Using bottling bucket as fermenter

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jww9618

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Is it possible to use a bottling bucket as a fermenter? What problems could arise using a bottling bucket as a fermenter with a lid?
 
the only immediately problem I see is that you then have no bottling bucket available on bottling day. :D

It should work fine, but I don't know about using the spigot to drain it. It might suck out a lot of trub from the bottom of the thing when you open it up.
 
I used mine once for a primary; no issues. As was mentioned in the previous post, I think the biggest potential problem is draining out trub along with the beer. I visited an acquaintance who homebrews, and he had a bunch of batches going- ALL in bottling buckets. He also had made a wooden wedge for each bucket that tilted it back around 10 degrees, which enabled him to drain out nearly all of the beer with no trub
 
He also had made a wooden wedge for each bucket that tilted it back around 10 degrees, which enabled him to drain out nearly all of the beer with no trub

Say that's a good idea. Only thing is that I'd fill up the spigot with a little star san before pouring the wort in. Also, might not be a bad idea to "cap" the spigot end too, so no nasties can crawl up it.
 
Yeah, it works great. I always wrap the spigot in the aluminum foil from my starter. As far as sucking trub through, I just drain the first bit into a separate container so I get the trub out, then I finish transferring the beer into the keg or another bottling bucket for bottling.
 
tedclev said:
Yeah, it works great. I always wrap the spigot in the aluminum foil from my starter. As far as sucking trub through, I just drain the first bit into a separate container so I get the trub out, then I finish transferring the beer into the keg or another bottling bucket for bottling.

+1 on that
 
I recently started doing this. Much easier to transfer into a keg than trying to siphon.
The trick is to barely open the spigot when draining. It takes awhile to drain it into the keg but with the beer moving slow you don't disturb the trub and none goes into the keg.
Cold crashing before hand also helps.
 
I have 8 bottling buckets that I use for fermentation - one of the best changes I ever made - never need to siphon. A few considerations though-

*The biggest potential negative is that the spigot has the potential to introduce infection. I always totally take spigots apart for cleaning and sanitizing. I actually assemble the spigot and put it in the bucket while it is all submerged in star-san. Maybe overkill, but that is the price of peace of mind for me.

*When I take the bucket out of star san, I lean it upside down while I am finishing chilling my wort. I close the spigot and put a plastic sandwhich bag over it with a rubber band to keep dust etc. out of it for the 2-3 week ferment.

*When it comes time to drain for kegging or bottling, I spray a bunch of starsan up into the spigot to sanitize it.

*I usually set the bucket up on the counter the night before I want to transfer to keg - lets trub/yeast settle a bit from any movement.

*Sometimes you can get a little leaking around the spigot if the seal is not tight. Has never been a "big" deal for me. If it does leak a bit, it always stops pretty quickly and I just spray the seal area really good with starsan. Sometimes you need to use a gasket on the inside and outside of the bucket to get the best seal.

I almost never have any problem with trub, etc. I only use primary, but I go for 3 weeks, so everything has settled well.

Also, besides no siphoning - it is absolutely a great way to harvest yeast. Just leave a bit of liquid in the bottom, swirl up the bucket a bit and pull a mason jar out of your star san, fill it up half way with beer/yeast and put the sanitized lid on. Put it in the fridge and you are good to go.

Been using bottling buckets for 4 years or so - almost bought some SS conicals. Best decision I ever made to just use bottling buckets instead.
 
I have 8 bottling buckets that I use for fermentation - one of the best changes I ever made - never need to siphon. A few considerations though-

*The biggest potential negative is that the spigot has the potential to introduce infection. I always totally take spigots apart for cleaning and sanitizing. I actually assemble the spigot and put it in the bucket while it is all submerged in star-san. Maybe overkill, but that is the price of peace of mind for me.

*When I take the bucket out of star san, I lean it upside down while I am finishing chilling my wort. I close the spigot and put a plastic sandwhich bag over it with a rubber band to keep dust etc. out of it for the 2-3 week ferment.

*When it comes time to drain for kegging or bottling, I spray a bunch of starsan up into the spigot to sanitize it.

*I usually set the bucket up on the counter the night before I want to transfer to keg - lets trub/yeast settle a bit from any movement.

*Sometimes you can get a little leaking around the spigot if the seal is not tight. Has never been a "big" deal for me. If it does leak a bit, it always stops pretty quickly and I just spray the seal area really good with starsan. Sometimes you need to use a gasket on the inside and outside of the bucket to get the best seal.

I almost never have any problem with trub, etc. I only use primary, but I go for 3 weeks, so everything has settled well.

Also, besides no siphoning - it is absolutely a great way to harvest yeast. Just leave a bit of liquid in the bottom, swirl up the bucket a bit and pull a mason jar out of your star san, fill it up half way with beer/yeast and put the sanitized lid on. Put it in the fridge and you are good to go.

Been using bottling buckets for 4 years or so - almost bought some SS conicals. Best decision I ever made to just use bottling buckets instead.

Reviving an old thread.

I am having issues with oxidation so I've thought about using my bottling bucket to ferment in as well. My question is, how are you priming the beer and not disrupting too much trub while bottling? I don't keg.
 
Reviving an old thread.

I am having issues with oxidation so I've thought about using my bottling bucket to ferment in as well. My question is, how are you priming the beer and not disrupting too much trub while bottling? I don't keg.

If I bottled, I would still move to a bottling bucket for priming and bottling. No real way around that. One suggestion is to possibly buy a 5lb CO2 tank and hose/tubing. You can use that to "purge" your bottling bucket before transferring wort from fermentation bucket to bottling bucket. Might help cut down on oxygen. Also, really important to make sure tubing is snug between bottling bucket and bottle filler..... often a source of O2 getting in.

The CO2 tank would also be a good purchase in case you go to kegs down the road.

Another option is to use some sort of priming "tablet" that you just put in each bottle. Then you do not need to worry about stirring up sediment. Put the bucket up on a counter 2-3 days before bottling to let settle and avoid moving. Put priming tablet in each bottle and then fill directly from the fermenter. I have not used priming tablets, so might want to ask around for what is best in that department. But, that would be the easiest thing to do if you want to go from fermenter to bottle.
 
My initial method was bottle bucket primary for 2 weeks, rack to carboy for clearing. Then when satisfied with that rack to bucket again with priming solution and go. I never noticed any horrid oxidization but that was also earlier in my brewing days. May have just not known what to look for.

No infections with my experience doing this. Those days are well behind me though.
 
Reviving an old thread.

I am having issues with oxidation so I've thought about using my bottling bucket to ferment in as well. My question is, how are you priming the beer and not disrupting too much trub while bottling? I don't keg.

I have used a bottling bucket for fermentations, but moved on to a Speidel plastic fermenter, which is similar but better (and costs more). Anyway, I bottle straight out of it by dosing each bottle with a solution of sugar that I have boiled and then cooled to room temp. I use a 60 mL plastic syringe, and usually need about 6 mL per bottle (using ~2:1 water:sugar). Is it a pain in the ass? Yeah, kind of, but it works well. I have a spreadsheet with sugar and water weights (before and after boiling) that I use to calculate how much solution I need based on how much priming I want. I fill straight from the spigot on the fermenter, and purge the bottles with CO2 prior to each fill using a 20 oz CO2 paintball can. It works well for me.

You definitely want to keep the spigot clean. After filling the fermenter on brew day, I will get some aluminum foil, spray star-san into it, and then wrap it around the spigot to keep anything from going off in there in case there is a slight leak in the spigot (the new metal spigots that you can get for the Speidel are pretty bomb-proof, though).

Also, tilting the bucket/fermenter (as mentioned above) is a good idea. I use a folded-up magazine or pieces of wooden railroad track to do it.
 
I have used a bottling bucket for fermentations, but moved on to a Speidel plastic fermenter, which is similar but better (and costs more). Anyway, I bottle straight out of it by dosing each bottle with a solution of sugar that I have boiled and then cooled to room temp. I use a 60 mL plastic syringe, and usually need about 6 mL per bottle (using ~2:1 water:sugar). Is it a pain in the ass? Yeah, kind of, but it works well. I have a spreadsheet with sugar and water weights (before and after boiling) that I use to calculate how much solution I need based on how much priming I want. I fill straight from the spigot on the fermenter, and purge the bottles with CO2 prior to each fill using a 20 oz CO2 paintball can. It works well for me.



You definitely want to keep the spigot clean. After filling the fermenter on brew day, I will get some aluminum foil, spray star-san into it, and then wrap it around the spigot to keep anything from going off in there in case there is a slight leak in the spigot (the new metal spigots that you can get for the Speidel are pretty bomb-proof, though).



Also, tilting the bucket/fermenter (as mentioned above) is a good idea. I use a folded-up magazine or pieces of wooden railroad track to do it.


I'm looking into trying to use CO2 and purge my vessels now. A CO2 paintball can will work? I thought I read it could give off a funky smell or something. Is that not the case with you?

Any idea how I could hook something up to the paintball can to help me purge my vessels?
 
I have 8 bottling buckets that I use for fermentation - one of the best changes I ever made - never need to siphon. A few considerations though-

*The biggest potential negative is that the spigot has the potential to introduce infection. I always totally take spigots apart for cleaning and sanitizing. I actually assemble the spigot and put it in the bucket while it is all submerged in star-san. Maybe overkill, but that is the price of peace of mind for me.

*When I take the bucket out of star san, I lean it upside down while I am finishing chilling my wort. I close the spigot and put a plastic sandwhich bag over it with a rubber band to keep dust etc. out of it for the 2-3 week ferment.

*When it comes time to drain for kegging or bottling, I spray a bunch of starsan up into the spigot to sanitize it.

*I usually set the bucket up on the counter the night before I want to transfer to keg - lets trub/yeast settle a bit from any movement.

*Sometimes you can get a little leaking around the spigot if the seal is not tight. Has never been a "big" deal for me. If it does leak a bit, it always stops pretty quickly and I just spray the seal area really good with starsan. Sometimes you need to use a gasket on the inside and outside of the bucket to get the best seal.

I almost never have any problem with trub, etc. I only use primary, but I go for 3 weeks, so everything has settled well.

Also, besides no siphoning - it is absolutely a great way to harvest yeast. Just leave a bit of liquid in the bottom, swirl up the bucket a bit and pull a mason jar out of your star san, fill it up half way with beer/yeast and put the sanitized lid on. Put it in the fridge and you are good to go.

Been using bottling buckets for 4 years or so - almost bought some SS conicals. Best decision I ever made to just use bottling buckets instead.

This is great to hear, I'm planning on getting my folks a brewing setup for Christmas and was looking at MoreBeer's cheapest option which is a 2 bucket + spigot setup.
 
I'm looking into trying to use CO2 and purge my vessels now. A CO2 paintball can will work? I thought I read it could give off a funky smell or something. Is that not the case with you?

Any idea how I could hook something up to the paintball can to help me purge my vessels?

I just have one of the standard 20 oz canisters, and it is controlled by a cheapo aquarium regulator similar to this one. I think I got the one I use from Williams Brewing, and believe it cost ~$25. You need an adapter to connect it to the tank, and there are some linked on the amazon page like this one. You also need 1/8" ID tubing to run out of the adapter. It works alright for bottle purging (I purge maybe 30-60 seconds per bottle, while I'm filling and capping the previous bottle).

I get my canister filled at a local HBS, so it's the same grade CO2 everyone else is using. I've never noticed any taste issues, and I cap on foam, so realistically there isn't much of this CO2 in the bottle when I'm done filling. I do recommend removing the regulator from the CO2 canister whenever you finish using it, because they're pretty cheap regulators and leak. This is really only going to work for you, though, if you can find a convenient place to fill the bottle, so you may want to call your local shop(s) beforehand to see if they can and will fill paintball canisters.
 
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I have spigots on all my fermenters. But I made my own bottling bucket with my trusty Dremel. I set it's spigot a tad lower than the fermenter's spigots. That way, I tilt it slightly to get all but a couple tablespoons out to the bottles.
Even though the spigots have seals outside & inside, I noted how tough it was to tighten them just right so as not to leak. I came up with this simple solution;

Trace one of the seals onto the rubber patch sheet I got at Lowe's. Then cut it out with a razor knife.

Then istall spigot with outside seal in place. Then install new seal, then stock seal, then jam nut. All pre-sanitized, of course. This allows to more easily snug up the spigot seals so they don't leak without over-tightening so easily. As for thr rest, I agree with braufessor. My process as well.
 
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