5 Gallon Water Jugs

theganda · 02-26-2009, 04:44 PM

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum but have been reading these posts for a while now. I've brewed (and drank) one batch and have another fermenting right now. I was planning on making more this weekend after coming upon a few empty 5 gallon water-cooler style jugs. Are these alright to use as fermenters? I also don't know how to scale the recipe down to fit comfortably in a 5 gallon fermenter so I don't have a krausen-airlock catastrophe. Finally, if it is fine to use should i use an airlock or a blow off? Thanks for the help!

**bradsul** · 02-26-2009, 04:49 PM

This one has been hashed out quite a bit.

Try this thread http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/5-gallon-culligan-bottles-27398/?highlight=culligan to start, that should help you get an answer.

I wouldn't try and put a 5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon fermenter, that will be really messy. If you do a blow off tube is mandatory. As for scaling recipes, check out the brewing software forum, most of the major software have free trials and there is some excellent free software too. You can also post to the recipes forum and get assistance.

theganda · 02-26-2009, 05:02 PM

Oops, didn't mean to double post. Thanks for the help. Just downloaded the trial of beersmith, I'll give the scaling feature a try.

**bradsul** · 02-26-2009, 05:05 PM

No worries! And welcome to HBT!