PVC pipe fermenter

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marcelo

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I saw a lot post about pvc and cpvc pipes and i was thinking...
I can easy foud a 8 In. pvc pipe and a pvc cap to it, if i try to melt de bottom of the cap, just like vacum form, to make it conical, set another in the top, with a airlock, it will be easy to build and cheap.

i need help about the sanitization of pvc, its works? becouse they are all full of litle scraches from inside.
and ideas about the vacum form piece in the bottom.
tks for any help.
:D
 
Good idea.

Do you have access to a lathe? Cut grooves in the outside of the pipe and fit O-rings to seal the top and bottom for ease of disassembly and sanitizing.

I wouldn't even worry about making the bottom conical. How many gallons would you be looking to ferment?
 
good call with the o-ring seats.

i also think you might be setting yourself up for some aggravation if you try to reform that PVC.
 
And if your pipe is "full of little scratches from inside" you will need to be concerned about infections. I would recommend buying new pipe, or lining it a food safe liner.
 
the comercial lid they sel, have a build in grove for a O ring
I dont know how many gal, i will cut it 48in and start to brew this size of batches.
and the scratches, are very tiny, only cut the polish surface, i think they will be sanitized.
 
You will NOT be able to reform the bottom without some very special equipment.

You could easily place a spigot a few inches up and almost get the same effect though. It's a pretty interesting project. I'd like to see pictures when you get it done.
 
If i not make it conical botton, its safe to let the beer 2 or 3 weks in there, with all the yeast? or i still need to tranfer to a sec. fermenter?
Im doing my counts $$ and it will be cheap then by a 6gal bucket.
 
marcelo said:
the comercial lid they sel, have a build in grove for a O ring
I dont know how many gal, i will cut it 48in and start to brew this size of batches.
and the scratches, are very tiny, only cut the polish surface, i think they will be sanitized.
Click to expand...

tiny scratches are the ones to worry about. you should probably bleach it every other batch to be safe.
 
I definetely want to see pictures of this project. 8" is not a large diamater so I suspect that the pipe will have to be 3' or so high in order to fit 5 gallons of wort in there, right? I guess it is approx. the same diameter of a corny keg and I know people ferment in those, so this might be a great idea in the works to allow more fermenters in a keezer type fermentation tank.
 
RE: conical

I would think you could use a reducer fitting, 8" to 4" (not sure whats available) or two two steps 8" to 4" to 2" . The conical can be made with the reducer fittings. Would probably be much easier than trying to form it.
 
I would think that PVC fermenter would be more expensive to build than just buying a brewing bucket around here. But if you already have it...

There is no worry about letting the beer sit on the yeast for 6 weeks IMO. I normally leave mine in the primary for at LEAST 3 weeks!
 
Had to make some copper returns to Lowes...checked out the PVC pipes. The larges they carry is 6". The 6" x 10' was $31.86. The caps to fit are $12.23 each, and you need two of them. So by my calcs, let's say you use 3' of pipe, you are looking at $35.08 plus tax for one fermenter. Not economical. Since I originally liked the concept due to the small footrpint (I can fit 4 of them in my fermentation freezer versus one bucket) I would rather use a SS corny keg for a fermenter, so I will be passing on this idea. If you already had spare pipe laying around, another thing.

Carry on.
 
A different approach would be using 4-6 mil continous poly bag material and mahing clamps for both ends or heat sealing bottom and clamping top. After filling you could clamp and sequester the trub at the bottom, later the yeast and then siphon off clean beer. With a one time use and volume adjusted by length you just need some support for the continous bag fermenter. Metal duct, wire mesh, wood or other materials would work for support and clamps could be fabricated from wood with rubber or vinyl hose across one face to seal top.
 
CPVC is used for higher temeratures. PVC is food safe. Would we be putting hot wort in to chill before pitching yeast?

I can get HDPE buckets for about $3. This migt be neat though. I could make a fermenter of a larger diameter and take it apart and wash it in my dishwasher. Fittings probably get pretty spendy in larger sizes.

Puts a whole new meaning to the phrase pipeline.
 
I am not sure of the approach to this, whether it is cost or coolness or just to see if it would work. From my own perspective, I think that such a fermenting container could be visually awesome. Imagine four or five side by side, various lengths, looking like pipes on a church organ.
 
Things are slow now.
I check the price of a 8in pvc pipe and its R$ 200,00/6 Meters (U$ 110.00)and they dont have the lids, its a special order, they only have 6in lids and pipes, but i will try do make this in 8in, about 3fot to hold 8 gal and set them on top of a table build special with 3fot and few in. high just to fit one fermenter under the spigot, to make secondary transf. easy.
The salesman told me he can sell to me half pipe 3M its 4, 5gal fermenters or 3, 8gal. but i will wont by the pipe if i cant find the lids.
 
I don't know about you but... my water pipes are PVC. If the water has been sitting in them for a while I have to let the water run for a while or it tastes nasty. Just imagine 3 weeks with an acidic medium...

Cool ideal though.
 
That seems kind of pricy, I could be wrong.

8" 20 foot at local building supply is $87, but you have to buy a minimum of 14 pieces.

I can get 3 meters of 6" dia. for $20 and the 6" end caps are $11. You type with a metric accent so I guess I'd be shipping these internationally, no?

Let me know if you're interested. I think this could be a fun little project.
 
Do they make large diameter pipes in CPVC? I've only seen the tiny stuff in CPVC.

And keep in mind people, marcelo is in Brazil, so the cost-barriers you all keep mentioning are completely different for him. I'm guessing that since he has access to such a specialized size PVC pipe, he's likely not paying for it....
 
Thats the point drat, here in brazil, all this homebrew suply are expensive, most of came from USA, i pay here US$ 6 to a notingham yeast, and a cony is cheap as U$ 150, used, keg only.
I was looking for a new fermenter, i did want to keep using those plastic carboys, a bucket is almost U$ 30 and a conical plastic ferm. for 8 gal is U$ 120, so thats why i am doing this.
yesterday i found a cheap brand lid for it, but they only have 6" and they cost R$ 5.5 (less than U$ 3.) and i order the 8" lid soon they will arived.
and tks for evebody help!:D
 
I know pvc can be necked down at least in smaller diameters I used to make liquid co2 powered rockets in college. To make the nozzle we put a heavy duty rubber band around the pipe put it in boiling water the rubber band would pull in the tube flaring the end a bit. With 1 in pipe we could shrink down to a 1/4 in orifice. Don't know if this would work on a large scale or not something to think about
 
The cost makes it impractical, two 200mm caps cost more than a bar of 6 meters of pipe. but still on my to do list!
 
Does stuff ship well over there?

Does it make it to your house?

I have a friend who builds effects pedals for guitars. He won't ship to some countries. South Africa is off the list.
 
never had problems with purchases made ​​outside the country, since the declared value is below $ 50
 
I am with my fridge full with a 50 liter fermenter. I needed a small fermenter in diameter, but big in capacity. I decided to try with a 150mm PVC pipe. with 80cm of height, it has the capacity of 14 liters.

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