Can i use my bottling bucket as a secondary?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

beersurgeon

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2012
Messages
23
Reaction score
0
Location
Minneapolis
So I'm STILL trying to find time to brew, but am becoming very adept at the technical aspects, thanks to reading and HBT.

I have the Midwest basic kit and it comes with this bottling bucket.

Seems to me that I can use it as a secondary if I buy a lid and add an airlock. No?
 
beersurgeon said:
So I'm STILL trying to find time to brew, but am becoming very adept at the technical aspects, thanks to reading and HBT.

I have the Midwest basic kit and it comes with this bottling bucket.

Seems to me that I can use it as a secondary if I buy a lid and add an airlock. No?

I am still very new but have heard that spigot buckets are not good for fermenting due to possible leakage. You could use it to transfer the beer to and then back to a cleaned primary which would then act as your secondary.
 
Been there tried that. It seems like a good idea at the time, but you will come back to your brew the next day and find that a puddle has formed underneath the spigot. When I first started out with only an ale pail and a bottling bucket I would just siphon into the bottling bucket, rinse the ale pail in bleach water really quick, attach the siphon hose to the spigot and let er rip. I did 3 or 4 batches this way and never really had a problem with infection or oxidation.
 
On the other side of the coin, I've brewed all of my 5 gallon batches (160 gallons) in fermenters with spigots and only had 1 little leak (my fault) that I've since corrected.
 
I just put together a batch of stout for primary in my bottling bucket (because I have a mead in one carboy that'll need to rack to the other one before the stout is ready to move). It's been going since Sunday with no signs of leakage. This is the first time I've tried this, and only my second batch, but it seems like it ought to work. I did a search on here before attempting this and found more than a few people, like petey, who have fermented without problem in buckets with spigots.

If your spigot's washers have seen many attach/detach cycles, I'd look into replacing them to ensure a good contact. Also, be sure you sanitize it well, inside and out, just to avoid getting dirt on it in case I decide to rack out using the spigot (though I would still re-sanitize it before doing that).
 
I have used virtually every kind of container for fermentation. There may be some minor inconveniences such as the small leaks described above, but if its clean and you can put a top and airlock on it, there shouldn't be a problem.
 
You will want more fermenters anyway. Just go and get a carboy. You will be happier in the long run plus the bottling bucket has too much headspace to be a proper secondary.
 
Been there tried that. It seems like a good idea at the time, but you will come back to your brew the next day and find that a puddle has formed underneath the spigot. When I first started out with only an ale pail and a bottling bucket I would just siphon into the bottling bucket, rinse the ale pail in bleach water really quick, attach the siphon hose to the spigot and let er rip. I did 3 or 4 batches this way and never really had a problem with infection or oxidation.

Same here. It didn't matter if the rubber washers were on the inside, the outside, or one on each side, it leaked. Best thing I ever did was retire the bottling bucket to yard duty.
 
So I'm STILL trying to find time to brew, but am becoming very adept at the technical aspects, thanks to reading and HBT.

I have the Midwest basic kit and it comes with this bottling bucket.

Seems to me that I can use it as a secondary if I buy a lid and add an airlock. No?

Have you figured out why you are going to secondary? Many of us do not secondary without a good reason and find that leaving our beer just in the primary gets us beer that is clear. Why not try leaving your beer in the primary for 3 weeks and then carefully siphon it to the bottling bucket with priming sugar and bottle from there.
 
As far as leaky spigots I have a video with some tips on how to prevent them from leaking.
I have spigots on 3 of 4 of my fermenters. In the beginning I had to do some quick work to avoid losing a batch of lager, and I have battled another leaky spigot since.

The first thing I did to fix them was to add vaseline around the spigot itself. Its a food grade sealant. Also, don't over tighten the spigot as it will cause the rubber washer to squish and become uneven. Sometimes less is more when tightening a spigot.

Once you have tightened and quickly tested your spigot for leakes. Fill it up to 23L with some sanitizer and let it sit with the spigot over a bowl placed in the sink to catch the drips. If you wake up the next day and find water in the bowl, you need to fix your spigot. Its not hard at all. I use a 1" core, take my time, and bore a hole that the spigot screws into. It makes taking gravity samples much easier and less intrusive.
 
RM-MN said:
Have you figured out why you are going to secondary? Many of us do not secondary without a good reason and find that leaving our beer just in the primary gets us beer that is clear. Why not try leaving your beer in the primary for 3 weeks and then carefully siphon it to the bottling bucket with priming sugar and bottle from there.

I'm trying to figure out how i want to pipeline. Seemed to me like a secondary was a good way to free up the primary.

Figured that a staggered 3 step cycle (brew, secondary, bottle) would be good for sundays and generate new beer after 9 weeks at a minimum.

I guess the other option is just getting a second fermenter and doing a 2 step cycle. Then aim for 3 in primary and 3 in bottles generating beer every 6 weeks.

I wish i just had the $ to keg...
 
Just get 4 of em and wing it like I do ... When I see my stash depleting, I make another batch. I don't calculate anything, and everything seems to work out in the end.. lol
 
HopHeadGrady said:
Just get 4 of em and wing it like I do ... When I see my stash depleting, I make another batch. I don't calculate anything, and everything seems to work out in the end.. lol

So you run 4 fermenters? Roughly how often do you run low and start a new batch?
 
Just noticed that I did a lousy job editing my above post. What I meant to say was: I sanitized inside and out, then wrapped the spigot in a plastic bag and rubber-banded it on to keep dirt from getting into the spigot while it was fermenting.
 
I am running 4 fermenting buckets right now and brew every week. I keep them in the primary and do not move to a secondary unless I am lagering or adding fruit.
 
BamaRooster said:
I am running 4 fermenting buckets right now and brew every week. I keep them in the primary and do not move to a secondary unless I am lagering or adding fruit.

So you brew batches A, B, C, D. The day you brew D is the same day you bottle A? Or do you bottle A and brew A' in the old A fermenter? And how long do you condition or do you vary based on style?
 
So you brew batches A, B, C, D. The day you brew D is the same day you bottle A? Or do you bottle A and brew A' in the old A fermenter? And how long do you condition or do you vary based on style?
Because of my work schedule I concentrate my brews on the weekend. So yes
A, B, C, D then bottle A on Friday or Saturday and brew for that empty bucket on Saturday or Sunday respectively. Next week empty bottle B and refill the next day or so. I have done bottling and brewing on the same day but try to avoid that when possible. :rockin:

Yes conditioning varies by style, darker and high gravity beers being allotted more time. Generally I condition minimum 3 weeks at 70 degrees and then min 2 days int he fridge, 1 week is better and 2 weeks in fridge is best for clarity and head retention. But in the end the beer is ready when it is ready, yeast usually have a schedule of their own. Sometimes a beer is gonna be ready, when that beer is ready and no sooner.
 
I can't really break down the math as far as how it all works. I was born with the amazing ability to not really think too hard about stuff like that. Sometimes a fermenter will stay empty during the week etc. I am the same as you, I do most of my brewing on the weekend. I can kind of look at the various stages of my beer and 'feel' that it's time to brew again.... crack a homebrew and harness the jedi powers... :)

There is just so many variables involved with my beers a cookie cutter time schedule will not work. Some brews take longer than others, some need lagering. My only guideline is when one batch hits maturity and can be drank, another is bottled. I have had a lager going for nearly a month now.
 
Back
Top