Would you buy this stainless fermenter

[simon12]

I am thinking of importing these fermenters for resale in the UK, they have a very slightly coned bottom with a male 1 1/4" BSP drain and a female 1/2" BSP side hole. Do these look any good? How much do you think they could sell for? The 50l is pictured 80, 100 & 200 also available.

[barneey]

They look similar to the cheap conical thing I started with, welding was poor and quality was hit & miss + thin material

I would check the quality against this

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=45212&hilit=conical&start=30

[simon12]

Thanks for that, compared to the pics on than page the welds are very neat you have to look closely to even see the weld were the base is joined though the inside has alot of dirty marks so needs a good clean before use. Also conpared to the close up pics its not scratched. As far as I can tell these are very good quality. I don't want to reveal the possible selling price until I have peoples opinion on what they are worth but there nothing compared to the £500+ mentioned in that thread.
1 thing I forgot to mention are the base is not attached but it rests on it really well.

[barneey]

Market point of view I would say the smaller size would sell better due to the number of GF's & BM's being used, I would also check if they are likely to fit in a domestic larder fridge set up.

I know yours have a slightly domed bottom so would say the comparable market place item is the stock pot, which as we know are available in different quality / gauge.

You also mentioned FV BUT what about selling them as pot with very little dead space? ideal for a bottom drain outlet. 80/80/100 or 50/50/80 setup? although 3V systems seem to out of favour at the moment? (maybe a trend thing?).

[Kev888]

The slightly domed base would help reduce a bit of dead-space and make rinsing out easier (useful for bigger ones), so would likely make them more saleable. I agree there are other applications where that may be handy too, not just fermenting. Though it doesn't offer the yeast dumping capabilities of a 60degree cone, so value-wise it would remain more in stock-pot than conical fermenter territory IMO.

Some method of being able to make convincingly hygenic couplings via the threaded holes would help, especially if being sold for fermenting. If its possible, that should at least be described so people can see how, even if you don't actually supply the fittings.

In some cases people are a bit over-sensitive to loose pot lids, yours looks to be a bit more than that so could appeal to them. However if the seal were good enough to stop over-flows and allow blow-off tubes to be used that would be a genuine benefit over the cheap stock pots. If it were even able to take gentle pressure and so allow emptying without gravity that would be another bonus BUT pressure vessels can be dangerous so it is not something to consider lightly even if it seems to have the capability.

The things above plus the thickness, quality and workmanship would all affect value. It seems to have the potential for offering something a bit more than a cheap stock pot but (in my perception) falls short of things like the SS brew bucket. The flat-bottomed FV from brew builder (with clamped lid and triclamp outlet) is probably the closest I know of, and may give you a useful comparison for relative features.

[dean_wales]

Watching with interest!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[simon12]

The 50l would fit in a standard larder fridge if you made new stand for it. A seal and clamps are an optional extra so is a floating lid for wine. As for a 3 vessel system the only problem is I think you would need a specially made false bottom. I can also get them without the coned bottom and they would be alot cheaper than the brew builder ones but wouldn't have the triclamp outlet. The thickness is 0.7mm of 18/10 304 stainless.

[barneey]

https://www.brouwland.com/en/search?q=f ... ory=search

As soon as you mentioned floating lid, I thought of the Brouwland 150l pot I have.

[simon12]

Compared to those bruwland flat bottom tanks I could do the 200L one they sell for 300 euros for £125 for the tank + £30 for an air or oil floating lid + £25 for the pump for the lid. The steal is the same 304 grade and the same thickness, mine is slightly fatter and shorter.

[simon12]

Sorry I just realised the above pricing doesn't include VAT.

[simon12]

Sorry please ignore pricing above I didn't factor in the extra delivery for the size. Provisional pricing would be as follows all inclusive of VAT:
Flat bottomed tank no stand or tap fitted just a female thread for a tap/ball valve and plug.
50L £105.65
80L £131.69
100L £160.70
150L £183.91
200L £219.65
Coned bottom with stand and threaded bottom drain and tap.
50L £135.91
80L £165.08
100L £192.00
150L £231.91
200L £270.78
How does this sound? Do you think I could sell many?

[Stanna]

Stainless steel Fusti are similar but a lot cheaper this is just eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/606982L-conte ... 1311168757 , I did find an Italian site and could get a 100 liter Fusti delivered to uk for around £80.

[barneey]

Mmm not too sure, take a Mr Lard high end 200l pot, 1.2mm thick, triclad bottom £225.00 or the same again 50l for £90.00 or the 100l for £140.00 (flat bottoms), no idea if his are similar to the Lacor range but they cant be far off.

Coupled with the range of SS conicals out there...

If you want my own honest opinion in a price orientated market I cant see them selling.

[simon12]

OK maybe not then, to be honest I should have worked out how much I would need to sell them for earlier as when I worked it all out I was surprised myself how much they would be once I took into account the VAT and shipping properly. I have likely over estimated the shipping but even if there 10% cheaper than above I assume its still a no?

[Kev888]

Yeah, at one time large stainless pots were hard to come by, but there's a fair bit of competition these days. I'd not be too confident of shifting many of the standard flat bottom ones at those prices, sadly. The very large capacities may have a relatively small market as it is (amongst homebrewers anyway).

The bottom drain type with stands are more unusual, so may find a little bit of a niche. But the UK market tends to be fairly stingy (and yet expect perfection!), TBH I think the price would be higher than many/most would pay for them. But thats just my opinion; you won't really know unless you try or get lots of responses on here.