would this make a good 475 gallon fermenter??

[sivispacemparabe11um]

I dream of having a nano one day.. I don't have any real imediate plans. I have the opportunity to buy this at a really good price. I know it wouldn't be state of the art but, would this make a good fermenter? I think it is about 475 gallons. I just had to post this to see what you all think about this thing.https://www.homebrewtalk.com/photo/imag0156-60989.html

 

[Monster Mash]

It says it is a fermenter but for what? Harvesting yeast will not be easy.

 

[bigbeergeek]

I think it says not to pressurize it, which would be a bummer for a fermentor.

 

[sivispacemparabe11um]

It says not to pressurize but fermentation doesn't create preassure since there is an airlock or some sort of degassing device....

 

[sivispacemparabe11um]

It says it is a fermenter but for what? Harvesting yeast will not be easy.

I'm a fabricator by trade I would probably make a stand for it where one of the corners points down....

 

[bigbeergeek]

It says not to pressurize but fermentation doesn't create preassure since there is an airlock or some sort of degassing device....

Right, but it's nice to pressurize for racking purposes or to carbonate the stuff in place. Clearly this isn't a conical!

 

[sivispacemparabe11um]

From looking at it this thing I know it will take 15-20 psi with no problem. I have hydrotested plenty of stuff in the past, and I am certain this thing will hold pressures for racking. The pressures in brewing are nothing for a tank like that.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Short answer: no. It looks like a cubic, hard to clean box without a conical bottom.

 

[mattd2]

From looking at it this thing I know it will take 15-20 psi with no problem. I have hydrotested plenty of stuff in the past, and I am certain this thing will hold pressures for racking. The pressures in brewing are nothing for a tank like that.

A vessel under 15+ PSI pressure is classed as a pressure vessel and will need to be designs and fabricated to ASME 8. That will not be pass ASME 8.
If I had to guess what that was used for I would say some kind of portable tank for chemicals. It could be fine but I don't know. If you want to scrimp can you find any milk vats with half moon lids to use?

 

[jpalarchio]

Kind of interesting that the same company makes a "wine model" for fermenting wine: http://www.hooversolutions.com/wine-ibc-tote.html

Aside from that, I'd be afraid of what that was used for previously...

 

[sivispacemparabe11um]

Kind of interesting that the same company makes a "wine model" for fermenting wine: http://www.hooversolutions.com/wine-ibc-tote.html

Aside from that, I'd be afraid of what that was used for previously...

it has the same lid I'm going to dig a bit more into it tomorrow.

 

[hugenjapan]

No. You never know what kind of scratches or any of the quality in the inside. There could be rust from plasma cutting sparks or burn through from welding without proper purging. Just buy a fermenter from the company I work for (specificmechanical.com)

 

[sivispacemparabe11um]

A vessel under 15+ PSI pressure is classed as a pressure vessel and will need to be designs and fabricated to ASME 8. That will not be pass ASME 8.
If I had to guess what that was used for I would say some kind of portable tank for chemicals. It could be fine but I don't know. If you want to scrimp can you find any milk vats with half moon lids to use?

it acutually has some specs stamped on it . I'll look further into it. If i cant pressurise it, it would still work with gravity. It wont be optimal but it will work. Btw I believe it was used in the food industry.

 

[sivispacemparabe11um]

No. You never know what kind of scratches or any of the quality in the inside. There could be rust from plasma cutting sparks or burn through from welding without proper purging. Just buy a fermenter from the company I work for (specificmechanical.com)

Riiiiiiiiight......phffftttt.

 

[hugenjapan]

Btw it doesn't have to be ASME to be pressurized below 15psi.. None of our fermenters are or need to be.. They just need to sanitary!

 

[mattd2]

Btw it doesn't have to be ASME to be pressurized below 15psi.. None of our fermenters are or need to be.. They just need to sanitary!

Yep under 15psi and you are good. so if you build a cold room around it you could carbonate in it (as long as it doesn't actually brake even with 14.9psi on it) without getting involved with ASME8. From that you might want to use it as a brite tank instead - most of the trub will be gone by the time you want to carb.

 

[hugenjapan]

That's what a PRVB is for............

 

[mattd2]

that's what a prvb is for............

PRVB? Or PVR? What I was meaning is even though it doesn't need to follow ASME8, it could still fail under 15PSI.

 

[hugenjapan]

I don't know why they call it a pvrb but that's what it says on our blueprints

 

[dyqik]

What temperature control does it have? 475 gallons of fermenting wort puts out a lot of heat...

 

[sivispacemparabe11um]

What temperature control does it have? 475 gallons of fermenting wort puts out a lot of heat...

Nothing yet. it's just an empty container right now.

 

[Redhawk96]

This is a stainless vessel used to store and ship industrial chemicals of all types. My company uses these exact totes to ship and store our products.

Unless you know it is brand new, I would not use it to ferment. Scratches and residual chemicals are a big potential issue. They are also a pain to clean.

 

[bleme]

The specs say that the floor is sloped to the drain. As far as cleaning, couldn't you just strip naked and climb in with a bucket of soapy water?