Stout Tanks and Kettles - $400 14.5 Gal Conical

[BrewBeemer]

My fears what a 23 gal Stout Tank would look like after Greyhound finished compacting it in the luggage compartment? Maybe i'm wrong?

John,
has Stout Tank looked into Freight Services to ship?
S.F. bay area is a major shipping hub for pick ups.

 

[user 40839]

Question for the Stout Tank owners out there. Are the lids on these things pressure-capable? I'm not planning on fermenting in them, but would want to use 3-4 psi to be able to push to my cornies, rather than messing around with gravity.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Stout Tank almost had a sale, it was the $130 shipping from Portland Oregon to S.F. a 23 gal that got me when a 14.5 gal to the east cost was only $88. WTF????
During this delay of a couple weeks ago wanting to purchase Gally posted his Brewhemoth ferm last sunday.
Monday talked to Dale & Josh, tuesday had my options price emailed tuesday ordered. Should arrive in a couple weeks no worries on my end.
I like the feature of no large seal to possibly leak, wear out or needing replacement plus cost, will they be around years later for replacement seals? One less place to harbor nasty bugs without it.

 

[NcBrewer35]

Stout Tank almost had a sale, it was the $130 shipping fron Portland Oregon to S.F. bay area for 23 gallon that got me when a 14.5 gal to the east cost was only $88. WTF????

If you remember what John posted above he said he was not making any money off the shipping and that the shipping cost is based entirely by size. I ordered a 14.5 gallon fermenter when you wanted a 23 gal fermenter which is clearly much larger.

I couldn't be happier with my purchase. John was a great guy to work with and I will be ordering more in the future!

Oh and as far as being able to hold pressure I'm not sure. I know it holds pressure from fermentation but I don't know how many psi fermentation creates. Plus the lid has an airlock allowing the built up psi to escape. You would have to do some small modification to make it hold pressure.

 

[BrewBeemer]

I respect John, he has a great product plus easy to deal with, a very competitive market plus shipping a 23 gal is much larger I agree. He doesn't set the shipping rates just passing them to the buyers. Nuff said, much success to him. Kind of like a chebbie or Ford thing. Prost.

 

[kharma]

Could you please post pics and a review once you are all set?

It's here!

Not much to say that hasn't been said already, but worth repeating. Well packaged, bubble wrapped, framed in wood, and boxed. Nice welds, super shiny inside, the pics tell no lies. Can't wait to start using it! More to report after brew day on 12/30...

 

[MussBrew]

That is a thing of beauty! I ordered a 20 gal mlt from john, will be here in january. I need to save my pennies for a conical now!

 

[PetVet]

I bought a fermenter from John and this guy is the best to work with. I had trouble with my fermenter and he made it right. I was so impressed with his product, I am buying another one from him after X-mas. It's hard to find a business that will put you first but he did. As far as the pressure, I've read elsewhere that brewers have used 3-4psi but I thought they talked about a certain attachment they put in the airlock. Don't know where they got it from or if they were just fos.

 

[user 40839]

I spoke to John and he confirmed that the fermenter would be fine with the 3-4 psi needed to push the beer to kegs, which is all I really need it to hold (no intention of naturally carbing at 30psi in there, the potential for boomage is way too high). Add to that, John was pretty flexible in terms of customization, I wanted a 4" sanitary fitting welded to the lid, for adding hops and whatnot, and then welding a 1" fitting over the usual stopper hole, so I could add a triclamp blowoff, similar to what's available for the Blichmanns.

The only issue I have is the timing. Six months is just too long to wait for me to pay out the 70% deposit. I understand it's out of John's control, and when the time comes to add to my stable, I'm absolutely giving him a call, but for the first one, looks like I'm going with a Blichmann, and having someone weld some fittings on there down the road.

 

[Peacedale]

I ordered and received a 9.2 gallon kettle, and I am quite impressed with the gauge of the metal as well as the quality of the tri-clamp fitting. The packaging was fantastic and it included bubble wrap and two boxes. John provided very clear responses to my questions. I cannot wait to order the conical...but I have to.

 

[Ace_Club]

I ordered and received a 9.2 gallon kettle, and I am quite impressed with the gauge of the metal as well as the quality of the tri-clamp fitting. The packaging was fantastic and it included bubble wrap and two boxes. John provided very clear responses to my questions. I cannot wait to order the conical...but I have to.

Any pics of that bad boy?

 

[Peacedale]

Any pics of that bad boy?

See if this link will take you to my website and blog post.

http://web.me.com/peacedale/Peace_dAle_Artisanal_Beer/Blog/Entries/2010/12/30_New_Boil_Kettle.html

 

[Ace_Club]

Very nice. (and shiny )

 

[BrewBeemer]

Too nice to touch fingerprints that is plus the handles look industrial not some flimsy joke. That thing looks "Stout" built congrats.

 

[meadowstream]

I would love to have some equipment from this company - but would like to understand the designs and end-to-end configuration a little more, too.

I wanted to comment on the "Do you need a jacketed fermenter" blog post on their site, too, because I disagree that the temperature of the beer in the fermenter equals ambient: I find that during vigorous fermentation the temperature at the center of the beer is several degrees higher than ambient.

 

[Randar]

I wanted to comment on the "Do you need a jacketed fermenter" blog post on their site, too, because I disagree that the temperature of the beer in the fermenter equals ambient: I find that during vigorous fermentation the temperature at the center of the beer is several degrees higher than ambient.

Absolutely. My 14+ gallon fermentors can spike as many as 8 degrees higher than ambient without active cooling of the ambient air around it (and sometimes a wet towel during peak fermentation)

 

[user 40839]

Wow, that's surprising they'd say that. I mean, it's pretty common knowledge that fermentation is a thermic reaction.

I ended up going with a Morebeer conical - courtesy of a bundle of gift certificates from the wife, a 15% discount, and selling some bike parts that I didn't need. I'd absolutely have loved to have gotten what I wanted for almost half the price (by the time I added the wheels to the morebeer tank, it was back to being $900 with tax) but June is just too far down the road.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Absolutely. My 14+ gallon fermentors can spike as many as 8 degrees higher than ambient without active cooling of the ambient air around it (and sometimes a wet towel during peak fermentation)

At 8 degrees higher how many gallons you fermenting as well what was the ambient temp with this temp difference? What type of bier you fermenting?

Gaz, I sure hope it was pedal bikes not gasoline fed bikes you sold?
Sounds like a good wife aka a keeper.

 

[Randar]

At 8 degrees higher how many gallons you fermenting as well what was the ambient temp with this temp difference? What type of bier you fermenting?

I just had 14.5 gal of Sticke Alt go from 62 to 67.5 degrees in 36 hours with 64 degree air ambient inside a fermentation chamber. I had to add wet towels to facilitate better heat transfer to get it back down to 64.

Before the fermentation chamber, I have beers easily fermenting at 6+ degrees above ambient for the same batch sizes and had one ESB hit 8 degrees above ambient before I noticed and threw wet towels on it.

 

[zymurgy101]

I ended up going with a Morebeer conical...

FINALLY!

 

[zymurgy101]

Peacedale,

What is the length between the weld on the outside of the kettle to the tri-clover barb fitting? It appears as though one could inadvertantly put quite a bit leverage on the weld or kettle wall while attaching the hose or closing the ball valve, cleaning, etc. It's probably just the angle at which the picture was taken.

Beautiful kettle though!

 

[user 40839]

FINALLY!

So I was thinking of getting a second conical. On one hand, the Morebeer ones are really nice, but they're so expensive. The Blichmann ones are nice, and then the Stout Tanks ones are...

 

[BrewBeemer]

I just had 14.5 gal of Sticke Alt go from 62 to 67.5 degrees in 36 hours with 64 degree air ambient inside a fermentation chamber. I had to add wet towels to facilitate better heat transfer to get it back down to 64.

Before the fermentation chamber, I have beers easily fermenting at 6+ degrees above ambient for the same batch sizes and had one ESB hit 8 degrees above ambient before I noticed and threw wet towels on it.

Radar, thanks for the volume, temp rise and ambient temps as without them it's a total guessing game the amount of internal cooling required to maintain constant internal ferm temps.

 

[user 40839]

That's why a thermowell is absolutely key for these guys.

 

[Randar]

I don't believe the thermowell is good for anything but an FYI. An insulated thermocouple on the side of the tank is preferable for the vast majority of homebrewer fermentation temp control systems.

 

[RonRock]

Peacedale,

What is the length between the weld on the outside of the kettle to the tri-clover barb fitting? It appears as though one could inadvertantly put quite a bit leverage on the weld or kettle wall while attaching the hose or closing the ball valve, cleaning, etc. It's probably just the angle at which the picture was taken.

Beautiful kettle though!

I was wondering that as well. Looks like it sticks out quite far. But that may be good, get the hose further away from the flame.

 

[BrewBeemer]

I was wondering that as well. Looks like it sticks out quite far. But that may be good, get the hose further away from the flame.

Any flames or just hot burner gasses alone would overheat that fitting sticking out that far unless a flame shield were placed below it.
I bet it would be strong enough for a while to handle a few bumps and bending with restraightening the fitting before the base SS material started to create fatigue cracks.

 

[Peacedale]

What is the length between the weld on the outside of the kettle to the tri-clover barb fitting?

The stem extends 3" from kettle face. The stem is roughly 3/4" OD and 9/16" ID. I have a Blichmann burner and I rotate the kettle so that stem is set over leg assembly. The bottom of the kettle has a rim that extends below the convex bottom of the kettle (when viewed from outside the kettle) and captures much of the heat. Personally I think the rim is a fairly decent heat shield with my set up.

Amendment: The barb valve assembly is 4" long (center to center) of clamp.

 

[BrewBeemer]

The stem a direct weld to the kettle or to a SS washer welded to kettle for added surface area and strength? I would be careful not to bang around that stem causing metal fatique then future cracks.

 

[Peacedale]

The stem a direct weld to the kettle or to a SS washer welded to kettle for added surface area and strength?

Yes, it is a direct weld. Based on the comments here I will exercise more caution than I have previously given it. I am pretty good with my equipment to begin. The proportion of the kettle is much better to transport through the house than my original Megapot kettle.