Has anyone ever used an 11.3 gallon Plastic Carboy?

[brettanomikey]

So I was searching for larger than 6.5 gal carboys, and to my surprise I found one:

http://store.homebrewheaven.com/11-gall ... y-p54.aspx

It's only $28! Has anyone used one of these before?

I'm stoked because I figured I'd be doing 5 gallon batches until I could afford the super expensive Steel conical fermenters.

[beltbuckle]

Looks like it should work fine. But why not just use 2 fermentors if the rest of your equipment can brew 10 gallon batches? For a long time I used culligan jugs for fermentors until I stepped up to fermenting in a sankey. People get paranoid about plastic but if you treat if right it works fine.

[Lucky]

I ferment in a sanke keg with one of these. No more glass carboy, don't have to worry about scratching plastic, will last virtually forever and I can fit 10.5 gallons in it with much headroom to spare.

[edit] Damnit! I just did what I hate other people doing to me. Instead of answering the question I just told you what I do, like that's the answer to all your fermenting problems. Ignore what I typed above.

The real answer: No. Have a nice day.

[brettanomikey]

haha, nice.

yeah i figured it would be fine, but I've never fermented in that kind of plastic, didn't know if there is oxidation more than normal or if the shape isn't good for fermenting beer, or something like that. I'm surprised none of the big brewing stored sell them. The Sanke looks like a good option, im guessing it's 15.5 gallons? Is that easy to clean? I don't have a kegging system, I bottle ferment all my stuff.

[Lucky]

Yup, 15.5 gallons. It's relatively easy to clean but hops can sometimes be a small pain to get out. I just turn it upside down and put the hose sprayer up inside it until no more junk comes out. And, since I can't see inside, I let it sit for a day full of water and PBW. I rinse it out 6 times to make sure there's no residue and then I boil some water in it for 20 minutes the night before brew day to sanitize. I'm about an hour away from putting 10.5 gallons of an all Willamette IPA in it. It sits in a chest freezer with a temp controller stuck down in the thermowell for three weeks while everything ferments out. It's truly a set it and forget it type of setup.