Sankey Fermenter

[Mac MacFarlane]

I have a Sankey 50l keg that I plain on using for a fermenter. I'd like to do two kits at once. Could I just add the two kits put the spear in and add abit of pressure and let it go?

 

[khannon]

2 'inch tri-clamp fittings work great for this. I use a 2" cap that a buddy drilled and welded a bit of stainless racking cane to. I either do a blow-off from that or add some small bit of tubing(like 2 inches) to a standard airlock.

Without some release, and the sankey keg probably does not have a PRV usually they are built into the couplers. I might be concerned on how much pressure will build.

take a look at Sanke Keg Fermenter Conversion from Brewers Hardware or Tri Clover 2 Inch Cap with .5 Inch Pass-Through Hole. NorCal Brewing Solutions There are others as well.

Look for the gaskets that are flat on one side, They make all of this fit nicely.

Long story short, Don't just stick the spear in and let it go without some way to vent the excess pressure. I suppose you could leave the coupler attached and use the PRV on that, but I think you are going to end up with a mess.

I do 10Gal batches in a 50l keg and it works well. The kit from Brewer's Hardware I use for pressure transfer at the end, it works great, I don't use it during fermentation as I find it difficult to clean after krausen dries, but that's just me.

I will warn you that while I have found this a great solution for fermenting, you have to be extra diligent about cleaning, clean it right after using, and I would suggest some sort of pump/CIP spray ball system. There are some decent DIY ones here on the forums.

Kevin

 

[Mac MacFarlane]

Could I build a spunding valve coming off a sankey coupler?
On my sankey coupler I have it converted so I can use ball lock couplers.
Could I build something like this?

 

[VikeMan]

Could I build a spunding valve coming off a sankey coupler?
On my sankey coupler I have it converted so I can use ball lock couplers.
Could I build something like this?

If your sanke has a ball lock post, then you could definitely do this. And the design in your pic is a good one. I have several spunding valves like that one. But don't rely on the PSI scale printed on the valve itself. It's inaccurate, and that's being kind.

 

[khannon]

You should be good.

Cleaning the spear might be a bit tougher.. If you plan on doing this frequently, it might be worth seeing if you can pick up a second spear, and cut it really short to use while actively fermenting.

 

[Mac MacFarlane]

I bought two 50l kegs I turned one into a keggle, I already have two spears I could use. How short would I want to cut? I plan on transferring under pressure to corny kegs and cold crashing. I read someone cut off a few inches to stay off the bottom.

 

[khannon]

The top of the fermenting beer and several inches up, you get krausen, as this recedes, it tends to dry out and be more difficult to clean.

Think about the ring of gunk at the top of where your beer was when you empty a fermenter, so now think about the fact that not only will this be on the inside of a keg with a 2" diameter hole as the only access, it will also be on the outside and inside of your keg spear. This is why I like the tri-clamp lid, one less thing where stuff can hide.

I just got a keg modified with a 4" tr-clamp and got the kegmenter 4" cap with a floating dip tube. I've not yet tried it out, but I can get my arm half way in for cleaning(maybe I'll be able to conscript someone with smaller arms to help). 13.2 Gallon Kegland Kegmenter I had someone add the 4" port to an existing keg and just bought the cap. I'm really excited about it though. I think I will ferment without the dip tube, and just put it in for transfers.

For transfer, cutting it above where you think trub will be will afford you a clearer beer and easier transfer. I'm not sure that you have to though. I'm just getting into this ball-lock thing myself, but I do know they are more prone to clogging as they have a much thinner dip-tube.

 

[Mac MacFarlane]

Got this rigged up today, still waiting on a fitting but was able to use a 1/2 piece of hose to get me started.

 

[Mac MacFarlane]

9 day lager, taste good going to add abit more carbonation, 5abv.