Sanke keg fermentor.

[Mparsons327]

Has anyone modiefied a 15.5 gallon sanke keg into a fermentor? If so what mods did you make? pictures would be great.
Thanks
Matt

 

[maida7]

I just started using a 15.5 gallon sanke as a fermenter. Actually I'm on the first batch so my experience is limited.

All I did was remove the spear, clean it up good and put a carboy cap on the opening. The larger orange carboy caps fit fairly tight over the stock opening. Seems to be working very good. I will be racking into kegs this Friday.

 

[Ace_Club]

+1. I've heard the above method (orange carboy cap) works well and is by far the cheapest and easiest of the mods for fermenting in Sankes.

 

[Mparsons327]

Did you use the 6 gallon carboy cap or the 6.5? how many gallons of brew did you use it for? I'm thinking of using this for 10 gallon brews. will there be too much headspace? I was also curious if anyone has modified these to work like a conical. Possibly turning them upside down with a ball valve mounted where the tube goes. Then cut and have something welded into the bottom of the keg to take a airtight lid of some sort.

 

[deanfootlong]

using it like a conical would be an intersting idea. does anybody make a tri clamp that fits onto the spear v band area? then you could just clamp a ball valve on it. weld some legs onto it and you have a very affordable conical.

 

[Ace_Club]

Use the orange cap (the other is smaller and a dark reddish color).

There won't be too much headspace for 10 gallons, so no worries there.

You can also turn it upside down, and I think somebody on this forum might have done that already (or be in the process). If memory serves me correctly, they were talking about fashioning an opening so that a cornelius lid would be able to seal the "top" of the sanke fermenter. More work, not much more payoff.

 

[Ace_Club]

using it like a conical would be an intersting idea. does anybody make a tri clamp that fits onto the spear v band area? then you could just clamp a ball valve on it. weld some legs onto it and you have a very affordable conical.

I believe the 2" tri-clamp fitting is what people use for Sankes. At least those that have turned them into bottom-draining MLTs.

 

[thesanch]

I fermented an 8 gallon batch in the Sanke with the orange carboy cap and used Co2 to rack it to a keg. Here's a link to another post of mine with my Co2 racking setup: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/sanke-fermenter-conversion-128262/index5.html#post2067267

 

[nicadrick]

Mine works great. I removed the Sankey connector and installed a corny lid and a SS racking cane plus a long stem thermometer in the top. Cleanup is a breeze, ferments are great. Corny lid has a hole drill to accept either a blow off tube or a drilled stopper. I small blow through the a sanitary filter to start the siphon.

Downside: weighs a ton when full. No big deal though.

 

[Mparsons327]

Mine works great. I removed the Sankey connector and installed a corny lid and a SS racking cane plus a long stem thermometer in the top. Cleanup is a breeze, ferments are great. Corny lid has a hole drill to accept either a blow off tube or a drilled stopper. I small blow through the a sanitary filter to start the siphon.

Downside: weighs a ton when full. No big deal though.

Do you have any pictures?

 

[nicadrick]

Do you have any pictures?

I will post some later.

 

[maida7]

Did you use the 6 gallon carboy cap or the 6.5? how many gallons of brew did you use it for? I'm thinking of using this for 10 gallon brews. will there be too much headspace? I was also curious if anyone has modified these to work like a conical. Possibly turning them upside down with a ball valve mounted where the tube goes. Then cut and have something welded into the bottom of the keg to take a airtight lid of some sort.

The larger size carboy cap (the one that fits on better bottles) is the one to use. I use it for 10 gallon batches. There is plenty of head space in there for krausen. I doubt you will have a blow off with even the most vigorous ferments. Head space was the selling point for me. Previously, I was using better bottles and they are just a bit undersized.

I don't think it would work as a conical. Mostly because the bottom (or top if your upside down) is not conical. So even wiith a drain in the bottom, it would not be effective at dumping trub, yeast, etc...

Also, if you add legs it get tall and will no longer fit in a fridge. A huge selling point for me (compared to a conical) is that it can fit in a standard top freezer style fridge. IMHO temp control is an essential element of brewing. A similar sized conical will not fit in a standard fridge.

The only real downside is you can't see (fully) inside or reach inside for cleaning. On the bright side sanitizing is super easy. Pour in a gallon of water and boil it on a burner for 10 min or so. The steam will completely sanitize it.

 

[maida7]

Mine works great. I removed the Sankey connector and installed a corny lid and a SS racking cane plus a long stem thermometer in the top. Cleanup is a breeze, ferments are great. Corny lid has a hole drill to accept either a blow off tube or a drilled stopper. I small blow through the a sanitary filter to start the siphon.

Downside: weighs a ton when full. No big deal though.

The corny lid would be nice for access and inspection, but lotsa people use them unaltered with good success. I doubt I'd ever go thru and mod it this way when the orange cap already does a good job. The orange can accepts a blow off tube and/or a racking cane. The cap fits very tight and you could probably transfer under pressure with a co2 tank.