32 gallon fermenter build

[Steve Broady]

I may regret posting this now, before I’ve tested it, but I figure I might as well. Even if it’s a failure, maybe it’ll inspire someone else.

After the Southeast meetup, I decided I really needed a larger fermenter. So I went out and bought a 32 gallon trash can. The trouble is, I really don’t want to try to deal with a 32 gallon trash can full of liquid or worse. So, first things first, it needs a drain.

Paper gasket as a template

I decided that a stainless sink drain is really just a cheap bulkhead fitting, so I’m using that. I used the paper gasket that came with it to mark out a hole in the bottom of the can.

Inverting the bottom

Me being me, I’m not happy with the fact that the bottom of the trash can has a raised center. That won’t drain well at all. To fix that, I used a heat gun to soften the plastic, and the center of a cake pan to press the bottom into a sag. Obviously, it won’t sit flat any more, but that’s not going to be an issue anyway.

Sink drain installed

1.5” valve and hose

With that done, I installed the drain fitting, and then screwed on a 1.5” PVC ball valve. On the bottom of that, I added an elbow and some reinforced hose.

Here’s the current status, sitting on a temporary support that I just happened to have in the shop.

Fermenter with drain

My plan is to wrap the whole thing in a layer of fiberglass, so that pouring in boiling water won’t destroy it. That will also give me an easy way to add some supports of some sort. The ultimate goal is to enclose the whole thing in a cabinet with a space heater and the guts of a mini fridge, so that it can be temperature controlled (and hopefully look good enough to keep in the house).

[Yummyrum]

I like it Steve . What seals the plastic to the drain ?
Is there a thin gasket or is it just tight due to the nut ?

Edit: This is not a plastic phishing question . Plastic in a fermenter isn’t an issue anyway .

Just curious

[Dougmatt]

I may regret posting this now, before I’ve tested it, but I figure I might as well. Even if it’s a failure, maybe it’ll inspire someone else.

Your inventiveness always amazes me…. I came back from the meetup and bought a 25g fermenter myself, but didn’t install a sink drain…. This has me thinking though…. ….

[MooseMan]

I like it man I like it!

Are you going to put a false bottom on there above the drain?

[Yummyrum]

I like it man I like it!

Are you going to put a false bottom on there above the drain?

Thats a good question Moose . Was wondering similar.

I guess it depends on what gets fermented .
Where is the takeoff to the still ?

I get the bottom drain . It’s great for cleaning and dumping , but where do you draw product for the still above trub ?

Or maybe not .Been a while since I did other than Rums or Neutrals , both draw off above trub .

[Steve Broady]

What seals the plastic to the drain ?

I’m using the rubber gasket that came with the drain. As you said, I figure it’s fine for a fermenter.

Are you going to put a false bottom on there above the drain?

I am. I’ll make a stainless screen that will (hopefully) support the grain bed for AG whiskeys, or anything else that’s a bit chunky.

Where is the takeoff to the still ?

I get the bottom drain . It’s great for cleaning and dumping , but where do you draw product for the still above trub ?

Or maybe not .

Right now, the plan is to pull the trub off first, sort of a poor man’s conical. Then let all the liquid drain slowly. Or.. the reason for the reinforced hose is that I have an idea of using a vacuum to help extract the liquid, perhaps using a modified bucket as a liquid separator.

Of course, there’s nothing stopping me from also siphoning off liquid above the bottom, or adding a side outlet if I decide I need one. But my hope is that won’t be needed. That may be the hope of the ignorant.

[Bolverk]

Looks great, man!

My only concern is making sure the stand is strong and stable enough to handle the weight.

Water weighs like 8.3 lbs per gallon, then you'll have grain weight, so with 25 gals of water and 2.5 lbs of grain per gallon, you're looking at roughly 270 lbs

[Yummyrum]

Of course, there’s nothing stopping me from also siphoning off liquid above the bottom, or adding a side outlet if I decide I need one. But my hope is that won’t be needed. That may be the hope of the ignorant.

Theres a topic here a few days ago about conical fermenters that had posts about tilting ( flat bottom ) fermenters to draw off above trub .

Trub is , from my experiences watching it flow , very compacted and resistant to move . I can tilt a fermenter almost to the point it will tip over , while draining off to the still , but the trub remains almost solid and barely shows any signs of slumping towards the side draw .

So I find it hard to imagine that an almost flat drain hole in a fermenter will “suck out” all tbe trub first .
I think it will be the last to leave ……. But only after being “hit” by a garden hose to stir it all up.

[Steve Broady]

I guess I just haven’t done a good enough job letting my trub settle. Of course, so far it’s been down in the grain bed, because I’ve never messed with a false bottom. And I haven’t had any way of cold crashing, so I haven’t seen that yet.

I may have to come up with a solution to the problem. It may be as simple as a little back flush to push a hole in the trub and let the liquid flow through. Or it may take more work.

Regardless, I appreciate the warning. You’ve seen things that I have not yet.

[Steve Broady]

Looks great, man!

My only concern is making sure the stand is strong and stable enough to handle the weight.

Water weighs like 8.3 lbs per gallon, then you'll have grain weight, so with 25 gals of water and 2.5 lbs of grain per gallon, you're looking at roughly 270 lbs

A pint’s a pound the world around! Yes, I’ll definitely make sure the stand is strong enough. That flimsy little thing in the photo is strictly there to hold it off the floor empty, because it was easy to grab when I needed something. I’ll probably end up adding some boards to the bottom when I encase everything in fiberglass, and then adding legs to those.

[Bolverk]

A pint’s a pound the world around! Yes, I’ll definitely make sure the stand is strong enough. That flimsy little thing in the photo is strictly there to hold it off the floor empty, because it was easy to grab when I needed something. I’ll probably end up adding some boards to the bottom when I encase everything in fiberglass, and then adding legs to those.

Cool, I saw that little stand and was worried for you

[tommysb]

A pint’s a pound the world around!

Not so sure of that! There's US and UK pints, both of different sizes! Don't get me started on converting recipes in gallons to litres....I'm usually assuming they're US gallons.

Sorry to go off-topic! The build looks ingenious, good luck with it!

[Idlethemann]

And here I thought I was the only one using a 32 gallon trashcan. I've been struggling just using a 3 gallon cider press and scooping when I get down to the grain.....you have inspired me sir.

[Chauncey]

i would reinforce that can with like, a gorilla tape mumification. ive had one break from a small gromet installed in the bottom.

i use them as normal on the floor fermenters an just rack off the trub.

great idea, just worrisome with my experience

hdpe barrel would be my choice

[jonnys_spirit]

i would reinforce that can with like, a gorilla tape mumification. ive had one break from a small gromet installed in the bottom.

i use them as normal on the floor fermenters an just rack off the trub.

great idea, just worrisome with my experience

hdpe barrel would be my choice

+1 Chauncey. The 32g brutes and boiling water will eventually develop pin-holes which tend to grow quickly. Particularly when filled with boiling water. This leads to a scenario where your hot mash ends up all over the floor unexpectedly.

I’d reserve the brute for ferments that don’t require boiling water and they work very well for those - I have a couple 20g and 32g brutes and use the robust 50g blue hdpe barrels for mashing

Cheers,
j