New Primary Fermenters

Hello everyone,

Today our new fermenters came in today. I bought some 7.8 gallon ones a year or so ago and they are just not working on some of our fruit wines we are making. Just not enough space for everything.

So I found 10 gallon Brute Rubbermaid trash cans on eBay. Got them all washed up and ready.

I am super excited!

Yeah they are great, I get them from a local restaurant supply store.

don't you worry that there may be a bleeding of elastomers (or whatever they are called) into your brew?

We got the white ones, they are food grade, we put paper cups between them when we stack them so a little air can get in between then when they are not in us. You had to wash them because they were used to do what? or were they new and unused? We like to use the drill mounted stirrer, you can really crank it all the way up in a Brute. Good buy! WVMJ

cageybee said:

don't you worry that there may be a bleeding of elastomers (or whatever they are called) into your brew?

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Nope they are food grade.

I have never heard of a 'food grade' trash can.

seems funny they would even make a food grade trash can.

Hogarthe said:

seems funny they would even make a food grade trash can.

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They don't, they make a food storage container that is commonly used for trash...feel better about that?

retread2 said:

I have never heard of a 'food grade' trash can.

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Then you've never heard of a Rubbermaid brute.

How do you keep the lid on during fermentation?

You just use a big rock. This is wine, you dont need to keep the lid on tight, we just put a big dish towel on top held on with a bungee. Brutes have been used for years and years for making wine, many people who are making bigger batches use the 30 gallon brutes, Rubbermaid even has a coaster you can your your carboy on to wheel it around. I like the 10 gallon ones, you can splash all you want and not make much of a mess and they clean up easy to. wvmj

gpitrone said:

How do you keep the lid on during fermentation?

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Gravity does a good job. The lids don't seal air tight but you don't need them to for a primary. Even when I use buckets I just rest the lid on and don't snap it down.

I bought these without lids... they were $17 each and cost me $10.50 to ship. The Lids were $18 each and free shipping... couldn't figure that out. I use towels to cover my wine fermenters. I'll mark these for the five gallon level. However I have been considering them for beer.. but will have to devise a solid fitting lid... anything is possible.