Bottling bucket question

What do you use as a bottling bucket? If I am only using it to add the priming sugar and the beer to be bottled, does it have to be a food grade container, or can it be one of those $5 ones from Home Depot? Thanks for your input!

Jason

It is to add the priming sugar without stirring up any trub.

If you came over to my house and I offered you a drink of water out of a Home Depot bucket would you drink it?

Look at the bottom of the bucket at home depot if it has a triangle with a 2 in it, All the ones i have seen at the hardware store did, it IS food grade. That is where i bought mine, screw paying 20 dollars at the LHBS.

Cheers

wop31 said:

Look at the bottom of the bucket at home depot if it has a triangle with a 2 in it, All the ones i have seen at the hardware store did, it IS food grade. That is where i bought mine, screw paying 20 dollars at the LHBS.

Cheers

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Not according to what I have read.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/plastics.html

"Number '2' triangle symbol here"
HDPE (high density polyethylene) is used in milk, juice and water containers in order to take advantage of its excellent protective barrier properties. Its chemical resistance properties also make it well suited for items such as containers for household chemicals and detergents. Most five gallon food buckets are made from HDPE.

Not All HDPE Containers Are Food Grade

There is a common misconception that all containers made of white HDPE plastic bearing the symbol are food grade containers. This is not true.

If you are considering the purchase of a container from some place other than a kitchen or restaurant supply store, and the container is not clearly labeled as "food safe" or being made of food grade plastic, then you should assume that it is not food grade and you should not brine in it—unless you line it with a food grade plastic bag.

*edit* just found another site where someone claims to have called and confirmed the home depot buckets are food grade. This could turn into the new Aluminum vs. Stainless debate

sorry i was wrong, Bad WOP No cookie!

But i am still going to use my plastic bucket for my sanitizer and my bottling bucket.


Cheers

GaryA said:

It is to add the priming sugar without stirring up any trub.

If you came over to my house and I offered you a drink of water out of a Home Depot bucket would you drink it?

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Yeah, but then I drink out of the garden hose, too!

Did you know the cover remover (plastic opener) is the same as the ones offered at the HBS, but at least $2.00 cheaper???

Movinfr8 said:

Yeah, but then I drink out of the garden hose, too!

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Hi my name is GaryA and I too drink out of the hose.

Home Depot buckets don't have a spigot on the side...which is what makes it a bottling bucket and not just a bucket.

Uh i use a siphon in my bottling bucket, it doesn't have a spigot, guess it's just a bucket then, I think that it will be sad because of the demotion


CHeers

You can always drill a hole and buy a spigot separately. IMHO, if it's new, clean, and sanitized, there is little harm in using a normal bucket.

Spigots are over-rated, in my opinion. What's wrong with just using a siphon hose, I ask? What's wrong with it? Actually, now that I think of it, what are the advantages? I've only ever used my primary fermenter bucket, and a siphon hose/racking cane. Is it easier/cleaner to have a spigot?

I have always used a spigot, seemed to make the most sense to me.

What sized hole do you have to drill to use those spigots? I have a brew bucket without one, that I would like to drill into to put the spigot on so I can have more versatility out of each bucket, is it 3/4" or 1"?

I drink out of the hose too.

Judd said:

Spigots are over-rated, in my opinion. What's wrong with just using a siphon hose, I ask? What's wrong with it? Actually, now that I think of it, what are the advantages? I've only ever used my primary fermenter bucket, and a siphon hose/racking cane. Is it easier/cleaner to have a spigot?

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You have FAR more control over the flow than with a siphon line. You can regulate flow at the spigot so you don't fill bottles too quickly. fast filling with some wands does froth up the beer, which means you aerated it, which means it may become oxidized.

frankly I just find it a lot easier. No racking cane to slide around, and since you just racked it to the bottling bucket, there is NO TRUB in the bottom, so you don't have to worry about your racking cane sliding around and sucking up a bunch of yeast, from primary or secondary.

malkore said:

You have FAR more control over the flow than with a siphon line. You can regulate flow at the spigot so you don't fill bottles too quickly. fast filling with some wands does froth up the beer, which means you aerated it, which means it may become oxidized.

frankly I just find it a lot easier. No racking cane to slide around, and since you just racked it to the bottling bucket, there is NO TRUB in the bottom, so you don't have to worry about your racking cane sliding around and sucking up a bunch of yeast, from primary or secondary.

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I don't think they bottled right from the primary or secondary. So that means they are still racking to another bucket.
The plus of the spigot over the racking cane I have found is that I have a short (like 2 inch hose) that hooks to the spigot and the bottling wand. I can just place the bucket on the counter, turn on the spigot and slide the bottle over the wand. When it hits the bottom it flows. When it gets to the top of the bottle I lower the bottle and the flow stops. Then just repeat until all the brew is in the bottles. No trying to start a siphon and lose it when the brew level get's to low.
the spigot is just way easier.

+1 on the short tube between the spigot and bottling wand. My first batch I used a long tube, and several times (every 6 or so bottles) needed to find a way to sit it down someplace that was sterile. With a short tube, the bottling wand can just hang there from the spigot, and you can bring the bottle up to the wand to fill them. This really speeds up the process and simplifies the process.

I'm not sure what diameter the hole in the bucket is for the spigot - my guess is that it's 1/2". If you buy a spigot, it should say what diameter is required.

Here's the spigot I use: http://www.brewsource.com/ProdNav/Disp_295.asp

DaveGerard said:

What sized hole do you have to drill to use those spigots? I have a brew bucket without one, that I would like to drill into to put the spigot on so I can have more versatility out of each bucket, is it 3/4" or 1"?

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Mine was 15/16". And my bit was a hole saw. Be sure to leave space for the nut on the inside, but keep it as low in the bucket as possible.

So did anyone actually find out if a homedepot bucket is foodgrade?

That would be way cheaper than buying primaries from LHBS. Plus if it gets scratched up or something I can just throw it out.

You're going to have to be your own judge. Usually when "food" or "medical" grade is stamped on an item, it has WAY more to do with the level of inspection and testing involved, not the actual manufacturing of the item (which is usually identical). I see no reason to suspect any problems with Home Depot buckets, just clean the hell out of 'em without scrubbing scratches into 'em, and give it a shot. We tell people who think they have bacteria growing in there beer, to go ahead and drink it if it tastes good.... I'd give the same advice to you (and I wouldn't touch a beer that had bacteria in it).