SS Brewtech 7 gallon brew bucket

I've got the Brewtech fermenter, but here might be another cheaper alternative:
https://www.homebrewing.org/Anvil-Bucket-Fermentor-75-Gallon_p_7616.html

 

I was going to point to this one as well:

https://www.chapmanequipment.com/collections/fermenters/products/7-gallon-steeltank-fermenter

 

I've been looking at the SS Brew Bucket for a while now. Is there anything about it that you can tell is missing from the Anvil offering? Otherwise, I may jump on that one sooner than later.

 

I like almost everything about the BrewBucket except the price...and I got mine under $200 because it was slightly dented. Only negatives are thin construction, proprietary O-rings for the racking arm, and not being able to use a chlorine based sanitizer.

 

@pweis909, any chance you've received/been able to ferment with the Anvil equipment?

 

Personally, I would rather have a 7 or 10 gallon corny keg as a fermenter since it could take a lot more pressure and racking out yeast would still be easy.

 

Yes, if only one wouldn't have to completely tear down the keg every batch...not familiar with the 7 and 10 gal ones...had any luck sanitizing those? Do they have o-rings and poppets?

 

They're the same as 5 gallon kegs, just larger, so yeah they still need a tear down. I don't find that to be much more work than conicals. I just pull the parts and soak them in caustic (Would use PBW if I didn't have hundreds of gallons of caustic at work). I do the same thing for conicals though, so it's not really any different for me.

 

I am happy enough. I have a Belgian blond in my 7 gallon fermenter, heading into the 2nd week. These seem like fundamentally sound products. @Curmudgeon It's a stainless bucket, not a conical, so for some interested in yeast harvest, the design may be less desirable. For me, that is not an issue. Topcropping would not be difficult, if that's your thing.

I did encounter two minor issues that suggest to me that quality control should have been better:

1. One of the o-rings that came with one of the fermenters (to help seal the weldless spigot) was obviously defective. I asked for a replacement art and it arrived in three business days..
2. The stopper holes in the lids of the fermenters were sharp enough to give me a cut on my thumb. There is some irony for you -- I generally avoid glass fermenters because I am afraid of injury, so the first time I use stainless, I cut myself.

I'm guessing they rushed these out the door to put them in the hands of holiday shoppers, and they didn't file the cut edges on the lids and didn't preassemble the fermenters to make sure the parts would work. I was grateful for the fast customer service on the o-ring issue. I probably should take the time to let them know about the sharp edge, but haven't yet.

 

I like to spund fermenters, so with the pressure already built up, all you’d have to do is connect a sanitary hose to the beer out poppet and slowly collect the yeast cake.

 

Brewtech Brew Buckets aren't rated for high pressures, but can certainly take the pressure needed for a closed CO2 transfer. I think you'd need to add a fitting for the CO2 hookup though. I believe @TheBeerery uses them and does closed xfers, so maybe he can chime in.

If you want to dump yeast, you're looking at a true conical with a dump valve. I have a Morebeer 7.5 gallon conical and love it.

Also, I don't think anything with valves and/or a racking arm is going to be easier to clean than a carboy, if that's what you're comparing to for ease of cleaning.

 

As with anything...prompt cleaning is the key...but I do believe the cleaning is easier with any bucket...even with valves or racking arms.

 

Interesting to hear -- sorry to hear of the cut, of course. Given that the dimensions of the Anvil 4 gallon I'm interested in are at the very limit of what my fermentation fridge can handle, I may hold off on this one for a little bit for them to work out the minor kinks. A Thermapen seems like a perfectly suitable replacement Treat Yo Self gift this year.

 

Are either of the alternatives listed in this thread conical? Isn't that one of the advantages of going to the ss brewbucket from carboys?

 

Can’t speak on their brew bucket, but the company is great.

I got their 1bbl conical and it’s pretty sweet (although I’ll probably be selling it to pick up the 1bbl unitank). Like any piece of equipment, it has some quirks, but everything is well made and thought out.

They also seem to be one of the homebrew supply manufacturers that are constantly innovating and responding to customer feedback and input.

And their customer service is great! I bought a sight glass from them, and the glass weirdly cracked after a hot caustic CIP. I emailed the company and told them what happened, kinda hoping they would send a free replacement glass. They sent a whole new unit! So I just bought a replacement glass for like $8 online and now I have 2!

Finally, for anyone wondering what the advantage is for the bucket, I’d say the big one is the drastically reduced O2 pickup. It has all the advantages of a carboy, but a broad opening and non-glass construction that makes cleaning, handling, and things like yeast cake collecting and dry-hopping much easier and safer.

 

I realize it's not the subject of this thread, but for anyone buying a steel fermentation vessel, you should look closely at the instructions. Mike Tonsmeire blogged about this:

It was the first batch fermented in my SS Brew Bucket. I glazed over the fact that the “periodic” passivation was supposed to include before the first use...

And he blogged about it later as well (I've removed his hyperlinks):

My goal for this batch was a bright hop-saturated fruit-bomb, or at least a beer to replace the terrible, oxidized mess of an IPA I had on tap! Luckily passivating my Ss BrewBucket Brewmaster with 5X-concentrated StarSan solution (as they suggest) before this batch was successful. Neither the stainless steel nor beer discolor as they did during the previous IPA fermentation.

And some bonus advice from that same post (may or may not be applicable to your situation):

Now that I know the fermentor can produce good beer, I'll say that I like being able to monitor/control the beer temperature via the thermowell, but wish it had an 8 gallon capacity instead of 7. Despite a few drops of FermCap S I still had to clean krausen and hops out of the airlock a couple times during the first two days of fermentation.

 

http://www.lowoxygenbrewing.com/brewing-methods/fermenter-to-keg-spunding/