large 640 litre conical fermentor

[Bridgewater Brewer]

Having got carried away on e bay I am now the proud owner of a 640litre conical fermenter.
Apart from the problems of getting this into my garage ( going to have to take door out I think) I would welcome advice on;

1 others experience of using these fermenters

2 some specific advice about how and where to fit a second tap on the base - what depth of trub etc would 200 litres generate?

3 what heating jackets etc would be suitable or how do others keep theirs cool? Was considering a mini room with heater and perhaps cooling from fridge.

Any general advice very welcome

Many thanks.

 

[djcorbetto]

Got any pictures? That sounds massive

 

[stuart180]

Ditto, I brew 23ltrs a time lol
Need to see so.e pics of this monster

 

[Bridgewater Brewer]

Will do pictures later but its the same as those available from smith of dean

Have tried to copy pictures but not sure.




 

[Bridgewater Brewer]

 

[Bridgewater Brewer]

Will do pictures later but it is massive !

 

[djcorbetto]

Oh I think I've seen one of those on eBay and they look awesome

 

[Bridgewater Brewer]

they certain are. Just trying to work out how to cool it: my current thought is water jacket , pump and reservoir of water in a fridge - welcome other suggestions... Thinking of fitting long thermo well through the top?

Basically a very big new toy.

Advice welcome

 

[Slid]

It's a huge FV from my perspective, but medium sized breweries going back to the Victorian age must have had larger (!!) FV's than this and less technology to address the problem. I would suggest that you might try to find out how it was done then and adapt the principles to your situation. I would guess that the FV then was placed in the coolest practical place (up in the air in a tower) and made of metal to assist heat loss. The sheer mass of the vessel contents might be the most effective way of avoiding temperature fluctuations.

Other obvious Victorian type suggestions might be high pitching rates (from previous brew), fast fermentations, bulk storage and relatively conservative ABV's (~ 4.5 - 5%).

Brilliant Toy BTW.
:

 

[Slid]

Probably much less than 10 times what 20L would throw.
Maybe x5 is a suggestion, until someone who knows from practical experience shows up.

Still a brilliant toy.
The great thing about making 10 times as much beer is that it will last more than twice as long!
.

 

[Bridgewater Brewer]

That's great. Your advice about location. When I ever get it in the garage I plan on using the concrete floor as a heat sink via metal frame and ventilation from windows. My biggest brew can be realistically 200l so that allow space for expansion.

Hope to drain trub and use as bright tank as I tend to keg, so hopefully I can pressurise and use gas to move.

Going to be fun finding out!

 

[Unclejona]

The great thing about making 10 times as much beer is that it will last more than twice as long!

At best :thumb: