Vat - Stockpots

[Cheese Head]

Wayne, great set up , I'm very envious!

[wharris]

Thanks for the replies.  What's brewing in the background is my 2008 vintage. My other hobby is winemaking.  I crush and ferment my wine in september. Some of that is from some California Cabernet Savignon grapes, and some from Erie Pa grown, Chancellor grapes.

I will say that my first cheddar with the new heater worked fantastic.  I hit all my time/temp/pH numbers perfectly and on time.  Here is a picture of that batch, as i have just taken it out of the press.

I am unfamiliar with the iButton products, but will be reading soon.   

BTW, I used 5.5psi of pressure on this wheel during my 24hour press.
-Wayne

[Tea]

Well I must say that that look perfect.  Just out of interest, why did you choose the PSI ratio?  It time like these were I wish we were all able to sample each other cheeses, and see what the difference is.

I make mead, which is another of my hobbies, and one which I am really starting to enjoy.  Hope the wine turns out as successful as the cheese looks.

[wharris]

At some point,   I may upgrade from 20qt to  something like a 100qt stock pot:

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/100_QT_PROFESSIONAL_POT_P1490C50.cfm

[wharris]

can someone tell me why aluminum would not work for a cheese vat?

[Cartierusm]

The same reason it doesn't work for wine making, beer brewing and ritual sacrifice. The aluminum reacts to the acids the starter is and makes. As well as natural acids. Hell when I've looked in the past for larger stock pots I noticed that MOST stainless steel pots have stainless handles but are riveted on with aluminum rivets. And of course the rivets are exposed inside the pot and even that won't work. You have to make sure the entire pot is stainless and the rivets are not aluminum or the handles are spot welded on. You can have a stainless pot with an aluminum bottom, on the outside or course, which helps tremendously with with even heating.

[wharris]

Yes,  I am aware of the acidity issue.  Eventually the mild acids will pit the aluminum.

But, c'mon.  I make like 10lbs of cheese a month.  Am i really worried that i will dissolve my pot?

Also,  i just watched a video of cheese being made in wooden trays.  And its not like stainless steel has been around for thousands of years.

So, while I can be sold on the idea that SS is needed in a commercial dairy,  but why do "I" need it. I am not against it.  Heck, I love it.  And as a wine maker, I would really love to get some SS tanks for my primary ferments. 

But, will a plastic an NSF rated HDPE 8gal bucket really be that bad for cheesemaking?  Will an aluminum stockpot really be that bad? 

Its just hard for me to believe.

[Cartierusm]

Wayne, it's not a question of ruining a pot, it's the off flavor and reactions caused by the acid mind-melding with the aluminum making it hard to control the outcome of the product.

I wouldn't be opposed to using NSF Food grade plastic, but plastic doesn't react the same way. Use a plastic bucket or a steam table tourine like I used holds enough milk for 5 gallons. Or do what I suggested cut open a keg; pretty cheap and a lot more heavy duty than any pot you can buy.

[wharris]

The reason i ask is i watched this video.

[Cartierusm]

Are you talking about them using wood? If so, I would rather use wood than aluminum. I don't see any reason not to use wood as long as you use an acid based sanitizer like Star San. It's a no rinse formula, get the non-foaming. It's used in beer and wine making. You don't even have to let it dry, it's just acid based so it won't really affect anything.

[Cheese Head]

Ha cute video, hope you don't mind if I link it on the website!

[Cartierusm]

I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to make 20-50 pound wheels and how I would heat that much liquid. I can do 15 gallons easy, just use one of my keg kettles. I wonder what is available to me that I could use that is that big. Then again a wheel made from a 5 gallon bucket and 15 gallons milk would probably be big enough.

What's the biggest batch you've made Wayne.

[Cheese Head]

Carter, 15 US gal batch! That will make a big wheel and what will you do with all tha cheese, block party?

[wharris]

I have made a 6 gal batch.   But mostly my batches are 4-5 gallon.

But you bring up a good point.
I would like to make reduce the amount of time I spend making cheese. When i make a batch of cheddar,  its a 7-10 hour commitment.  And that is regardless of how much cheese i am making.

So, Instead of every weekend. I would prefer to make cheese about once a month. 
that being said, I would like to make s single  wheel that is about 8-10kg.  Once a month.

I would like to make 20-ish gallon batches.  That is gonna start pushing the limits of the equipment access.  I can get a 20 gallon stockpot,  but at 20 gallons,  everything starts to change. 


So, this is what i think about. How do i remove the whey,  how do i drain, how to cut the curd, how do stir....  These are all operational problems to solve.    (rhetorical questions, that i ask myself)

But, like Cartierusm, i would like to make a larger wheel, less often.

That means I

[Cartierusm]

Well that's an easy one, Wayne. You could just get what ever container you'll do it in and buy a weldless ball valve, stainless of course, from a home brew store. So you would do like a regular cheeseary cut the curd, use the ball valve to drain the whey and then cheddar in the same vessel.