Home Distiller

I work for a company building camps for oil rigs and such. Today we had a unit come in that was practically brand new, except they neglected to drain the water from the system after testing and while it sat in our yard it froze resulting in a decent amount of damage, which brings me to my point. The water tank is a 400 gallon hdpe rectangular tank. When it froze, it had about 100 gallons of water in it, and in the process of freezing, it developed a bulge in the bottom rendering unit unable to stand freely.

Knowing my hobby, my operations manager suggested I take it and use it as a fermenter. The idea has had me drooling all day. I picture having a full ferment going in it, and when it's ready, drawing as much as I need off for a run saving the remaining for future runs.

I need help to make the decision.

- Firstly, am I nuts?!

- if I take it, how long can the large quantity of wash last before spoilage? Assuming temperature in storage area is maintained at approx. 15Celcius. Average run uses 3 kegs worth (call it 30-40gals), and end product lasts me about 3 months.

- would having that amount of wash in one place be considered more than hobby scale as far as this forum is concerned? (If so, I will never speak of it again here)

- if not for my ferments, any other hobby related uses anyone can think of for this behemoth?

Ultimately, this is a $1000 brand new clean tank that I am being offered for FREE so I'm really struggling lol.

- if I take it, how long can the large quantity of wash last before spoilage? Assuming temperature in storage area is maintained at approx. 15Celcius. Average run uses 3 kegs worth (call it 30-40gals), and end product lasts me about 3 months.

1st- how would you go about cleaning it if you used it for mash? some of my buckets get pretty rough krausening on them,

2nd- if an average run of 30-40 gallons lasts you 3 months and the tank is 400 gallon and your planning on doing a full ferment at 400 gallons thats 10 runs at the high side of 40 gallons each lasting you 3 months thats 30 months of wash sitting around thats 2 and a half years worth of mash. think about it for a bit do you really want mash sitting around your house for 2 1/2 yrs. and where would you put it that nobody would notice it, or smell it, thats a hell of a lot of shit sittin around. and if caught with 400 gallons of mash no way of saying ( hey i just do it for a hobby). admitedly even if caught with a little its still going to get same punishment but its a little harder tyo reason with someone sitting on that much stuff.

i think if i was you id use it for a rainwater storage tank or something like that

Cleaning isn't an issue, it's nicely equipped with bungs on the bottom where the pump ties into, which I could use as a drain. It also has a 16" man way hatch up top. I've climbed into these a number of times to prep them for install.

Another possibility I'm tossing around is aquiring a couple of barrels for aging. In which case, would need a lot to fill even one. (Not as much as a full wash would generate, but still)

The other thing I'm looking at is stockpiling, using it to make one big batch to last the year. I tend to gift a fair amount to very close friends, and always seem to run out on the hottest times of the year. (Never sell in case anyone is wondering, no matter what I'm offered)

As for storage, where I do my washes, it's pretty secluded. No snoopy neighbors to ask questions, and even if they did, I could say any number of things to steer them off.but this is why I asked about "shelf life" I also planned on enclosing it in wood, which would disguise it a bit.


It just seems like too good of a deal to pass up, and it really is an ideal fermenting vessel, even if it is a little bit on the big side. Just saying

What is the allowance for home brewed beer? 300 gallons? Something like that. A 400 gallon fermenter might provide the thin end of a wedge that allows law enforcement to prize up your rock and see what other cool buggies you have living under there. I think it is called "probable cause", or something like that.

I don't like to sound like a pussy, but if your "buddies" at work know that you took a 400 gallon fermenter for making moonshine, then that is cause for alarm.

sounds like cleaning would be ok but i would still be leary of using it for fermenting figure a corn wash like ujssm uses 7lbs of corn for a 5 gallon wash at 400 gallons thats 560 lbs of corn. you probably dont need that much in there but still thats a lot of corn to be buyin at once, and he had 7 lbs of sugar for 5 gallons also so 560lbs of sugar for 400 gallon. dont know how much yeast youd need in a tub that size to combat wild yeast from taking over. in the end its your choice but i personally wouldnt use it for fermenting. and Dan made a good point if people at work (even close friends ) know about what your going to use it for its not good. you read about peoples wives and friends gettin pissed at them and turning them in for things all the time. one wrong word and a 400 gallon tank even camoflaged isnt going to be hard to find

Man that's a lot of wash to be fermenting. Think about it for a minute. 400 gallons at 10% is 40 gallons of 190 proof or 80 gallons of drinking strength liquor. Are you really planning on making 80 gallons of booze?

I am all about "go big or go home" but I would think about making this my water resivior for cooling my rig and stick with fermenting a reasonable sized wash.

this is waaaaaay past the homedistiller.org regulated maximum hobby sized limit

but if you can get it for free, why not, you could sell it for scrap, use it for storage of other stuff, theres always a use

how do you plan on heating it?

as for how long it would stay good, if you keep it airtight, 1 year easily, but personally, I would strip it down to alcohol, then when you have time do spirit runs to get the good stuff (as alcohol lasts alot longer than wash/mash)

you lucky bastard

If you're married, ask your wife if you should bring it home. They have a knack for seeing the obvious.

HDPE has a high oxygen transmission rate, so it's probably very good for turning your mash into a fine malt vinegar for your friends.

bellybuster wrote:If you're married, ask your wife if you should bring it home. They have a knack for seeing the obvious.

Ha!

LOL - umm ... no!

You will have a very hard time keeping up with that fermenter. With a 15'C temp, you will have to buy about 321 aquarium heaters to keep the ferment going

Why not get it, cut the top off and make it a small pool or hottub?

If I recall correctly, aquarium heater manufacturers recommend 5-10W per gal. That would mean approx 2,000-4,000W heater. Most aquariums are not insulated so I imagine that the wattage could be scaled down quite a bit. Could heat the area you store the tank and keep track of the temp inside the tank.

Such a large fermenter seems too problematic. One bad apple spoils the bunch. I'd rather use drums for fermenters. Get more drums as needed to get what you need done. If the tank is FREE then take it! Put it up for sale on Craig's list. If it doesn't sell then list it for less or free if need be to get rid of it. That's probably what I'd do.

Take it home, sell it or trade for a 55 gallon plastic barrel. I wouldn't keep a wash in there if your gonna be pulling some out, if liquid comes out air has to go in to replace it meanin a chance of infection. Do a search on secondary fermentation.

I plan to ferment ~48 gallons in a 55 gallon barrel, giving 4, 12 gallon stripping runs. When the wash is done or close to it, I'll separate it all into 4, 15 gallon fermenters and leave them until I'm ready to run.

lots of good inputs here, basically all saying dont ferment in it. Ill add another, 400 gallon ferment is 800-1000 lbs of grain, or sum umteen pickup truckloads of sugar. You up for that task with your little itty bitty cooker?

But it might have some other values, like some of those listed below.

Hehe kinda forgot about this post. For the record, I turned down the tank. While I'm sure I could have found a way to make it work (for one thing or another) I just couldnt convince my wife (thanks a lot bellybuster!) that it ws a good idea.

Which I've also kept in mind when my boss offered up an even larger 1500 gallon tank haha. (When I want a tank, can't find one, when I don't need one, they are handed to me.....)

My bill is in the mail.......

My wife watched for years as I brought ridiculous but useful ( in my mind) things. She learned to stop me when I get a particular look in my eye.