Stainless steel thermos - ideas please

[masterosouffle]

Right got a real bargain from eBay this week, a stainless steel thermos canister / flask, holds about 6litres and has a double skin with about 20mm between, the lid clips down but being 40mm thick and with differing levels s out of the equation for modifying.
I currently just simple 3tier so I'd like to use to move things up a notch, but how...

Here's a link to the item, it's bigger than it looks and is really sturdy! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110910232410? ... 26_rdc%3D1

Any ideas greatly appreciated!

[Fil]

initially it looks like a prime candidate for a herms heat exchanger, with the volume and insulation it would be very efficient, but would need a lot of cutting drilling etc making it a lot of work. too much for the nominal difference the efficiency makes imho..

best thing i can come up with is a stable environment to get your starter going in??
fit a fan stirer and 2l flask inside and seal to keep temp??

or if you just use it to keep your brewday beer bottles cold

its shiny and a bargain so must have some use, if you post detailed pics of the lid bottom, and walls you may get more inspired solutions?

[StrangeBrew]

Hopback?

[Froggit]

You could use it for its origional use which i suspect may have been storing and transporting semen

[masterosouffle]

That's gross, but unlikely, in the lid is a little engraving, some arabic, made in ROK and little pis of tea and coffee pots with steam coming out of the sppouts. So as much as I love the semen idea, it looks like they were made for hot foodstuffsm

As for modifying it, the thickness of the walls concerns me as does the fact its not very big (in tank terms) and that any in / out pipes will have to be welded due to the curved surfaces... I think herms or hop back are the way forward, it would be herms without doubt, but don't think I could fit a normal element, is there anothher option?

[Cazamodo]

I cant see the picture at work, but whats the lid like? Could you have the in/out come through the top?

[barneey]

You could use it for its origional use which i suspect may have been storing and transporting semen

How the hell would one person fill that up? or would that be over the course of a year?

[masterosouffle]

You could use it for its origional use which i suspect may have been storing and transporting semen

How the hell would one person fill that up? or would that be over the course of a year?

A year!?!? You've got ten minutes at midnight when free view starts

[darkonnis]

I had some plans for one of these (from marmite) to use as a hopback, mainly because of the sealable lid, it'd work very much like the hoprocket. With the pump after it instead of pumping through it, it should be able to hack it without overflowing.
Herms could work. someone did have a link for an element which you just dip in to a liquid as opposed to having to fix. That said, you could fit the element to the bottom and mount it on legs, put the coil round the outside and that would give you the best and certainly the most even heat transfer.

[masterosouffle]

I really like these ideas, does anyone know the best way of drilling it and for connecting pipes etc?

[darkonnis]

Check out wolfies build, that would certainly be worth looking at and he goes into a lot of detail regarding how to do it all

[masterosouffle]

Right after doing loads. Of reading, and being very jealous of everyone's builds, I have decided to create a new Herms system. However, I don't think this will work and plan on using a Tesco stainless steel deep fat fryer, but thought this might make a perfect underback...
I reckon I can get a couple of holes though the lid for 3/8th" parallel nipples, but have been looking at float switches, does anyone have any idea where I can find a float switch that I can mount through the double skin? (about 18-20mm thick)
Cheers