Hey fellas!
I found this SS tank locally and thinking of using it as my fermenting chamber. There is no top so I have a few questions:
The diameter is 24" and wondering if anyone can point me to a sealed top that I can possibly modify with an airlock or has one built in.
I was thinking about changing the bottom fitting in case I wanted to use the tank as a kettle. Might relocate it all together. Thoughts or anything that I might be missing in logic?
WOW, great find! I wouldn't worry too much about a sealed top, I think mostly sealed would be good. Most of us who ferment in brutes just put the lid on and that's sealed enough, I don't even use an air lock with it.
As to the bottom fitting, if you want to use it as a drain port, I'd put a Triclamp fitting right at the bottom, if you want to use it as a heater port, I'd put it a couple inches up. Or, do both, that way you can use the bottom one as a drain to get everything out, or the upper one as a drain to leave some of the trub behind.
If I didn't learn the hard way, I wouldn't learn at all!
Agree with Windswept, no seal is required for a ferment; just get yourself a stock pot lid which fits, and you're done. Failing that, a piece of thin cloth or a sheet of metal cut to the right shape even, It only needs to let CO2 out and keep the bugs away (depending on where you are fermenting).
If you're going to make it a kettle, get a 2" triclamp welded to the side about 1" from the bottom, good for anything you want to do. Upgrading the drain might be handy but isn't required, triclamp again and reduce to match whatever plumbing you want.
Last edited by Expat on Tue Jan 19, 2021 12:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
LuckyB13 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 8:34 am
wondering if anyone can point me to a sealed top that I can possibly modify with an airlock or has one built in.
What I've done is use a piece of 1/8" Plexiglas cut out about 3/8" wider that the diameter of top of the 20 gal plastic fermenter.. works good as one can see what going on, and there is no need for an air lock usage in fermenting for spirit..
Mars
" I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent. Curiosity, Obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my knowledge and understanding "
That just looks like a big piece of garbage. You should pack it up and send it to me so I can dispose of it properly.
Agree with the others. Replace the drain with a triclamp. And add another triclamp for a heating element. If and when you need one.
For a lid I would see if I could find a cheap stainless steel pot lid that would fit. Or I like stillerboys plexiglass option. Simple and easy and you can see through it. It really doesn’t need to seal great for fermenting. But without an airlock the ability to see down in there would be helpful. So you didn’t have to lift the lid and disturb the protection layer of CO2 every time.
I'm starting to rethink the use of it. Maybe for now add an element as suggested and possibly drain. Use for ferment for a bit and when i'm ready to grow my still maybe I use this as the boiler. Either way for $50 can't go wrong. Thanks for all the info on the top and not needing an airlock. I'm pretty new and sometimes you just do what you know until someone who knows more tells you what to do.....lol
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Using a volume calculator to measure a vertical cylinder and plugging in 24"d x 30"h (assumed; it actually looks taller) = 58 gal.
Is that true? If so, HD boiler limits notwithstanding, that's a helluva find right there. Stainless is great to mash and ferment in, and if you built a simple keg boiler with steam wand you could mash 50+lbs of grain easy-peasy. Lay a lid on top and voila. Instant ferment vessel without hassle of transferring. Oh, and stainless mash tuns cool quickly with a fan and copper wort chiller.
A set of wheels on that guy and maybe a thermo and you be lookin' great.
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