Sanke keg fermenter

As we brew more and more beers, we are trying to perfect our brewing process. One area we decided to change within our process is fermenting. Since upgrading to 10 gallon batches for our beers, we needed a vessel large enough to ferment all 10 gallons at one time. Our previous vessels, the SS Brew Tech Brew Buckets, held 7 gallons and are perfect to ferment 5 gallon batches but lacked the ability for us to ferment larger batches at one time. We looked at several options—one the SS Brew Tech Chronical Fermenters and converting Sanke kegs to fermenters. Due to cost, we ultimately decided to try utilizing converted Sanke kegs for the process.
The new equipment:

• 15.5 gallon Sanke kegs (we purchased them new)
• 6 inch ferrule (widens the 2 inch keg opening for easier cleaning), 6 inch to 2 inch reducer, and 6 inch tri clamp
• Sanke keg fermenter kit (includes pressure transfer valve, thermowell, and blow off tube) and 2 inch tri clamp
• Cool Zone Fermentation Jacket (with heat wrap, extender, sump pump, and temp controller)
• Keg jacket
• Small dolly to easily move filled keg

How it works:
After cooling wort, we transfer the wort to a sanitized Sanke keg. The keg is then wrapped with the Cool Zone temp jacket (the extender helps the wrap fit). The entire keg is covered with the keg jacket to help keep the keg at a constant temperature. A sump pump is attached to the wrap and placed in an ice water bath. The cooling and heating wraps are plugged in to the temp controller. The temp sensor is placed into the thermowell and transmits the temperature of the liquid inside the keg. Yeast is pitched and the temp controller helps us keep the temperature consistent for optimal fermentation. The pump cycles on/off to move ice cold water around the outside of the keg until the temperature stays within 3 degrees of our set temperature. When fermentation is complete, we can dry hop beers by opening up the tri clamp and dropping in hops. The transferring of beer into kegs can now be accomplished in a closed system with the beer being transferred via C02. This closed system eliminates any possible contamination from oxygen during the transfer.
 
Our Review so Far:
We love this system! We can accurately control the temperature of our fermenting wort to help ensure the yeast fully attenuates and utilizes all of the sugar in our wort. We can now use our previous freezer/fermentation vessel as keg and bottle storage. The major benefit is that each individual keg can be set to a different temperature. We have minimized the need for an additional cost of ice by refreezing gallon water bottles and using those to keep the water cool. The biggest benefit is the ability to transfer beer to kegs within a closed system. The added 6 inch ferrule opening allows us to fully clean the inside to prevent any particles from dry hopping to be left behind.
In two weeks, we will tap our first beers used during this closed system. Our final review will come after we sample the finest product.

Fermentation wrap on Sanke keg

6 inch ferrule, 6 inch tri clamp, and 6 inch to 2 inch reducer.

2 inch opening (prior to adding 6 inch ferrule), temp control, thermowell with temperature sensor, and blow off tube.