FlexTanks

[FrEwing]

Any one have any experience storing in FlexTanks? I'm interested if any flavor distortion takes place storing in the polyethelene type tank. They're used primarily for wine storage and aging.

[Mash]

In my experience any food grade tank is fine, as I store at 100 proof or slightly under. Some use a higher barrel strength as the concentration allows for more bottle volume, (needs to be proofed) vs barrel volume.

[Blackheart]

We use HDPE for short term spirit storage and there's no problem. We'll upgrade to stainless when we get more coin, naturally.

[FrEwing]

Mash and Black Heart - thanks for the feed back. I truly understand the need for coin. The up front costs continue to amaze me.

[rumfarmer]

I have 6 Flextank Apollos for fermenting and 5 of their 80 gallon poly fermenters for that I got when I was starting smaller. Once I do a decent run, I plan on testing the 80 gallon for storage. Ended up being an unneeded purchase on the little tanks, so I hope their don't ruin anything. I will let you know as soon as I know.

[FrEwing]

Thanks, Soogdog. I'm planning to get the Dexter 50 and 80 gallon Heavy Duty (to reduce the O2 cross over) My concerns are both flavor distortion and Oxidation, I assume the TTB has no problem with Flextanks????

[bluestar]

I have 6 Flextank Apollos for fermenting and 5 of their 80 gallon poly fermenters for that I got when I was starting smaller. Once I do a decent run, I plan on testing the 80 gallon for storage. Ended up being an unneeded purchase on the little tanks, so I hope their don't ruin anything. I will let you know as soon as I know.

How are you feeling about those Apollos? What have you been fermenting in them, and how is clean up and reuse?

[rumfarmer]

Bluestar, I have no experience with them in production. Only done some basic filling, emptying, and cleaning to get a feel for them. My ferments are pure cane juice that is pressed on site. I have about 20 acres of sugar cane I grow for my agricultural rum here in Hawaii. Until I am ready to actually do a production spirit run, I don't want to cut the 2800 lbs of cane I need just to fill one of them.

The setup is great, though. Two butterfly valves at the bottom. One at the absolute bottom of the vessel, the other just above allowing wash removal above the sediment. They are very light weight for their size, too. I am still a month or two from full production (God willing), and I will keep you informed. My assumption in purchasing these was that they are great for wine, so they should be great for an agricultural rum made from only freshly pressed cane. Only time will tell.