Plastic vs. Stainless Steel Fermenters

[ratrodder2831]

I am looking into buying a 15 gal conical fermenter but the ones I find online for stainless steel are pretty expensive, especially since I want to get around 4-5 of them. I have found the plastic ones online that are a lot cheaper they say they are FDA approved but I don't know if that means they are food grade quality plastics. Also my main concern is would fermenting my brew in the plastic have some off flavors from doing it in SS. Especially if I am going to be dry hopping. I figure worse case scenario I can buy the SS hoppers and just weld them to a keg with the bottom cut off, I mean I am a welder by profession but to buy my own equipment will still rack up a pretty penny. If anyone has some answers or suggestions let me know. Cheers!

 

[grathan]

I used a plastic fermentor for the first time in like 15 years this last batch. It smelled like hops after a normal glass carboy soak would have eliminated the smell. I am fine with owning a plastic fermentor for 2 reasons:

1) I still have glass for really hoppy stuff.
2) I don't know how long I am in the game for.

My advice, buy both, but buy used stainless so you can recoup your investment if the plastic fits your needs.

 

[501irishred]

Check out this thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/super-simple-15g-plastic-conical-276378/ . There is a lot of back and forth; experience vs documentation that may help you decide for yourself. No worries IMO.