Multiple brews... a question

Trying to figure this out.

Sunday we'll be bottling our first brew, a bock made with a True Brew Extract Kit.

I want to get a batch of Ed's Apfelwein going, and we also want to start working on a porter.

Here's the conundrum. We have a basic kit. A bottling bucket, a primary fermenting bucket and a Better Bottle for secondary settling.

The Apfelwein needs four weeks in the fermenter, was originally thinking I'd make it in the Better Bottle.

But we can't get the porter going if I don't have somewhere to rack it to, aside from the bottling bucket. Could we rack the porter to the bottling bucket, or is that a bad idea?

I could go purchase a second Better Bottle, but would like to forego that at this point, since extra money isn't in high supply due to the holidays (not to mention I might get some cash for Christmas, to spend on brew supplies of course!).

One other thought, at Target the other night I found a five gallon "water" bottle with a handle in it, but it has the number 7 in the triangle on the bottom of it. I believe that isn't the right type for fermenting, correct?

Thanks for the thoughts...

You could make the apfelwein in the better bottle, and ferment the porter, and the wheat in your sig for that matter, in your primary without using a secondary. The porter will be a darker beer, and the wheat is supposed to be cloudy, so you could get away with it.

- magno

What about primary your apfelwein in the bucket, rack to better bottle when ready, then just brew your porter in the primary and don't secondary at all (or secondary after a longer period in primary)? The best beer I've made yet was left in the primary for 3 weeks (pretty much totally forgotten about due to my life at the time) then bottled with no secondary at all (thinking I may skip the secondary step altogether and turn my carboy into primary #2 - with a blowoff).

I found that I got totally caught up in the "right" way to do things very early on and really didn't need to. As long as your sanitation is good, things like going to a secondary are optional. You also don't need to worry too much about leaving the beer on the yeast cake as long as you get it off within 4 weeks or so.

Anyway, just my two cents.