52.png


Seal in place. I put a piece of saran wrap over the seam to help stop leaks. Probably not necessary.
upload_2018-3-1_10-4-57.png



tight seal with the lip of the lid pressing on top of the slit tubing.
upload_2018-3-1_10-7-10.png


Inexpensive easy to find binder clips holds it down. I space the clips about 2 inches apart.
upload_2018-3-1_10-8-38.png


Hope this helps those that are still using glass carboys, but thinking of alternatives without breaking the bank.

~HopSing.
 
This is an awesome idea. I'm in the same boat as I prefer the glass for all the reasons you listed but they do make me nervous. Had a buckle on a strap break on me as well. Also almost lost a few carboys due to the buckle not being tight enough.

Wonder I've you'd be able to find a large oring that could fit the lid? That might make for a better seal.
 
Awesome idea!

Instead of all those clamps, you could also use some of those straps used to secure stuff on the back of a bycicle and use the handles to strap them over the lid. Might be a bit more convenient.

I think I would even skip the hole for the airlock and rely on the pressure to release itself :D

.... I am lazy.... :D
 
This is an awesome idea. I'm in the same boat as I prefer the glass for all the reasons you listed but they do make me nervous. Had a buckle on a strap break on me as well. Also almost lost a few carboys due to the buckle not being tight enough.

Wonder I've you'd be able to find a large oring that could fit the lid? That might make for a better seal.

I went down that route of an o-ring. I originally tried the o-ring from a bucket lid, but it was a bit too small, so I bought one. Since it is round it rolls off the lid very easily. Even when I managed to get it to stay, it still leaked. Plus I know the silicon tubing is food safe, easy to clean, and fairly inexpensive.

The trick with cutting the tubing slit was to lay the tubing down in a circle and mark it with a sharpie. This prevented my cut from moving from side to side too much.

~HopSing.
 
Awesome idea!

Instead of all those clamps, you could also use some of those straps used to secure stuff on the back of a bycicle and use the handles to strap them over the lid. Might be a bit more convenient.

I think I would even skip the hole for the airlock and rely on the pressure to release itself :D

.... I am lazy.... :D

I tried using a ratchet tie down but I could not get enough downward pressure spread evenly across the entire lid to seal it. I even tried putting blocks of wood on the lid, under the tie down. Nope. Did not work. The clips take about 30 seconds to put on and remove. It's not pretty, but it works. It's water tight with about a dozen clips. I tried using larger clips thinking I could use less of them, but since the kettle is curved, I found the 1.25 inch ones worked the best.

~HopSing.
 
Actually, this is getting more and more awesome the longer I think about it. It basically means, mashing (biab), boiling and fermenting in the same vessel. Meaning also that there is no need to clean anything in between those three steps, as I do no chill. Wow, if my boiling pot would be big enough for my desired volume,I would totally go for it. I'll save this idea for later.
 
How do you rack your beer from fermenter to keg or bottling bucket? An auto siphon?

Yes, I use an auto siphon. It fits perfectly in the hole in the lid (just like it would in a glass carboy neck). I keep the fermenter sealed until racking is complete to keep oxygen exposure to a minimum. I thought about using a weldless bulkhead with a valve, and will probably go that route in the near future, but right now I pop out the airlock, pop in the auto-siphon, give it a few pumps and fill my corny keg. I then clamp off the hose, put on a bottling wand to the end of the tubing and fill a few bottles until the fermenter runs dry. I typically put a 2x4 under the opposite side of the fermenter so I get just about every drop. Last batch I got a full keg, 3x 22oz, and 1x 12oz bottles. Primed the bottles with some corn sugar and capped them.

To keep the auto-siphon out of the sludge, I put a large spring clamp on it so I can adjust the height. When I hear it start to gurgle, I push it down a few inches. So my keg gets the clear stuff from the top, and the bottles will get some yeast to help the priming sugar do its thing. This is the clamp I use:

https://www.harborfreight.com/3-12-in-nylon-spring-clamp-69289.html


~HopSing.
 
Neat. I like my stainless brewbucket, but that is hard to beat for $50!

Don't get me wrong, I drooled over the Brewtech and Anvil brew buckets, but I just could not afford it. This is a good alternative until I hit the lottery. Plus when my fermenters are not fermenting, I use one of them to heat sparge water.

The biggest advantage for me is getting away from glass.

~HopSing.
 
It basically means, mashing (biab), boiling and fermenting in the same vessel.

I've read some people do exactly that with good results. I'm not there yet. I like to separate the wort from the other stuff that lives at the bottom of my boil kettle.

I stick a large funnel into the hole in the fermenter lid, then put in a fine mesh strainer into the funnel and line that with a small BIAB bag. I pump my cooled wort from the boil kettle into the strainer / BIAB bag to pull out as much hops and sludge as possible. It also aerates the wort nicely.

In my case I brew in my garage, but ferment in my cool basement, so I use a ratchet strap and a hand truck to bring my fermenter down a flight of stairs. Someday I hope to do it all on the same level of my house. :yes:

~HopSing.
 
That sounds good! Add long as you can get rid of the moisture in the air when mashing and boiling, and if you go electric, it should be possible to do it in the basement.

I do not care about trub preboil any more. There are so many experiments out there that proved that removing trub after boiling does not increase clarity, in some cases it even decreased the clarity.

I really like the approach to keep it as simple as possible, and your approach here is basically the most simple and efficient idea I saw up until today!
 
I just bought the silicone tubing. I will brew my first kettle-only batch in a few weeks. Going to be a dark mild :)

It is a really nice solution for when I brew smaller low abv batches for myself. If I would have a bigger kettle, it would also be a good solution for the bigger batches as well.
 
Another tip.. once you slit the tubing and place it on the lip of your kettle / fermenter, overlap the ends, then take a new razor blade and cut through both layers at the same time. This ensures they'll be as seamless as possible even if your cut is not exactly squared up. I also made sure the tubing was not being stretched before making the cut. The result is a really tight seam. I still bridge the seam with a narrow strip of saran wrap for added protection.

That all said, once fermentation kicks off the beer should be protected by a layer of CO2, so the seal really just needs to keep stuff out vs. being airtight. You'll know you have a good seal if there is activity in the airlock.

Let me know how it goes. I have 2 running right now. One with BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde and the other with a variant of EdWort's Pale Ale. Here's a picture of my "Laurel and Hardy" fermenters with a total investment of $65 for both.

upload_2018-3-14_8-43-45.png
 
Thanks for the tip, I was asking myself this morning how I can avoid the gap, problem solved!

I just skip the airlock completely. My current bucket also doesn't have one. I really don't need it.

Hope your beers go well!
 
I just skip the airlock completely. My current bucket also doesn't have one. I really don't need it.

Interesting. I'm assuming your current bucket does not have an o-ring on the lid or is there a hole in the lid, but you just don't install an airlock? How are you bleeding off the pressure?

~HopSing.
 
Interesting. I'm assuming your current bucket does not have an o-ring on the lid or is there a hole in the lid, but you just don't install an airlock? How are you bleeding off the pressure?

~HopSing.

The current one is just not air tight (most of the regular plastic bucket type fermenters are not), this is not a problem at all. My previous one did have an airlock that sometimes did not bubble, as the lid was not air tight as well, that is why I skipped the air lock with this one completely. Was a good choice btw.

The kettle will also release the pressure below the lid as soon as it rises above a certain threshold, which is perfectly fine. Makes life a bit easier :)
 
The kettle will also release the pressure below the lid as soon as it rises above a certain threshold, which is perfectly fine. Makes life a bit easier :)

Yup.. I would bet there is a direct relationship between the number of clips used and the PSI inside of the fermenter. Less clips = lower PSI.

I've also heard there are some benefits to fermenting under pressure such as less ester and fusel production. Let us know how it turns out.

~HopSing.
 
Great idea but this thread made me bite the bullet and order an Anvil SS Fermentor. These things look awesome and got word from Anvil that they got a bunch in just today and they should be ready to ship soon (in case anyone has been looking).
 
Yup.. I would bet there is a direct relationship between the number of clips used and the PSI inside of the fermenter. Less clips = lower PSI.

I've also heard there are some benefits to fermenting under pressure such as less ester and fusel production. Let us know how it turns out.

~HopSing.
Yes, that is true. But I'll doubt that the pressure inside the kettle would rise to a level which really affects the ester production. Let's see!
 
Great idea but this thread made me bite the bullet and order an Anvil SS Fermentor. These things look awesome and got word from Anvil that they got a bunch in just today and they should be ready to ship soon (in case anyone has been looking).

Anvil makes some really nice stuff. If I were to "buy once, cry once", I would probably buy their brew kettle + their kettle fermenter kit for an additional $30. The kit turns a brew kettle into a fermenter. This would allow what Miraculix has suggested - brew, cool, and ferment all in the same vessel with no racking. Since the boil kettle has been sterilized during the boil, it surely cuts many steps from the brew day. The only downside I can see with the Anvil equipment is expense. Since it ties up your brew kettle for the entire fermentation period, you might need more than one. ;)

I've considered trying a boil in one of the cheap-o turkey fryer fermenters I've built. The concern is scorching since it is really thin and I BIAB. I know the fermentation side works great using these.

~HopSing.
 
I did boil in a very thin cheapo 5l kettle and my main brewing kettle is almost as bad as the 5l one and I never had scorching issues. I put maximum heat in on a gas hob till it boils and reduce the heat afterwards to keep it slightly rolling... No scorching.

But never ever try to reheat the mash when doing biab! Add hot water if reheating should be necessary.
 
Still, I worry about the milk crates even if they're sturdy enough to lug a 5 gallon glass carboy. At some point I'd like to get a stainless fermenter with a yeast dump valve. Already have most of the kegging gear, minus the CO2 canister, but it would be nice to eliminate glass altogether.
 
Another tip.. once you slit the tubing and place it on the lip of your kettle / fermenter, overlap the ends, then take a new razor blade and cut through both layers at the same time. This ensures they'll be as seamless as possible even if your cut is not exactly squared up. I also made sure the tubing was not being stretched before making the cut. The result is a really tight seam. I still bridge the seam with a narrow strip of saran wrap for added protection.

That all said, once fermentation kicks off the beer should be protected by a layer of CO2, so the seal really just needs to keep stuff out vs. being airtight. You'll know you have a good seal if there is activity in the airlock.

Let me know how it goes. I have 2 running right now. One with BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde and the other with a variant of EdWort's Pale Ale. Here's a picture of my "Laurel and Hardy" fermenters with a total investment of $65 for both.

View attachment 562042


Curious about your brew sheet. Happen to have a PDF or DOC you could share?
 
Curious about your brew sheet. Happen to have a PDF or DOC you could share?

It has continued to evolve, but I rarely fill out all the fields anymore. It was useful for dialing in a recipe or a process. I was unable to post the .docx file, so I uploaded the .pdf. PM me and I'll email the .docx to you if you would like to make changes to it. The stars on the left side line up for a 3 ring binder.

~HopSing
 

Attachments

  • BrewDayLog-v6.pdf
    208.3 KB · Views: 111
Still, I worry about the milk crates even if they're sturdy enough to lug a 5 gallon glass carboy. At some point I'd like to get a stainless fermenter with a yeast dump valve. Already have most of the kegging gear, minus the CO2 canister, but it would be nice to eliminate glass altogether.

Why worry about milk crates? I've never heard of one breaking.

I have 4 CO canisters, 20 kegs, about 20 carboys, 7 buckets, kegerator, keezer, SOFC, Bayou burner, etc.
 
I was considering making a few of these primarily for beer, but also for doing wine. Are they air tight enough to prevent oxidation over a long period of time?
 
I am fermenting my third beer now in my ultra budget solution :D

I reduced the boil to 15min, cool it in the sink and then pitch directly into the kettle and seal it with duct tape afterwards :D

Looks sh itty, but first of all, MC Gyver would be proud of me, and second, the beer turns out great! I love it! So little cleaning to be done :)
 
I was considering making a few of these primarily for beer, but also for doing wine. Are they air tight enough to prevent oxidation over a long period of time?

The easiest way to determine if the seal is truly airtight is to use a 3 piece airlock. If the bell of the airlock stays elevated off of the stem after fermentation has completed, you have an airtight seal. If you see the bell resting on the stem after fermentation is complete, then air has leaked out. Even without a perfect seal, there is a blanket of CO2 protecting your beer so the risk of oxidation is pretty small if you don't move the fermenter around too much. Not sure about wine, but I would assume that same layer of CO2 is present as well.

~HopSing.
 
I am fermenting my third beer now in my ultra budget solution :D

I reduced the boil to 15min, cool it in the sink and then pitch directly into the kettle and seal it with duct tape afterwards :D

Looks sh itty, but first of all, MC Gyver would be proud of me, and second, the beer turns out great! I love it! So little cleaning to be done :)

Instead of duct tape, get one of those exercise bands. Wrap it around and stretch the band as you wrap. Use a few clips to keep it in place. It definitely helped, it's reusable, and won't leave any glue residue on your pot. That said, I just use the makeshift gasket from silicon hose. I found making the fermenter perfectly airtight was not needed. Just want to keep other visitors out of my beer before I get to drink it.

Like these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M053Q3B/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

~HopSing.

P.S. I am doing single vessel mash, boil, cool, and ferment exclusively now. It's great washing 1 pot once! Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Alright I'm ordering everything I need. I'll update everyone on how the build goes and how air tight I got it. Thanks!
 
Instead of duct tape, get one of those exercise bands. Wrap it around and stretch the band as you wrap. Use a few clips to keep it in place. It definitely helped, it's reusable, and won't leave any glue residue on your pot. That said, I just use the makeshift gasket from silicon hose. I found making the fermenter perfectly airtight was not needed. Just want to keep other visitors out of my beer before I get to drink it.

Like these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M053Q3B/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

~HopSing.

P.S. I am doing single vessel mash, boil, cool, and ferment exclusively now. It's great washing 1 pot once! Thanks for the suggestion.

That sounds like a good idea but my pot is so dirt cheap, the lid is uneven and does not close properly. I tried to create a seal out of a Silicon hose but the handles of the pot are far too close to the rim, so the seal cannot be properly placed. Duct tape really seems to be the best solution. It is not air tight, but as you already mentioned, it is not necessary to be air tight.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I am fermenting my third beer now in my ultra budget solution :D

I reduced the boil to 15min, cool it in the sink and then pitch directly into the kettle and seal it with duct tape afterwards :D

Looks sh itty, but first of all, MC Gyver would be proud of me, and second, the beer turns out great! I love it! So little cleaning to be done :)
why only a 15 minute boil?
 
Back
Top