Plastic v. Stainless Conical Fermenters

[SoCalBrewer]

I have one of the mini brew conicals in my line up with a stainless steel and glass carboys and it still gets used all the time. Just soak some PBW in it and with a rag wipe it out. Works great and no issues.

[BEERdedDragon]

Thanks SoCal.

I think I'll give it a shot. I think the ease of use compared to using buckets would be worth the money...expecially if I get several years out of it.

[kernman30]

i have used both plastic and stainless and the only major difference i have found is that when you get into batches bigger than 65 gallons the fermentation process generates heat naturally that could cause plastic to distort or crack after multiple uses. as for smaller batches either work just fine. if you have biger than a 5 gallon formentor and you are worried about scratches i would recommend using either a shame squeegee, micro fiber rag or a high pressure washer to sanitize with warm water. cheers and keep brewing.

[Stinkfist]

i have used both plastic and stainless and the only major difference i have found is that when you get into batches bigger than 65 gallons the fermentation process generates heat naturally that could cause plastic to distort or crack after multiple uses. as for smaller batches either work just fine. if you have biger than a 5 gallon formentor and you are worried about scratches i would recommend using either a shame squeegee, micro fiber rag or a high pressure washer to sanitize with warm water. cheers and keep brewing.

I don't know man if your fermentations are allowed to get hot enough for plastic (used in brewing) to crack or even deform you will have bigger problems than the choice of fermenter...

[Ozwald]

i have used both plastic and stainless and the only major difference i have found is that when you get into batches bigger than 65 gallons the fermentation process generates heat naturally that could cause plastic to distort or crack after multiple uses. as for smaller batches either work just fine. if you have biger than a 5 gallon formentor and you are worried about scratches i would recommend using either a shame squeegee, micro fiber rag or a high pressure washer to sanitize with warm water. cheers and keep brewing.

I don't know man if your fermentations are allowed to get hot enough for plastic (used in brewing) to crack or even deform you will have bigger problems than the choice of fermenter...

Wow old thread necro.

The mini-brew fermenters that the OP was talking about are sent with instructions including to sanitize them with boiling water. I think they're rated in the upper 200's (280?). If anyone still cares about the original question, I've had a couple mini-brews for quite a few years. They're competitive with the B3/Blichmann stainless conicals price-wise. If they were only a little cheaper, the extra care wouldn't be worth it. At their price, they're a great conical. Fermentation control is more difficult - just like a big bucket & you need to have an OCD type of cleaning regime - like a bucket you plan to do hundreds of batches in. You still get the benefits though, 60 degree cone, correct width/height ratio, samplecock, trub removal, yeast harvesting, etc. that you don't get with a bucket or carboy.