plastic buckets??

BrewSwag 728
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.
thedude00

thedude00

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2010
Messages
431
Reaction score
4
Location
Staten Island, New York
This may a stupid question. I work near a paint store i know the owner talking to him about brewing and told him i need to buy some buckets for fermentation. He said we has some he would give me they are white 5 gallon new never used and the said 2 hdpe on the bottom .Are they cool to use for fermenting? I want to do some 2.5 gallon batch and think they would workgreat
 
thedude00 said:
cool going to pick them up in the morning. Now i need to found where i can buy lids i dont think he has any to fit
Click to expand...

I am guessing if the guy sells paint in buckets, he's going to have some lids. :mug:

If not you can get them from midwest, northern, ahs, and probably your lhbs as well.

Good hookup on the buckets.
 
I tried call them they all don't sell lids for 5 gallon buckets only 6.5 7.5 . when i get the buckets i hope he has lids ill drill a hole in them for the airlock get some orings then brew some 2.5 gallon batch's this weekend
 
Home depot has gasketed lids for 1.99. I just bought a couple extra because the last two fermentation buckets I bought didn't have a gasket in the lid (not that it it matters probally). The buckets are great for storing grain.
 
JerD said:
Home depot has gasketed lids for 1.99. I just bought a couple extra because the last two fermentation buckets I bought didn't have a gasket in the lid (not that it it matters probally). The buckets are great for storing grain.
Click to expand...



Good to know. I was under the impression all the buckets were the same diameter (thus using the same lid).

Not at home so I cant easily check right now. But I know I stack all my buckets together when storing them.

I'm looking for a few more myself so off to HD I will go. :ban:
 
thedude00 said:
I tried call them they all don't sell lids for 5 gallon buckets only 6.5 7.5 . when i get the buckets i hope he has lids ill drill a hole in them for the airlock get some orings then brew some 2.5 gallon batch's this weekend
Click to expand...


What kind of beers do you have planned?

I like the idea of smaller batches for something I don't know if I will like. I still keep my Mr. Beer around for just that purpose.:rockin:
 
i want to brew Double Chocolate Stout ,Coffee Malt Stout ,Blueberry Chocolate Stout beers that i dont want to drink all the time and dont need a stock pill of. but would like to hsvr some time
 
Those all sound good. My current favorite beer is Deschutes Black Butte Porter. Where did you find a recipe for the double choc stout? It sounds like something I might like.
 
because the 6 gallon buckets are taller I am not sure if a lid from from a 6 gallon would fit a 5 gallon bucket. Home depot has 5 gallon buckets and sellls lids for them in the paint department. They do have a rubber gasket on the inside. I got two of those yesterday for $0.98 a piece. My 6 gallon fermentors do not have the rubber gasket however they are one tight fit and I have never had a problem.
 
suprchunk said:
How does height affect the diameter?
Click to expand...

Well, usually buckets are tapered. So they are wider at the top than the bottom. I'm not sure if all buckets are created equal and how they are all built but I would think a 6 gallon bucket would either have a wider top or a skinner bottom.
 
Touché. Although I have found most buckets to have similar diameter openings thus allowing the same lids to be used on multiple buckets, I suppose that might only be valid for the same manufacturer. But the taper would still be there, even if the top and bottom were the same size as the 5 gallon bucket. Since that has a taper increasing the height would not make them all of a sudden of equal diameter.
 
I did not get the homer lid yet.

However I did go out and measure all of my pails ranging from 5.0-6.5 gal. Every one of them had a 10.25" diameter bottom and a 12.25" diameter top. Including the homer bucket. My "Ale Pail" lid fits the homer bucket. What varies is the height of the bucket.

So, OP, if these measurements are the same as your new bucket supply you can get a lid at HD for a buck.

Drill a lid in the hole, install a grommet and an airlock and you have a fermenter for under 10$

A little research on google indicates these measurments are common for food grade buckets in that size range.
 
Rustysocket said:
I did not get the homer lid yet.

However I did go out and measure all of my pails ranging from 5.0-6.5 gal. Every one of them had a 10.25" diameter bottom and a 12.25" diameter top. Including the homer bucket. My "Ale Pail" lid fits the homer bucket. What varies is the height of the bucket.

So, OP, if these measurements are the same as your new bucket supply you can get a lid at HD for a buck.

Drill a lid in the hole, install a grommet and an airlock and you have a fermenter for under 10$

A little research on google indicates these measurments are common for food grade buckets in that size range.
Click to expand...

I wonder where you find the right size gromet?
 
Paul_Aris said:
I wonder where you find the right size gromet?
Click to expand...

I found mine at the local Ace hardware store. They are usually in with the specialty screws and electrical items. Ours has an aisle with all these types of things in little boxes on slide out trays with various sizes. I believe I used the 5/16".

I also found these online

http://www.rubbergrommets.com/

You could also drill a larger hole and use a carboy cork with a hole already drilled for the airlock. Whatever you have on hand.
 
Rustysocket said:
I found mine at the local Ace hardware store. They are usually in with the specialty screws and electrical items. Ours has an aisle with all these types of things in little boxes on slide out trays with various sizes. I believe I used the 5/16".

I also found these online

http://www.rubbergrommets.com/

You could also drill a larger hole and use a carboy cork with a hole already drilled for the airlock. Whatever you have on hand.
Click to expand...

I know the aisle your talking about. I have also bought them at a autoparts store. The gromets are for running a wire through your firewall on your car.
 
Paul_Aris said:
I wonder where you find the right size gromet?
Click to expand...

Midwest Supplies sells 'em for fifty cents apiece. I decided I liked the 7 gal. HDPE buckets & lids from US Plastics, and have been very happy with them. You can order the lids in a variety of colors (to tell your fermenters apart), and they have a nice rubber grommet inside the lid....the lids really make a good seal. Of course the lids don't come drilled for the grommet, so I just used a 1/2" paddle (wood) bit, which makes exactly the correct sized hole, and does a clean job of it.
 
I have a further question on this topic. I have access to 7.5 gal plastic buckets with good lids. My question is this: they originally held chlorine tablets for water treatment. If they were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, can I get a few months use out of them for fermentation until I can afford to replace them with proper carboys?
 

Similar threads

D
Fermenter buckets lid
Replies
15
Views
562
FloppyKnockers
FloppyKnockers
Clint Yeastwood
My Plan for Primary Dry-Hopping
Replies
3
Views
544
Clint Yeastwood
Clint Yeastwood
Denis2121
Racking to secondary with krausen
Replies
8
Views
330
hottpeper13
H
Gunshowgreg
Big grommet for bucket lid
Replies
2
Views
276
Gunshowgreg
Gunshowgreg
J
Bad advise?
Replies
7
Views
819
Kickass
K
SSBrew 300

Latest posts

Back
Top