Has anybody on this site ever been enticed to find or build a stainless steel fermenter designed more or less like the ubiquitous plastic bucket fermenters that are so readily available? If so, where did you find the bucket?
I've searched off and on for a couple years, and the closest I can find is lined steel barrels at either 5 gal or 10 gallon size; unlined and 7 - 8 gallons would be perfect.
Maybe I just don't know how to search for it, but it seems they would already be around given the advantages:
* much lower cost than a conical or a ten gallon corny (which I can only find new for lots of $$)
* easy to clean and sanitize; can use heat, no worry about breakage
* easier to move, similar to moving a plastic bucket, and right-sized to fit in most fridges for fermentation temp control
* could be readily adapted with weldless spigots and CO2 fittings.
* same container could be used for primary or secondary with use of CO2.
The ability to dump yeast with a conical is cool I admit, but not worth hundreds of dollars of expense to me.
Right now I use a combination of five gallon cornies, plastic buckets, and glass carboys for primary or secondary fermentation, but I'd get rid of all of it in a second for a more versatile, durable, and coherent system of ss buckets. And while the corny as fermenter is not bad, getting in there to clean it is not as easy as with buckets, and I'd prefer a more squat geometry for the fermentation. And of course, there is the used keg option, but the half kegs that I've seen take up a huge amount of foot print for 8 gallons, and take more metal work than I desire to do.
Thanks for your thoughts.