Using SS water tanks?

[TronJunior]

Hello everyone. I'm a brewer living in Southeast Asia (Vietnam), and I'm looking to expand my current brewing production. Brewing equipment is hard come by here. A lot of houses use these stainless steel tanks to hold water on their roofs, and I was wondering their viability for use in the brewing process. Here's a picture:

*picture doesn't seem to work, here's the link:

http://www.vatgia.com/pictures_fullsize/lzm1234231325.jpg

These things are really cheap which is part of the appeal. About $80 for a new 500L tank (I'm looking to do 200L). I like the stand they come with too. The walls are pretty thin which is part of my concern, I don't have a measurement but they're probably thin enough to dent with a good punch.

Do you think these could work as a kettle/HLT? Probably too thin as a mash tun, but maybe they could be insulated? Getting welding/plumbing work is really cheap and easily available here.

Let me know your thoughts! Thanks.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yes, I think they would work well. A 200 liter batch has a large mass of grain and will hold mash temps well, easy enough to insulate as well, might not even need to.

The thickness would not deter me from using them.
A 5500 w electric element on a GFI would likely do the trick.

I'm thinking a huge single vessel BIAB rig

Cheers!

Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[Hamaki]

I do AG, 5 gallons at a time, and I'd guess my wet spent grains weigh something like 20 - 25 lb. The mechanical help required to lift a bag with 10X this volume should be easy enough to figure out but what about the bag itself? Would the same material used for small batches be appropriate for lifting & draining 200 - 250 lbs?

 

[wilserbrewer]

I do AG, 5 gallons at a time, and I'd guess my wet spent grains weigh something like 20 - 25 lb. The mechanical help required to lift a bag with 10X this volume should be easy enough to figure out but what about the bag itself? Would the same material used for small batches be appropriate for lifting & draining 200 - 250 lbs?

I believe a well constructed polyester voile bag would work fine and could easily take the weight.

Food for thought...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f244/145-gallon-biab-yes-145-gallon-483965/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/biab-polyester-voile-strength-test-384445/

In the interest of advancing large batch BIAB I offer dirt cheap prices on LARGE bags in exchange for some brew session pics.

Thanks,
wilser

 

[Paps]

What would it cost to get these shipped to the USA?

 

[TronJunior]

Thank you for your vote of confidence, Wilserbrewer! I have a extra 1000L one of these sitting outside my house I wish I could put to good use.

What would it cost to get these shipped to the USA?

Not sure how much but definitely a lot. I've only shipped small things out and it's expensive. You could probably check some Chinese websites for similar things and ask them for a shipping quote.

 

[MichaelMummey]

I'm in Philippines, have same type tanks here and thought same as you. Did you ever buy tank and use it for brewing?