Beer Forum

hi all. switching to 10 gallons soon and wondering if i can use a large (54L) wine fermentor as an uber carboy for this.
my main concern is the different shape. the wine fermenter is wider than a regular carboy (relative to the height) and sort of bulb shaped. seems like there would be some differences in hydrodynamics and therefore yeast preformance. it hink i remember that wider fermentors means less hydrostatic pressure and less esters.
anybody know?

You talking about a Demijohn, like this?



Sure you can use one. I haven't, but I would. Probably heavy as hell with 10 gallons in it.

that's exactly it. thanks for the pic sheen.
inside the basket the bottom is almost round, so there is alomst no striahgt wall like a carboy.
i wonder how that would effect convection and other yeast behavior. i guess it seems wider, but the surface area on top would be about normal, since the sides slope back in up there...

I wouldn't think that would be a problem, conical fermentors don't have flat bottoms either. Plus you can get them for about $60.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6255

word. less than that at he lhbs. they seem to be of thinner glass than a carboy. i'll definately have to go to aerating with a wand for this big boy.

They are thinner and weigh the same as a 6.5 gallon carboy from what I remember

yup. felt flippin fragile when i picked one up. that's why i'd go to some kind of non-shaking aeration.
any word on fermentation characteristics associated with this geometry (round) ... n' shizzz!

So... seeing that outside of the basket, it looks like an big, silly vase.

Let us know how it works for you. How are you cooling that during fermentation, Chest Freezer?