Beer Forum

So me and my Brewing buddy were driving home last night and happen to go by one of the local soda companies and what did I see in the large garbage can out front but what looked to be shiny metal in the shap of a conical. I pulled and Uturn and as we got out to inspect it smiles as wide as the sky appeared on both our faces. It was definitely stainless and it was definitely in the shape of a conical. However, thats definitely not what it was used for. there was a giant blower/motor attatched to it as well and a whole lot of angle iron that was used to brace/hold it up i'm guessing. We went straight to the closest place to buy a couple of hacksaws (not suspicious at all at 10pm right?) and got to cutting. we had the thing free in about 1.5 hours and it was in my garage by midnight i'd say. I've got high hopes for the thing, and i think that with some creativity it can without a doubt be used as a fermenter. However, our questions and concerns are, we don't know what it was used for before or what was inside it. Its definitely not clean on the inside, there is some staining and discoloration.

Does anyone have any ideas, comments, or tips on what to use and how to clean it to get it ready?

we dont' know how much it will hold, however i'd estimate it around 75-100 gallons probably. its huge. I don't know if we would actually be able to use it for our set up (10 gallon all grain) but it would be an awesome project for sure. Anyway, I'll post some pictures when i can, but in the mean time any input would help. Thanks!

Sounds like a great find. I would be suspicious of using it, however. The problem is not with it being dirty. It can probably be cleaned fairly easily and brought back to a shine with some Barkeeper's Friend and a lot of elbow grease.

The problem will be with the welds. Welds in stainless items used in brewing and dairy applications need to be "sanitary welds". This type of welding is very smooth with no surface voids, bubbles, cracks, or other irregularities that can possibly trap contaminants and harbor bacteria.

If you can find someone to verify if these are sanitary welds (I really don't know how that would be done) then you have an incredible find. Otherwise it sounds like you have a great grain storage hopper or (with the addition of a couple water heater elements) a nice hot liquor tank.

Wayne