Will this cone work?

[Bitterman421]

I am having a fermenter built by a friend who runs a small fab shop. He says the only way he can form the cone is by bumping them on a brake press this will leave a lot of lines in the metal. Will this be a concern, or should
The surface be completely smooth?

[TGTimm]

The smoother the surface the better the cleaning. The interior of the vessel should be just shy of polished, with very smooth welds and open angles. Remember, you'll mostly be CIP cleaning, unless you want to climb inside and scrub after every brew.

How about buying a cone from one of the vessel manufacturers? I'm pretty sure some of them would sell one--but you'd probably have to make the rest of the tank to fit it.

[kyle.carbaugh]

Toledo Metal Spinning:http://www.toledometalspinning.com/m...ers-price-list

[Natrat]

I think a bumped cone would be ok. You'll have about 40-50 facets, and I don't think lines that shallow will have any effect on your fermenting OR your cleaning. After all, the corner where the interior side meets the cone is a steeper ridge, and in a direction that resists cleaning more...yet no one seems to worry about it to the degree that they want a tangential sweep from vertical to cone! As long as any brake marks are polished off, I think it's a good idea.

If he's going to jacket the cone, a properly made outer cone with the same number of facets could tack to the chines of the inner...that would actually make a fairly efficient cooling configuration, and would strengthen the entire thing...hmmm.

The next question is...what is he doing for the dome top? Sequential rolled truncated cones?

Is he braking the shell, too? Generally, if you have a roller you can roll a cone as easily as a shell...it's harder to roll a good shell than a good cone. Just sayin'.

[Bitterman421]

Need advice on f.v. Build

Friend says it is almost impossible to roll 11 gauge ss into a cone on his simple roller. Wonder why other manufactures are not using a bump press? Still looking for more info to go on before having him do it his way
Any more opinions would be appreciated...