Stainless fermenter options? - Brewbucket, Oil Drums etc

[takai]

Finally going to make the shift to a stainless fermenter, and weighing up my options. At this stage im relatively sold on the Brewbuckets, but still open to other ideas.

I see that olive oil fustis come up often, but they are proving harder to come by at the moment.

Then the Grainfather conicals have come out recently, but at $800 are out of my price range.

Any other options around the Brewbucket 7 cost/size?

 

[Black Devil Dog]

I've got 4 Brewbuckets and they're perfect for my fermenting fridges. I had a couple of olive oil drums, but they were a bit chubby for my fridges and I passed them on.

Having tried both, I'd recommend the Brewbuckets.


There's been quite a bit of positive chat about the Kegmenters. They seem to be out of stock at all regular stockists at the moment though.

 

[Garfield]

Winequip Melbourne is your best bet for the oil tanks

 

[nosco]

The mangrobe jack ss 23lt fermenters are under $200. Ive got a oil drum and a brew bucket. I love both but one thing ive noticed with the oil drum is that the lid can get stuck under pressure.
I put a weldless keg post on the lid so i am able to de pressurise it and get it off when its empty. Without that it would be a RPITA.

 

[Hpal]

I can recommend something to pressure ferment in, like a kegmenter or similar.

 

[FarsideOfCrazy]

This is something that I'm looking into at the moment.

I was thinking about the brew bucket or even the spike cf10 conical.

 

[scooterism]

I use a 30L oil drum, love it. Sturdy handles, very easy to clean and I got the fancy tap as well. I've had no issues at all. Lid goes on, lid comes off, affordable, all round happy.

 

[takai]

The mangrobe jack ss 23lt fermenters are under $200. Ive got a oil drum and a brew bucket. I love both but one thing ive noticed with the oil drum is that the lid can get stuck under pressure.
I put a weldless keg post on the lid so i am able to de pressurise it and get it off when its empty. Without that it would be a RPITA.

Which one do you prefer? The oil drum and brew bucket are currently my main options.

 

[Batz]

I use a 30L oil drum, love it. Sturdy handles, very easy to clean and I got the fancy tap as well. I've had no issues at all. Lid goes on, lid comes off, affordable, all round happy.

+1
I have four of them, I don't use the lids just cling -wrap and a big rubber band. The lids are only used for storage and shaking around sanitizer in my brewery.
I can fit two in my all fridge fermenting fridges, they are much stronger than other options too.
Also have the fancy taps.

 

[nosco]

Which one do you prefer? The oil drum and brew bucket are currently my main options.

Brew bucket. I like the cone. Even though its not a real conical it helps to drop the yeast out. I did change the valve for a 4 peice ball valve (3/8" i think?) because the one that comes with can be a bit leaky at inconvenient times. Could be me though.

 

[pcqypcqy]

I love my kegmenter, fits my ferment freezer perfectly, can do double batches, O2 free transfers, pressure ferment, natural carbonation, etc etc.

However, I concede it's painful to harvest yeast and dry hopping means you have to release the pressure fully, add the hops, then re-pressurise (which I let the yeast do).

Otherwise it suits be down to the ground.

 

[nosco]

A kegmenter is next on the list for me.

 

[takai]

Just measured up my brew fridge, and Ill struggle to get two Brewbuckets in there, bottom shelf is only 21" tall, and top is 20". So even without the shelving it would be a stretch.

Can someone measure up a 30L olive oil fusti for me?

 

[Batz]

Just measured up my brew fridge, and Ill struggle to get two Brewbuckets in there, bottom shelf is only 21" tall, and top is 20". So even without the shelving it would be a stretch.

Can someone measure up a 30L olive oil fusti for me?

Mine are Aginox brand 350mm dia 420mm high.
Be careful not to buy olive oil drums that have a rolled base, the seam can be bad for harboring bugs. Ensure you only use the pressed base types, Aginox are one but I don't know about Fusti.
I found Aginox to be shorter when I was looking and therefore I could fit two in my fridges. I bought from Winequip.

 

[takai]

Mine are Aginox brand 350mm dia 420mm high.
Be careful not to buy olive oil drums that have a rolled base, the seam can be bad for harboring bugs. Ensure you only use the pressed base types, Aginox are one but I don't know about Fusti.
I found Aginox to be shorter when I was looking and therefore I could fit two in my fridges. I bought from Winequip.

Thanks for the dimensions. Im looking at the Aginox brand ones from Winequip.

Also a Fusti is just the Italian name for the drums, literally the plural of Fusto which is Italian for cask or barrel.

 

[scooterism]

Can I just ask, when I was shopping for a ss fermenter, I looked at the MJ one deduced that they are a little short on volume or head space rather and if yoy brew a wheat then ***** gonna get messy. Am I right?

 

[Batz]

Thanks for the dimensions. Im looking at the Aginox brand ones from Winequip.

Also a Fusti is just the Italian name for the drums, literally the plural of Fusto which is Italian for cask or barrel.

OK thanks for that, my Italian is not that good, I did grow up in Western Adelaide during the 60's-70's. So I do know some Italian, but best not repeated here.

 

[Bribie G]

The advantage of the brewbucket is the conical bottom which, if you do a good cold crash, will hold the entire trub below tap level. So even though it's smaller than a fusti you can get good clear beer out into the keg or bottles. Doing cornie sized brews I always not only fill the cornie but get a few sneaky test tasters out at kegging time.

Also as it widens out towards the top, there's less depth of krausen than in a cylindrical fermenter because as the krausen rises, it spreads out progressively.
The krausen has only hit the lid once in the couple of years I've used it. However they are OOS... hopefully returning February, have my name down for one when they come back in.

 

[Engibeer]

Just measured up my brew fridge, and Ill struggle to get two Brewbuckets in there, bottom shelf is only 21" tall, and top is 20". So even without the shelving it would be a stretch.

Can someone measure up a 30L olive oil fusti for me?

They are stackable. This might help. You could also use a sterilock air lock to save height.

 

[lespaul]

I like the brew bucket, but find the stock ball valve setup really average.
Currently trying to source a better option, either new fermenter or ball valve setup etc.