Stainless Conical Budget of £500 to £800 Best One

[barneey]

Hi All,

I am having a few second thoughts about building a plastic conical tank, I figure that by the time I have bought the tank + fittings it going to cost near the £200.00 mark. So I was wondering whether to just buy a SS conical rather than build the plastic one, I would probadly then eventually move on to SS anyway. My brew length at the moment is only 25/30 ltrs but I do have plans to double this in the very near future to nearer the 50ltr / 60ltr mark to decrease the amount of brew days.

My question is, with a budget of between £500 to £800.00 which would you say is the best SS conical to buy. I was thinking about the Blichmann ones?

[Aleman]

Blichmann = Good

Have a look at the ones imported by Willis European



I reckon they are the best value TBH . . . Unless you are actually willing to drive over to Italy and bring one back in your car . . . then it will be cheaper . . . . . for the conical

[gregorach]

Please stop posting those!

[barneey]

Well just had an email back from Tim at Willis their 65 ltr is £595+VAT = £714.00 and the 100lt is £726+VAT = £871.00 both + delivery, whereas the Blichman for the 54ltr (12 imperial gallon) is £699.00 and the 100ltr (22 imperial gallon) is £899.00 both + £4.70 delivery, so not much interms of price difference. Tim sent a couple of tech drawings of the pots




I know the boys at the homebrewshop also do a cheaper version?

The only other one I looked at was the stout one form fleabay America but that wont be big enough

[Scotty]

I see the tech drawings show the stainless steel grade as 304. Do you know what grade of stainless steel Blichmann use?

[barneey]

I see the tech drawings show the stainless steel grade as 304. Do you know what grade of stainless steel Blichmann use?

I`ve just sent them an email asking the question, so hope to get an answer back soon, cant see it mentioned anywhere on their website.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just one other question is it better to have weld free joints or welded joints, seems to be quite abit of conflicting advice on the matter?

EDIT Aleman just saw where your link directed me to did you buy one in the end?????????

[Scotty]

You can use 304 stainless for FV's though. The only problem is if liquid remains in contact with the metal for long periods of time, the oxygen on the surface creating the barrier can deteriorate and cause corrosion. I find this happens with my Nordic stockpots if I don't dry them after use (assuming they are 304 grade).

Personally I would always go for the highest grade stainless that I could afford, 316 being the preferred option.

[boingy]

Might be worth looking at Craftbrewer in Aus:

www.craftbrewer.com.au

They have a 100 litre for under £600 but obviously you need to add shipping and (probably) UK import taxes.

[barneey]

You can use 304 stainless for FV's though. The only problem is if liquid remains in contact with the metal for long periods of time, the oxygen on the surface creating the barrier can deteriorate and cause corrosion. I find this happens with my Nordic stockpots if I don't dry them after use (assuming they are 304 grade).

Personally I would always go for the highest grade stainless that I could afford, 316 being the preferred option.

Answer back from Blichmann
"Tank is 304. Fittings are 304 or 303.

Sincerely,

John Blichmann"

[beermonsta]

I know the boys at the homebrewshop also do a cheaper version?

Yes I have the 110l one from them, and it's a beauty. It's quality 18/10 stainless (equivalent to 316 stainless steel) and I've had it for nearly a year and its not got a sign of rust anywhere. I noticed that the price has gone up a fair bit since I bought one last December though!

Here is a post showing me building a fermenting fridge for it...viewtopic.php?f=6&t=41572&hilit=+conical

[barneey]

Might be worth looking at Craftbrewer in Aus:

http://www.craftbrewer.com.au

They have a 100 litre for under £600 but obviously you need to add shipping and (probably) UK import taxes.

Thanks for the link but now out of stock and would have to be very carefull with shipping and the dreaded 20% VAT

I know the boys at the homebrewshop also do a cheaper version?

Yes I have the 110l one from them, and it's a beauty. It's quality 18/10 stainless (equivalent to 316 stainless steel) and I've had it for nearly a year and its not got a sign of rust anywhere. I noticed that the price has gone up a fair bit since I bought one last December though!

Still with a 5% discount and free shipping its certainly on the lower end of the ££ scale, would only be looking for th 75ltr one tho. (£378.15 all in me thinks), therefore nearly double the price of a home made plastic one or half the price of the blich / willis one - 316 as opposed to 304 - less items as opposed to more items???? decisions decisions, wont go down the plastic route now tho as I now if I did I would end up going SS after a while anyway.

[Aleman]

Still with a 5% discount and free shipping its certainly on the lower end of the ££ scale, would only be looking for th 75ltr one tho. (£378.15 all in me thinks), therefore nearly double the price of a home made plastic one or half the price of the blich / willis one - 316 as opposed to 304 - less items as opposed to more items???? decisions decisions, wont go down the plastic route now tho as I now if I did I would end up going SS after a while anyway.

It's a good price . . .though when you add up the cost of all the triclamp fittings and SS ball valves you can see where the Blichman and Willis ones spend the money. I've just looked (again) at the homebrew shop one and the racking tap looks to be non standard

[barneey]

Beermonsta, Have you any other pictures of your tank? (inside photos?) and any comments about the racking tap?

Cheers

[awalker]

I reckon they are the best value TBH . . . Unless you are actually willing to drive over to Italy and bring one back in your car . . . then it will be cheaper . . . . . for the conical

Where abouts in Italy Aleman?
As I drive over there once a year and could get it delivered to an Italian address for easy pickup.

[Aleman]

Somewhere Up in the north east, I remember it from a post on here (IIRC) when the cap said it was much cheaper for him as he was over there anyway . . . Can't find the thread now though