#5 Plastic for bottling bucket

So in my effort to keep things cheap, I stopped by a bakery today to grab some free buckets for storage and a bottling bucket. I was expecting the buckets to be #1 or #2, but they were #5 plastic. Is this type of plastic still safe for use as grain storage or as a bottling bucket? I don't plan on fermenting in these.

Thanks.

studmonk3y said:

So in my effort to keep things cheap, I stopped by a bakery today to grab some free buckets for storage and a bottling bucket. I was expecting the buckets to be #1 or #2, but they were #5 plastic. Is this type of plastic still safe for use as grain storage or as a bottling bucket? I don't plan on fermenting in these.

Thanks.

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Well if they contained anything food grade originally in it, then there isn't really an issue...and if they held frosting or anything like that in it, they contained that stuff much, much longer than the hour we are having our beers sit in the bottling bucket...right?

What Revvy said, always keeping in mind the #'s 2, 3, 5 are not a designation of food contact safe.

Thanks. I figured it would be safe for bottling purposes but wanted to double check.

northernlad said:

What Revvy said, always keeping in mind the #'s 2, 3, 5 are not a designation of food contact safe.

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While this is technically true, the numbers tell what type of plasitic you have and is not a designation of food safety by the FDA, if you know what the material is then you have a general idea of what is and what is not food contact safe. If you'll simply read up the the material in question.


here's a place to start http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling

#2 HDPE: Water pipes, Hula-Hoop (children's game) rings, Milk, juice and water bottles; the occasional shampoo / toiletry bottle
most beer and or wine fermantation buckets are made of #2. Most brewers are leary of using any #2 that has any color other that white.

#3 PCV: Juice bottles; cling films; PVC piping
generally not considered safe for hot liqiuds but cold and cool is generally considered safe, many if not most cold water in home plumbing is PVC

#5 Polypropylene: Reusable microwaveable ware; kitchenware; yogurt containers; margarine tubs; microwaveable disposable take-away containers; disposable cups and plates

I'd say a cheap and easy way to tell if it will impart any off flavors are
1. If it smells, then wash it as see if it still smells.
2. if so let a solution of 1/4 cup Chlorox bleach per gallon of water sit in it a few days
3. let a bucket of water sit in it for a week if the water has an off flavors I would not use it

My dad is a swimming coach at a local high school. When they "shock" the pool with cholorine they use 5 gallon #2 recycled plastic buckets. They have a screw on lid that would easily be drilled to fit an airlock. Would be interesting to see if these could work in some way. What do you guys think?

The danger with that is that since they contain clhorine in contact with the plastic you rin the risk of having chloramines in your beer. THey are tricky buggers, often it comes from a cumulative building up of your brewing water/beer's contact with chlorine. I would be worried that those bucket are so permeated from holding chlorine that it would affect your beer.

For lack of a better word what is the half-life of chlorine? If you were to let it sit with just say water in it for a month then just clean it with soap?