Excess of Stainless Drums - 3 Vessel?

[dawsh2]

I have 3 55gal drums and one 85gal, all stainless with removable lids and two tri-clamp ports installed at the bottom. I’ve been unsure what to do with them (they currently reside at a farm), but today it occurred to me that they’d potentially make a very natural electric 3-vessel setup. Could these feasibly be used as a 3-vessel setup, with the 85gal as a fermentor? If so, what modifications might need to be made? I would most likely just use this occasionally for seasonal brews or when friends want to split a grain bill.

I would strongly prefer an electric set up, the power is likely available (there’s for sure a 240v 50a circuit always open, likely multiple I can borrow on brew day), and we have plenty of extra pumps, elements, etc laying around. Tbh I’ve been dabbling with the idea of opening a brewery in my small town if rent was cheap enough, so I’m wondering how viable this is. I already have a 1BBL eBAIB, but from what I understand single vessel really bottlenecks production since you’re stuck on one batch until it’s being chilled and transferred out, while a 3-vessel system can start working on the next batch as soon as the first vessel is cleared. But I’ve only ever done BIAB.

 

[sibelman]

It seems to me that you'd need two elements each in your BK and HLT, and that while 3V offers some time advantage over BIAB for back-to-back brews, your main bottleneck either way would be the fermenter(s).

 

[Dland]

To convert the drums to brewing vessels, you would need to add ports for valves, and heat elements. I reccomend tri clamp heat elements for ease of cleaning and replacement. You might want also port(s) for site glass, thermowell and/or temp sensors. Ports for HERMs set up might also be a good option, and maybe provision for whirlpooling with pump.

All this can be done with either welded ports or weldless. Not really much different than making brew vessels out of old 1/2 kegs, as I have done, but on bigger scale.

 

[dawsh2]

Thanks, seems like it should be as simple as I thought then. Just curious, why don’t see I more people, especially brewery startups, doing this? It’s crazy cheap compared to other 1BBL electric options. Is there a drawback I’m not seeing?

 

[day_trippr]

Some folks have a plan but don't have the fabrication skills...

Cheers!

 

[DevilsCups]

Thanks, seems like it should be as simple as I thought then. Just curious, why don’t see I more people, especially brewery startups, doing this? It’s crazy cheap compared to other 1BBL electric options. Is there a drawback I’m not seeing?

Funny I came across this thread! Hope all is well, dude.

The brewery I brew at use a 3 vessel system with 3 100gal-or-so drums. It works very well. They're all direct fired with burners underneath. It's a very analog and labor-intensive setup, but it's worked for 6 years now for them until a full brewhouse is installed in the next 1-2 years.

Pumps are used to move liquid back and forth. We sparge with an arm from the right tank to the mash tun in the center, and transfer to the kettle (image left). Two separate pumps, one that only sees wort and one that only sees water / sani. You could easily adapt for electric instead if you had the infrastructure, I'd imagine. There's a sweetheart deal with the rent though, so overhead is much lower than it typically would be in my area.

 

[dawsh2]

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[dawsh2]

Funny I came across this thread! Hope all is well, dude.

The brewery I brew at use a 3 vessel system with 3 100gal-or-so drums. It works very well. They're all direct fired with burners underneath. It's a very analog and labor-intensive setup, but it's worked for 6 years now for them until a full brewhouse is installed in the next 1-2 years.

View attachment 832851

Pumps are used to move liquid back and forth. We sparge with an arm from the right tank to the mash tun in the center, and transfer to the kettle (image left). Two separate pumps, one that only sees wort and one that only sees water / sani. You could easily adapt for electric instead if you had the infrastructure, I'd imagine. There's a sweetheart deal with the rent though, so overhead is much lower than it typically would be in my area.

what do you guys use for fermentors? curious why I don’t see more (micro) breweries using 55gal drums as such. I’ve got a 1BBL eBIAB (Colorado) and a bunch of these drums, so if I find a sweetheart deal it’d be cool to be able try running a commercial brewery without buying much more.

I live in a small town and wouldn’t want to spend much. It’d be 100% retail. I’ve got a spot in mind, just curious if this would be feasible if couple with a walk-in cooler. It’d bring the start up cost down to almost 0 for me

 

[day_trippr]

I think 55 gallon fermentors might be more appropriate for a nano brewery. The micros around here are all blessed with 10 barrel or larger fermentors...

Cheers!

 

[AlexKay]

what do you guys use for fermentors? curious why I don’t see more (micro) breweries using 55gal drums as such. I’ve got a 1BBL eBIAB (Colorado) and a bunch of these drums, so if I find a sweetheart deal it’d be cool to be able try running a commercial brewery without buying much more.

I live in a small town and wouldn’t want to spend much. It’d be 100% retail. I’ve got a spot in mind, just curious if this would be feasible if couple with a walk-in cooler. It’d bring the start up cost down to almost 0 for me

Are the welds on your typical 55-gallon drum sanitary? I’d worry a lot about wee beasties in the corners where the side joins to the top and bottom. And then there’s the interior surface finish. No experience, just spitballing here.