Super cheap 5 gallon conical

[mrkelley]

I wanted a 5 gallon conical, but I didn't wanna pay for one, so...

It's a Fermonster, flipped on its head with some plumbing attached. Total cost was about $100.00 US.

 

[audioa84]

Very creative! I like it! How well does the trub settle out? Do you have issues with the angle of the bottom not being steep enough?

 

[Jaybird]

Super cool!

Cheers
Jay

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

Is that fabric holding it up?

 

[mrkelley]

Very creative! I like it! How well does the trub settle out? Do you have issues with the angle of the bottom not being steep enough?

I've only run one batch through it, but trub settled just fine. The angle seems okay, it just all settles right into that 2" valve. On that first batch, I pulled trub about a week into the ferment, then a couple of days later harvested yeast.

I lost my second batch yesterday, though. It developed a leak. I'm not sure if the epoxy broke, or if I didn't have the lid sealed tightly enough. I'll take it apart to clean it tomorrow, so I'll figure it out then.

 

[mrkelley]

Is that fabric holding it up?

Yes. It's painter's canvas from Home Depot. I folded it over, then cut a hole for the fermenter and nailed it to the frame.

 

[augiedoggy]

Pretty cool.
The only thing I'm confused about here is you said you didnt want to pay for one but spent $100 to build that. Do you know there are more than one 5 gallon plastic conical on the market for under $100 like the fastferment?

 

[poptarts]

You beat me to it augie lol

 

[Bobby_M]

I admire the DIY spirit fully but $120 gets you a better version of that with no building, PVC, or bubblegum. The main problem with improvised fermenters, especially conicals, is that the surfaces and joints are near impossible to sanitize. If that did hold from leaking, I suspect you'd start contaminating batches after a few.

 

[augiedoggy]

or this one for $95 shipped...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fast-Ferme...277420?hash=item1eaa0202ec:g:C6gAAOSwgYVZ1mqr