Plastic Fermentation Tanks

[rbrennan]

Hello,

With the cost of tanks, has there been any success with plastic fermentation tanks? A small nano-brewer not to far purchased half a dozen of them and I was wondering if this was a good way to go in order to cut down on costs when starting up a nano-brewery?

Thanks

[ChesterBrew]

Hello,

With the cost of tanks, has there been any success with plastic fermentation tanks? A small nano-brewer not to far purchased half a dozen of them and I was wondering if this was a good way to go in order to cut down on costs when starting up a nano-brewery?

Thanks

Many people have done this -- there's a lot of info on this in the forums if you do a search. You can also check out Hess Brewing's blog, which also details adding tri-clamp fittings to a plastic conical.

[callmetim]

Plastic works fine and yes you can save a lot of money and make great beer.

[roc-craven]

Plastic works fine and yes you can save a lot of money and make great beer.

+1

Just make sure to try an not scratch the inside. It won't be the end of the world if you did, but will make it a little harder to guarantee sanitation.

Hot PBW overnight is the easiest way to clean plastic fermenters. The next day a good rising with water. If you need to scrub anything use a nylon brush with no sharp edges that may scratch the plastic. But most of the time no scrubbing is needed after the soak. Just a good rising.

[dick murton]

The main problem with plastic lined tanks is the need to have internal cooling systems, and normally therefore, the need to get in and manually clean the cooling coils / plates because CIP isn't brilliant at getting into the nooks & crannies of the coils and supports. Or at least getting in and manually cleaning every few CIPs, followed by normal CIP. But otherwise, few problems. Try and avoid using strong chlorine or iodine compounds and they can taint if the plastic is a little soft. But I have seen them used to line old wooden vessels of up to 300 hl (whatever that is in US barrels) and they were fine after years of service. Lids / hatches should be hinged as joints tend to be a little prone to cracking due to flexing. The welded seems are never as strong as the main sheeting.

I have also worked in breweries with fibreglass type material lined wooden vessels - but be careful to ensure this is food grade resin. Apparently not all grades are suitable. But this was, apparently easier and cheaper to apply than welding up polypropylene.

Of course you could always go back to traditional copper, if you are feeling flush!

[callmetim]

to me the primary drawback to plastic is the value it adds or doesn't add to your assets. Yes plastic is cheap and you can ferment in it but when you decide to expand and need larger vessels you may be able to resell for a fraction of the cost but it is more likely you'll have to dump them. With stainless you are investing more money upfront and in return can guarantee that it will hold that value in the future.

[gitchegumee]

Besides the non-sanitary nature of plastic, it doesn't have the integrity of stainless. So you won't be able to spund your tank, save CO2, and (IMHO) make better carbonated beer this way. I'd invest in some quality if it were my money.

[johnnymax]

plastic

We are using plastic fermenters and fermenting 8 barrel batches.
The tanks were $750 each, but if you order 3 they are $500 each.
I clean with caustic, rinse with saniclean, then sanitize with 30 gallons of 180 degree water circulated through the spray ball. The goal is to heat the entire tank up to above 165F for as long as I can.
I pump the hot water into the bottom of the cone, then circulate.
When you start circulation have the lid off on sitting on the top loose, because when it sprays the hot water the air will expand faster than the 1" vent can release the expanding air.
Trust me I know

Also, when you order, they can put in a 2" fitting for you racking cane.
I think it was $32 per fitting.

I hope this helped.

FYI, we were going to go stainless and the difference was we are brewing 8 barrel batches instead of 1 barrel batches...

[wailingguitar]

We are using plastic fermenters and fermenting 8 barrel batches.
The tanks were $750 each, but if you order 3 they are $500 each.
I clean with caustic, rinse with saniclean, then sanitize with 30 gallons of 180 degree water circulated through the spray ball. The goal is to heat the entire tank up to above 165F for as long as I can.
I pump the hot water into the bottom of the cone, then circulate.
When you start circulation have the lid off on sitting on the top loose, because when it sprays the hot water the air will expand faster than the 1" vent can release the expanding air.
Trust me I know

Also, when you order, they can put in a 2" fitting for you racking cane.
I think it was $32 per fitting.

I hope this helped.

FYI, we were going to go stainless and the difference was we are brewing 8 barrel batches instead of 1 barrel batches...

Do you have a link to the fermenters you refer to? Have any pics of yours? I would love to see what options there might be.

[johnnymax]

Here is the link:

http://www.plastic-mart.com/category/19/cone-bottom-tanks

I have a box around each fermenter with a small ac unit on it.
I have a temp controller on the ac with the temp probe next to the fermenter with insulation over it.
That way I can keep me fermentation at 67F with about $150 worth of stuff.

I would rather do it with glycol jacketed fermentors, maybe next year I will have some.

[wailingguitar]

Thanks John, very interesting. I like your cooling solution too. I get that it isn't ideal, but if it gets the job done that is what counts...

[OsgoodBrewing]

Johnny,

What is the specific part number of the tank you use, from that website? I'm noticing a lot of them with a pretty shallow cone ... assuming it should be 60 degrees ?

Ron

[johnnymax]

300 Gallon 45 Degree Cone Bottom Tank

http://www.plastic-mart.com/product/5797/300-gallon-45-degree-cone-bottom-tank-cb0300-42

[OsgoodBrewing]

Thanks! I appreciate it.

[OHSO]

That is a massive plate chiller

Where to get and how big is that plate chiller in the above posted thread?