1 BBL Plastic Conical Fermenter or Larger ?

[golfer]

Does anyone know of anyone that sells 1BBL Plastic Conical fermenters or larger that come completely set up? The ones on plastic mart from ace roto mold need to be modified so that they work well with brewing. I was wondering if anyone knew of other suppliers that come already set up? Thanks in advance for the help.

[NS_Nano]

Not conicals, but speidel makes plastic fermenters that some nanos use that come in 32 gallons and above:

For example:

http://www.morebeer.com/products/speidel-plastic-fermenter-120l-317-gal.html

http://www.morebeer.com/products/speidel-plastic-storage-200-528-gal.html

[Surfmase]

conical and egg

They do have conical and egg shaped plastic fermenters to.

http://shop.speidels-braumeister.de/en/accessories/fermenting/30-litre-kellermeister

http://shop.speidels-braumeister.de/en/accessories/fermenting/gaerei-fermentegg

[golfer]

Not conicals, but speidel makes plastic fermenters that some nanos use that come in 32 gallons and above:

For example:

http://www.morebeer.com/products/speidel-plastic-fermenter-120l-317-gal.html

http://www.morebeer.com/products/spe...0-528-gal.html

thanks but definitey looking for conicals.

[NS_Nano]

Out of curiosity, why are you set on a conical? On a 1 bbl system, your yeast savings are going to be minimal (and you can always harvest from a small flat-bottomed vessel anyways...) The various fittings on a plastic conical are going to introduce lots of nooks and crannies for cleaning... I am not really sure I see the advantages of a conical in the size range.

The price is hugely off putting for 1 bbl stainless conicals (see the Blichman systems, for example, relative to volume), but given the massive benefits that come with stainless, in terms of sanitation, if you're in the 1 bbl range, I'd be tempted to convert a few sanke kegs. Conversion kits exist that allow you to rack using CO2 (or not, if you want to save some money). You can heat sanitize the whole shebang.

1. https://www.brewershardware.com/Amer...hermowell.html
2. http://www.brewhardware.com/product_...rmenterkit.htm

You can pick up kegs for $50. So, you're talking an investment of $250-$420 for 45+ gallon capacity (3 kegs). That's hard to beat if you want to stay on the scale you're talking.

With the first model above, you can change the height of the dip tube using the compression fitting, so you could also harvest yeast (after transfer).

Otherwise, I'd strongly recommend investing in something larger.

Jason

[golfer]

my hope is to get a 3bbl system but I have a 1 bbl i can start with (I did not know about that keg set up, finding kegs for $50 bucks isnt easy though). With a 3bbl system, it would be cheaper to go with plastic conicals until I save enough money to switch to stainless. my plan/hope is to get plastic conicals fermenters and 1 stainless brite tank for certain brews. I can get 5 plastic conicals for the same price as 1 stainless.

[NS_Nano]

Try Craigslist. Here in Canada you can normally find one or two kegs that are legal (abandoned for various reasons) at a time on Kijiji. Should be able to do the same down there. And since you'll be pulling the spears, you might be able to get some damaged kegs from a local brewery too.

If you're brewing on a 1 bbl system, but plan to jump to 3 bbl, and have the capital, you might as well buy a three bbl plastic fermenter and double batch 2 bbl into it right now. That way you don't have to swap out for larger ones.

That, or the kegs, is how I would go.

Jason

[golfer]

Try Craigslist. Here in Canada you can normally find one or two kegs that are legal (abandoned for various reasons) at a time on Kijiji. Should be able to do the same down there. And since you'll be pulling the spears, you might be able to get some damaged kegs from a local brewery too.

If you're brewing on a 1 bbl system, but plan to jump to 3 bbl, and have the capital, you might as well buy a three bbl plastic fermenter and double batch 2 bbl into it right now. That way you don't have to swap out for larger ones.

That, or the kegs, is how I would go.

Jason

Im thinking of definitely double batch and into the same fermenter so I dont have to swap out. Its just finding fermenters that large (unless plastic) cost an arm and a leg when you are starting out with a small budget.