[4himarks]

Can anyone think of a reason NOT to use my 12.5 gal SS conical as a hot liquor tank? It would be empty by the time I started boiling so would have at least an hour to cool back down to room temp before introducing the cooled wort. It is on a stand, so I could sparge by gravity, and I have a heat stick, so I'm not talking about exposing it to open flame.

I have a 5 gal double walled SS coffee urn I use for some sparge water but it is not enough for 10 gallon batches, so I have to heat up more in my boil pot and transfer it. 

[Stevie]

Other than poor insulation, I think it's an ok idea. Might want to play with the temps a bit to make sure you get where you want after the cold stainless sucks some of the heat out.

[troybinso]

Good idea. If you get it hot enough it will be sanitized too.

[4himarks]

That had also occurred to me. I generally heat my water to near boiling before mashing in, and adjust it downward, if necessary, by adding cold to reach mash temp.

[Stevie]

Good idea. If you get it hot enough it will be sanitized too.

I would still follow up with starsan personally.

[euge]

With some small fiddling one could probably brew and ferment in a conical. BIAB with HERMS or RIMS. Dump the trub after chilling.

[BrewArk]

Good idea. If you get it hot enough it will be sanitized too.

I would still follow up with starsan personally.

Why? At the temp of the HLT there's not going to be anything in there.  Seems like more hassle w/the foam to me, let alone the cost.
Now if your going to make up 5 gal of starsan anyway for your utensils, then maybe it wouldn't hurt to double use it, but I wouldn't just for an already sanitized container.

[Stevie]

Good idea. If you get it hot enough it will be sanitized too.

I would still follow up with starsan personally.

Why? At the temp of the HLT there's not going to be anything in there.  Seems like more hassle w/the foam to me, let alone the cost.
Now if your going to make up 5 gal of starsan anyway for your utensils, then maybe it wouldn't hurt to double use it, but I wouldn't just for an already sanitized container.

I make my starsan with RO and save it for months. I replace it when it gets dirty or the volume becomes too low to be useful. I'd put my cost at about $6 a year for the water and concentrate. Also a spray bottle set to mist/foam would work as well without needing to fill the fermenter.

Don't fear the foam. It's 100% fine for it to be in the beer.

Depending on the volume, the hot liquor may not touch all parts of the fermenter long enough to sanitize.

[4himarks]

Depending on the volume, the hot liquor may not touch all parts of the fermenter long enough to sanitize.

The volume will be pretty full, but SS is a pretty good conductor of heat, so I expect that keeping boiling or near boiling water in it for several hours would heat the whole thing to sanitizing temperatures. I also clean everything with PBW and rinse clean immediately after I empty it, so there should not be anything able to grow in the first place.

[Stevie]

To me, the extra few minutes to sanitize with a chemical sanitizer, which can be done during the boil or chilling, is well worth any perceived hassle.

Try it without the sanitizer, pull off a sample after filling the fermenter (before pitching yeast), and perform a wort stability test. You could also set aside a bottle for longterm stability testing.