beer keg fermenter help

[chris666chaos]

after some input on converting a 50 L beer keg into a fermenter with cleaning i don't see that as much of a issue i already use one of these for my boiler with my still and if i soak and rinse straight after bottling then pour boiling water into it and put it on my gas burner and boil it for like 20 mins or so

with the bubble cap was thinking of getting a 2 inch ss cap and another try-clamp and put a small hole in it and get a rubber grommet and install my bubble cap to that or ill make one out of ss if i can get the right materials

one of my questions i have is their anything i can put on it to make it better?

 

[JuanMoore]

You could make a spunding valve for it and ferment under pressure.

 

[outside92129]

I just made one, works great. I drilled two 1/2" holes in it and put thru two SS tubes. One SS tube starts at the cap and goes up for the blow-off, i bent it around a CO2 bottle. The other SS tube goes down from the top into the wort to use as a thermowell. I sniped off a piece of SS sheet and silver soldered it to the end to seal it off.

For the temperature sensor/thermocouple i followed the instructions on making a son'of'fermentation chiller with J.Thorton's modifications.
http://www.wortomatic.com/articles/Remote-Sensing-DIY-Controller-for-Less-Than-$25

 

[chris666chaos]

sorry should have stated i was getting one of these
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/28072125...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649#ht_4080wt_1059

and a heat mat that they sell on ebay for reptiles somewhere on ebay for like 15 buks delivered

all that is getting installed into a old beer fridge i have and im upgrading the beer fridge to something alot better (still looking) as the one i have is pretty crap so good fermentation chamber as i mainly drink lager's

 

[chris666chaos]

You could make a spunding valve for it and ferment under pressure.

i havent looked into these much may i ask what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this

 

[JuanMoore]

i havent looked into these much may i ask what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this

Fermenting under low pressure inhibits production of a lot of esters and other fermentation byproducts. It can be used to get a cleaner tasting ale, or to ferment hotter and faster without many of the normally associated off flavors. This is obviously not suited for styles where esters are a desired flavor component. Once the bulk of the fermentation has occured, the pressure relief setting can be raised and the beer will carbonate itself as fermentation finishes.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Closed-system_pressurized_fermentation

 

[chris666chaos]

Fermenting under low pressure inhibits production of a lot of esters and other fermentation byproducts. It can be used to get a cleaner tasting ale, or to ferment hotter and faster without many of the normally associated off flavors. This is obviously not suited for styles where esters are a desired flavor component. Once the bulk of the fermentation has occured, the pressure relief setting can be raised and the beer will carbonate itself as fermentation finishes.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Closed-system_pressurized_fermentation

so if im right it is better for lagers than ales cant remember were i read it but i see it as true that lagers are meant to be more crisp and clean in flavour and ales are more full body