question about your "larger" fermenters

[nodollas]

I ferment in a approx. 40 gallon hdpe drum. It does the trick fine with plenty of head space.
here's the question.... how do you guys get it to your boiler? I know some have a valve close to the bottom but, how do you keep the grain and goop on the bottom from coming with? when I used smaller fermenters i would siphon it over being carefull as I got close to the bottom. Using the larger drum, i end up dipping it over withh a 2 quart pitcher which is a pain in the ass.
What am I missing here?

[Appalachia-Shiner]

Well, I do the 2 quart dip, but you could elevate the barrel about a foot or so and put a plastic spigot about 10 inches from the bottom. I already have one....just not drilled the hole yet. Maybe make it 12 or 14 inches? From the bottom?

[yakattack]

I actually am converting one of my barrels today. I will take pics of the setup for you and post them.

[carbohydratesn]

I keep my fermenters on small, sturdy tables that are maybe 1.5-2ft high. I use a 1/2'' hose to siphon it either into another, smaller fermenter to clear for a while off the grains, or directly into the boiler - same as what you did with smaller ones! You just have to be careful near the grain bed.

If the boiler is already set up far away from the fermenter, I'll siphon it into a 5gal bucket and carry that over, two or three times, to dump into the keg through a funnel.

It gets easier with practice. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread, though - particularly looking for a good valve to stick on the fermenter so I don't have to wrangle the siphon anymore

[bearriver]

I keep two 55 gallon fermenters on a work bench around 3 feet tall, with drain valves.

If you keep the valve above the lee's, you'll only pull cleared liquid.

[DAD300]

Siphon from 40 gallon to a five gallon bucket...until 40 is near empty.

[nerdybrewer]

Electric pump, otherwise you have to carry it or have one container high enough above the other than the flow will empty the first into the second.
If both are at the same level you can't get more than half the liquid from one to the other using only gravity.
With an electric pump ($30 on ebay with free shipping) I just stick one hose in one container and the other in the next and flip the switch.
Still have to be careful of the yeast bed of course! Missed once and watch the pump suck up a load of goo, them had to clean it out. Yech!
Getting to old and arthritic to carry wash around, that's why God invented electricity!

[carbohydratesn]

that's why God invented electricity!

Yeah, but all she does with it is blowing up trees and burning down houses

A pump seems like a good idea, a peristaltic pump would be even better. One of those should be able to handle small amounts of grains without any trouble.

[nerdybrewer]

that's why God invented electricity!

Yeah, but all she does with it is blowing up trees and burning down houses

A pump seems like a good idea, a peristaltic pump would be even better. One of those should be able to handle small amounts of grains without any trouble.

I tried two of the drill motor driven pumps, just too weak for my needs.
That's why I bought a bigger electric motor driven pump, makes short work if it.

[Truckinbutch]

I got my two 44 gal fermentors on raised roller platforms . Rack into 5 gallon buckets and let settle for 2-3 days then rack again to load the boiler . Killer on my damaged back but it makes good likker . That's worth the price .

[shadylane]

My ferments are usually 25 gallons total that gives me two still charges.
This is what I use to fill the still. A garden hose screws on to it.

[shadylane]

I ferment in one cut down plastic barrel and rack in to another to let it settle for a day.
The pump can be slowly lowered so it doesn't disturb the sediment, it's almost as good a syphoning.
I'm a firm believer in piggy-back ferments and the sump pump will suck the liquid from the top of a grain bed pretty good

[ipee7ABV]

I have a 3 gal pot I use to transfer to 5 gal bucket then siphon through a grain bag to catch floaters. 55 gal plastic drum 15.5 gal boiler.

[npstephe]

Subscribed.

I just got a 25 Gallon HDPE barrel and have used the scooping method 2x now. I was thinking about putting a valve around 12" up with maybe a SS hose or bazooka screen, but i'm leery to drill a hole into my brand new barrel. I also have two 12 Gallon HDPE barrels that I might use as a test first. I'm interested to see where this thread goes.

[Brutal]

Hey Shady what does that pump do when you get to the grain bed? Does it pump it, filter it, or clog?

[Truckinbutch]

I have a similar sump pump I use in various places on the farm and in the still house . I house it in a plastic cat litter bucket with holes drilled in the sides about 1" above the bottom . That keeps it from sucking up sediment .

[NZChris]

I have a low spigot. When I open it the liquid filters itself through the grain bed. The first cloudy bit, I put back in the top. The next gallon goes into the still and the heat goes on. It always drains fast enough to fill the still before I have to put the head on.

By the time the first charge is finished stilling, the rest is in buckets waiting their turn and the fermenter is ready for whatever is next.

[shadylane]

Hey Shady what does that pump do when you get to the grain bed? Does it pump it, filter it, or clog?

At first I had a piece off SS wire mess over the inlet and it would plug up.
After taking the screen off the pump will suck all the liquid out of a UJ or SF and leave the grain behind.
When the pump starts running out of liquid, it will start surging and blow foam out.
Haven't tried to pump a mash since taking the screen off.
So I don't know if it will work, but it definitely would plug up with the screen on the intake when pumping a gooey mash.

[pistachio_nut]

I recently added a 55 gallon blue barrel to my collection of fermentors. Right now I have a googe's goo in about 40 gallons of the barrel. I have guests this week, so I'll probably fill it up to the 55 gallon mark with more water and sugar and give it another week to hit 18%.

That will charge my boiler three times, and give me enough left over to kind of do a spirit run with everything. Gotta make sure the wash is below 40% before I start the heat, but that would be a hell of a run. There would be 5.6 gallons of ETOH in that boiler, enough for probably seven or eight gallons of drinkable. I have not had the pleasure of having such a run yet. That would be in the neighborhood of 32 quarts of 160 proof good stuff. 2 1/2 cases.

Lord have mercy on me.

I use exclusively Ibanez siphons, Paiste 5 gallon buckets, ESP black rubber hoses, Harbor Freight castors, C&H cymbals, BIC lighters, Ball/Kerr/Atlas/Presto and all other Perfect Mason self-sealers, and exclusively E&J four-liter, two-finger-loop glass jugs, and #11 tapered corks.

Next stop for me is a trio of IBC totes. Two for fermentation, and one for cooling water. Dunno what I'll do with the 55 gallon barrel. I would like to ferment apple cider to make calvados, but you can buy a 275 gallon IBC tote of the juice as-is. I'd kind of rather buy the full tote and ferment the whole thing.

[goose eye]

Sump pump with 1 1/4 hose. Put sump pump in collinder an wrap
Screen wire round it if need be.

So I'm tole