Sizing plastic fermenters

[StFuad]

Hopefully this isn't too stupid of a question or hasn't been covered before, but I couldn't find anythign if it had. I'm looking at plastic tanks from plastic-mart to use as fermenters and am wondering what size tanks I should get. We'll be using a 2bbl system doing double batches on occasion. Will 85gal and 150gal tanks leave me enough head room for krausen? I tend to do a lot high gravity Belgian brews with intense fermentations, but the largest scale I've done to date is 15 gallons so its a bit of a jump to 2 bbls.

Thanks in advance.

[Thirsty_Monk]

I think SS fermenter have 25% head space.

[gbrower]

We have 25% head space and some of the brews do bubble out a bit but its not bad. For the high gravities we tend to do smaller batches though. One thing to think about is that plastic fermenters hold in a lot of heat. I would suggest working out a good cooling system before starting a high gravity Belgian.

[Junkyard]

Plastic fermenters kinda suck to clean when they blow off. But it's not the end of the world, just an extra 20 min for us. Anyways, we do some Belgians too and on an uncontrolled ferment with Belgian Ardennes yeast we sometimes see 30 gallons worth of krausen for a 45 gallon batch.
I would say 85 and 150 should be good for most of your beers

[3guysandabeerd]

fermenters

we use 115 gal ones they work great your going to want to put a bulk head in the side to rake your beer out of. we fill are up to about 105 and they do make a mess we just got gaskets that seal the tops so that should help with the mess what size system you going with
cheers matt

[StFuad]

Thanks guys. Going to be using a 2 bbl set-up for proof of concept the first year or two. Plan on doing a lot of double batches of our mainstays (hence the 150 gal tanks.) Figure for the real high gravity strong ales and tripels we'll cut a bit short of a full 2 or 4 bbls. Could always go with slightly larger tanks to eliminate the hassle I suppose.

[Catfish002]

Temp control

Thanks guys. Going to be using a 2 bbl set-up for proof of concept the first year or two. Plan on doing a lot of double batches of our mainstays (hence the 150 gal tanks.) Figure for the real high gravity strong ales and tripels we'll cut a bit short of a full 2 or 4 bbls. Could always go with slightly larger tanks to eliminate the hassle I suppose.

I have been looking at these tanks as well and I think putting 124 gallons into the 150 gallon plactic conical should work ok. The krausen ring should be close to the opening lid on top allowing you to reach in for cleaning. Higher gravity beers might spill out though.

What method do you plan on using for controlling temps with these plastic conicals?

[Junkyard]

http://discussions.probrewer.com/showthread.php?32086-Nano-fermenter-questions/page2&highlight=Nano+fermenter+questions

Page 2 of this thread I outlined my favorite method of temp control for plastic conicals. You can even lager with my method.

Also, unsolicited advice- make sure you heat sanitize your plastic fermenters before every batch. We SIP hot water from our chiller through our fermenters to heat them up to around 160. This is necessary to negate spoilage. (Plasti-mart tanks are very porous and will harbor bacteria no matter how well they are cleaned)

[Thirsty_Monk]

http://discussions.probrewer.com/sho...nter+questions

Page 2 of this thread I outlined my favorite method of temp control for plastic conicals. You can even lager with my method.

Also, unsolicited advice- make sure you heat sanitize your plastic fermenters before every batch. We SIP hot water from our chiller through our fermenters to heat them up to around 160. This is necessary to negate spoilage. (Plasti-mart tanks are very porous and will harbor bacteria no matter how well they are cleaned)

May be you should buy US Plastic tanks instead.

[Junkyard]

May be you should buy US Plastic tanks instead.

I could be wrong but I think they are pretty much all the same.

[DallasW]

We're pushing 105-110 gallons into our "110 gallon" AceRoto plastic conicals (they actually have markings up to 115 gallons). We then use 5-star defoamer 880 and don't have any issues with blow off on most batches (maybe 1/10 blow off). We're only doing this because we upgraded our system, I would definitely leave 20-25% extra headspace if I were to do it again because bigger tanks don't really cost much more or take up more floor space.

[brundage]

We used the 85 gallon plastic conicals for our 2 BBL nano for about 18 months. They are serviceable, but you must be meticulous about cleaning. Between batches we tore everything off for scrubbing. I like that size because it was easy to stick my head in the top manway to inspect the upper crevasses. The interior void under the lid seat is easy to miss. Replace their fasteners with stainless screws.

Welcome to the industry. Make great beer.