Importing from China

[Simonh82]

Has anyone ever bought brewing equipment from China using platforms like Alibaba?

I'm in the market for a stainless steel fermentor and really don't need all the bells and whistles that you get with things like the SS Brewtech or Blichmann products. Nor do I like the price tags. The cheapest option I've found is this one from BrewUK but all you get is a bucket with holes in it. I would actually prefer one without a tap as I think it's another thing to get dirty and need cleaning.

I've found this on Alibaba. I got a price of US$180 which is roughly £145 for three pieces, which is there minimum order.

I know there are extra expenses when importing from China (VAT, import duty, delivery etc). I'd also need to find a buyer for two fermentors but I think that could be possible. Has anyone ever bought anything from China in this way? Are there hidden costs i'm not factoring in. If I could get one for £70 per unit I'd be pretty happy.

 

[simon12]

You should pay 1.7% duty + 20% VAT + the courier will likely charge £10-15 admin for processing the duty/VAT when it gets to the UK plus whatever the delivery charge is. I don't see any advantage in this product over just a plain stock pot. Also have a look at these Italian sites for similar products though I think they all have taps.

https://www.polsinelli.it/en/35-l-stainless-steel-beer-fermenter-P1326.htm
http://www.en.sansonestore.com/product/welded-flat-bottom-containers-with-smooth-finish/

 

[Simonh82]

Thanks Simon, I haven't seen those product before. That might be the thing that I need.

 

[LarryF]

I only bottle and I find a tap and bottling wand invaluable. The tap and wand are no more difficult to clean than my syphon. The tap also means that I can check my SG without cracking the lid on my FV.

 

[BeerCat]

Very interesting. Let us know how you get on as i am sick of the plastic FV's i have. As long as you can get replacement seals they look excellent value.

 

[Simonh82]

I only bottle and I find a tap and bottling wand invaluable. The tap and wand are no more difficult to clean than my syphon. The tap also means that I can check my SG without cracking the lid on my FV.

I've got a bottling wand too and they are great but I keep it for my bottling bucket. I would prefer not to have one on my FV. If I did I just wouldn't use it, at least until it came to transferring to the bottling bucket.

I know some people use their taps for taking gravity samples but I would be worried about the tap acting as a possible route for infection to get in. If you've opened it once you've covered it in sticky wort, then you give the bacteria a chance to grow and open it again for another sample and introduce the bacteria into your beer.

Maybe that's just my overactive imagination but I would worry about it.

 

[BeerCat]

What do you think of these? https://www.polsinelli.it/en/fermenter-50-l-stainless-steel-barrel-P1447.htm

 

[Hoppyland]

i am sick of the plastic FV's i have.

Can I ask why? I've only used plastic FVs since the 1980s & they've never seemed to be a problem to me.
OK, a plastic one has a finite life, but they last me for many, many years if you clean them carefully, and for about a tenner each this seems a good deal.
I'd be interested to know what you find annoying about them.

 

[Simonh82]

Maybe I'm just a bit paranoid but I am just never sure how clean I can get plastic. I'm pretty scrupulous and use oxi clean or chlorine based cleaner and the star san to sanitise but I just think one day I'm going to get a scratch which harbours bacteria and gives me an infection.

With stainless steel you know you can really clean it effectively, which is why it is used professionally.

I'm not someone who generally feels the need to mimic professional set ups but I would like a stainless fermentor.

The other thing that slightly worries me about plastic is oxygen ingress. Most fermentors are HDPE which is actually very oxygen permeable. There have been some experiments on Brulosophy.com which show that fermentor material does seem to make a significant difference to beer flavour and oxygen exposure is one suspect.

 

[Simonh82]

What do you think of these? https://www.polsinelli.it/en/fermenter-50-l-stainless-steel-barrel-P1447.htm

They look interesting but for me personally 50L is too large. It also looks like there might be internal seams which would be difficult to clean. That may not be the case but it's hard to view the photo on my phone.

 

[Fil]

https://www.brewbuilder.co.uk/standard-fv.html
Bit more expensive, But no quality concerns and no trans continent return courier costs to start the refund ball rolling (perhaps)

personally i opted to employ an 80l thermapot for my large volume brews, i simply siphon off the sediment leaving the inner SS skin intact. Come summer it needs chilling via a lid fitted SS heat exchange coil.

 

[BeerCat]

They look interesting but for me personally 50L is too large. It also looks like there might be internal seams which would be difficult to clean. That may not be the case but it's hard to view the photo on my phone.

I am really inclined to agree with what you have said above. One thing i noticed though when cleaning my FV's is that most of them are badly scratched yet most of my beer is drinkable with the exception of some of my dodgy recipes or experiments.
Hers is a link to a 30l https://www.polsinelli.it/en/fermenter-50-l-stainless-steel-barrel-P1447.htm works out at £80 including delivery. I will send them an email and find out about the internal seams.
I like the look of the SS conical but at £185 its a lot for 3 or 4 of them.

 

[Simonh82]

I am really inclined to agree with what you have said above. One thing i noticed though when cleaning my FV's is that most of them are badly scratched yet most of my beer is drinkable with the exception of some of my dodgy recipes or experiments.
Hers is a link to a 30l https://www.polsinelli.it/en/fermenter-50-l-stainless-steel-barrel-P1447.htm works out at �£80 including delivery. I will send them an email and find out about the internal seams.
I like the look of the SS conical but at �£185 its a lot for 3 or 4 of them.

I think for me, this one would be the one that I got. It's all set up as a fermentor and looks like it doesn't have internal seams.

I keep thinking I might be able to knock one up for cheaper from parts but when I factor in the time it would take, the fact i'm only going to save £10 and would end up with something that looked proper shonky, I think this one will probably be on my christmas list.

 

[Batlugs]

I am really inclined to agree with what you have said above. One thing i noticed though when cleaning my FV's is that most of them are badly scratched yet most of my beer is drinkable with the exception of some of my dodgy recipes or experiments.
Hers is a link to a 30l https://www.polsinelli.it/en/fermenter-50-l-stainless-steel-barrel-P1447.htm works out at £80 including delivery. I will send them an email and find out about the internal seams.
I like the look of the SS conical but at £185 its a lot for 3 or 4 of them.

Beercat, do you or anyone else own one? Any good as they look good value for money.

Got some dosh burning a hole but being a Yorkshire man still looking for a bargain. Your comments are welcome.



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[Simonh82]

Beercat, do you or anyone else own one? Any good as they look good value for money.

Got some dosh burning a hole but being a Yorkshire man still looking for a bargain. Your comments are welcome.



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I've asked for the 35L version for my birthday in a weeks time. Might take another week or so on top of that to arrive. I'll let you know what I think about it when it gets here.

One thing to note is that it is really quite wide so measure your brew fridge carefully if you have one. Luckily mine is wide enough but the fridge I had before wouldn't have been.

 

[Druncan]

We have four 30l Speidel HDPE food grade EEC certified cider fermenters cost 35E and they are the biz.
https://shop.speidels-hausmosterei.de/en/Cider-containers/30-litre-round-container?action_ms=1

Just blew my poppy on a 50l SS Ind comp pot with 5 TC ferrules from Mark @ Brewbuilder.

F/V's at that price I can replace and upgrade.

It's the big shiny SS Brewpot I was after,,, En-route,,, :mrgreen:

 

[Batlugs]

I've asked for the 35L version for my birthday in a weeks time. Might take another week or so on top of that to arrive. I'll let you know what I think about it when it gets here.



One thing to note is that it is really quite wide so measure your brew fridge carefully if you have one. Luckily mine is wide enough but the fridge I had before wouldn't have been.

Thanks for that Simon, I'll measure when I get home and see if they fit. Looking at getting two if they so. Let me know what you think when they arrive.


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[Fil]

No one considered a bergland stockpot? fwiw i use a 80l thermopot for large batch fermentation..

 

[Simonh82]

No one considered a bergland stockpot? fwiw i use a 80l thermopot for large batch fermentation..

I started off down this route and was looking at converting a stock pot into a fermentation vessel but I couldn't find a way to create an air tight seal. At least not at a reasonable cost.

I know many people don't place too much wright behind having a sealed FV but if I'm going down the stainless steel route then I want something that seals.

 

[Fil]

Why the need for a seal? if its for pressure driven transfer i dont think stockpots can be modded that way, however if its only for a blow off tube or airlock then a simple wrap of poormans parafilm tape (ptfe) tight over the lid/pot jucntion should suffice, it works for the distillers

While I have not used it for this purpose myself, i have used it to seal the diy yeast test plates i made which maintained sterility with no microlife growth on the agar/malt medium after 12months @ room temp.. just a shame im so ham fisted and tear up the medium when attempting to streak them ;(