Building a $10 primary fermenter

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sampson420

sampson420

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Ok so I really wanted to ferment a bunch of booze, but I didn't want to spend all kinds of money and stuff and drive all the way to my local home brew store to buy some buckets. So I went to wally world (wal-mart... durr), and I bought a few "aqua-tainers", the cheap 7 gallon food grade water storage tanks in the huntin'/fishin' section.
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, then, I took a pair of scissors... yes you all have them, and i modified the air hole (you know, that hole where the air goes in when you pour out water) to accept a 1/2 inch grommet, and poof, I had an unlimited supply of cheap primary fermenters I could put said wort or other fermentable liquid in, and forget until it was ready. No 30 dollar carboys, or driving all the way to the home brew store, just a short trip to wally world and the hardware store. And fricken POOF! you got a $10 fermenter with more headspace than your uncles conversion van! Happy brewing!:tank:
 
Some of us are a little more concerned with the pH of beer and how it will affect, or interact with, the chemical composition of some plastics.

As a primary, this container may be fine. But I very seriously doubt it is sufficient as a brite tank for those of us who bottle as there is very little concern about the potential for having oxidized water. ;)
 
Do you know what type of plastic you have there? I would assume it's not category 1 PET.
 
GilaMinumBeer said:
Some of us are a little more concerned with the pH of beer and how it will affect, or interact with, the chemical composition of some plastics.

As a primary, this container may be fine. But I very seriously doubt it is sufficient as a brite tank for those of us who bottle as there is very little concern about the potential for having oxidized water. ;)
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umm... well its got the same plastic rating of those foodsafe buckets you use....
 
Is oxygen permeability *really* that big of an issue? Compared to the seal at the lid or airlock bung, the interstitial space between molecules of the LDPE plastic is nothin'.
 
and according to almost anybody on this site, hdpe (i.e. "2" in the little hippie triangle) is an acceptable substance to ferment brew in....
 
olllllo said:
Lots of angles and difficult areas to clean.
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Well, my whole point was you can stick a batch in it, leave it alone for a while, (i.e. barley wine ect...) and you didn't have to free up or disrupt any other fermenters in the process... and they are cheap so set it... and forget it.... Im sure in a few months when you get some bad arse shiat outta it you wont mind soaking it for a few hours to clean the grime outta it, or even just recycle it and buy an new one...
 
I picked up a 5 gallon bucket in the paint section of wal-mart this week. Its got the "2" on the underside so its good to go, and only $4.27. (the lid is another $1) All it would need is the grommet and airlock to be a primary for maybe 6 bucks total.

I picked mine up to make a bottling bucket, by drilling a hole and mounting a spigot from the LHBS, but I might pick another up to brew cider/apfelwein in while my 7 gallon primary is tied up with beer.
 
goodbyebluesky82 said:
I picked up a 5 gallon bucket in the paint section of wal-mart this week. Its got the "2" on the underside so its good to go, and only $4.27. (the lid is another $1) All it would need is the grommet and airlock to be a primary for maybe 6 bucks total.

I picked mine up to make a bottling bucket, by drilling a hole and mounting a spigot from the LHBS, but I might pick another up to brew cider/apfelwein in while my 7 gallon primary is tied up with beer.
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Right on man.... I dedicate this thread to all the people out there who want to stick brews in a cheap primary for long periods of time without paying craploads of money for these carboys and buckets. Not to say carboys are bad, but for some uses, they just aren't economical, especially in THIS economy..
 
olllllo said:
Lots of angles and difficult areas to clean.
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Not to mention almost all of those containers have a rough plastic seem in the middle of them that leaves a little bit of plastic. This may work with 1 batch but, it is an invitation for an infection down the road.
 
sampson420 said:
Right on man.... I dedicate this thread to all the people out there who want to stick brews in a cheap primary for long periods of time without paying craploads of money for these carboys and buckets. Not to say carboys are bad, but for some uses, they just aren't economical, especially in THIS economy..
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For long periods of time, oxygen permiability comes into question. Many have issues with using even a Better Bottle as a long term fermenter with Barley Wines.

Will they work? Maybe. Is it worth $10-$15 more for something you are going to spend 2-6 hours making and months and months fermenting/conditioning? Absolutely. Plus, you can use it again and again worry free.

Now the Walmart bucket deal is probably a better idea.
 
noremorse1 said:
Not to mention almost all of those containers have a rough plastic seem in the middle of them that leaves a little bit of plastic. This may work with 1 batch but, it is an invitation for an infection down the road.
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Well, coming from the medical field, with an obsession for sterilization, I can say that with the proper chemicals, and procedures, you can sterilize just about anything. If you let it sit and sterilize, you wont have any problems. Let it sit for a day or two with iodine and water. If its good enough for an open wound, its good enough for a fermenter.... and by the way, there IS no ruff plastic seam on the aqua-tainer...
 
noremorse1 said:
Now the Walmart bucket deal is probably a better idea.
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Thank you thank you. I am fighting the urge to pick up 2 or 3 of them so I can have a few batches going at once, but I have no room in my kitchen to put them. I'm thinking of cobbling together a shelf that will let me store a couple in the small gap between my fridge and the wall.... (where my 7 gallon pail is too wide to fit:()
 
goodbyebluesky82 said:
Thank you thank you. I am fighting the urge to pick up 2 or 3 of them so I can have a few batches going at once, but I have no room in my kitchen to put them. I'm thinking of cobbling together a shelf that will let me store a couple in the small gap between my fridge and the wall.... (where my 7 gallon pail is too wide to fit:()
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you can always find more space for fermenters... closet... attic... basement.... garage...
 
sampson420 said:
Well, coming from the medical field, with an obsession for sterilization, I can say that with the proper chemicals, and procedures, you can sterilize just about anything with the proper amount of chemicals. If you let it sit and sterilize, you wont have any problems. Let it sit for a day or two with iodine and water. If its good enough for an open wound, its good enough for a fermenter.... and by the way, there IS no ruff plastic seam on the aqua-tainer...
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Right on bro. Both my parents are doctors... I don't like blood so after college I joined the Army ;-)
 
goodbyebluesky82 said:
Thank you thank you. I am fighting the urge to pick up 2 or 3 of them so I can have a few batches going at once, but I have no room in my kitchen to put them. I'm thinking of cobbling together a shelf that will let me store a couple in the small gap between my fridge and the wall.... (where my 7 gallon pail is too wide to fit:()
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I have perhaps the best find in homebrew fermenter history... but I am holding out on sharing it.

Ahh well... check this out: Inductor Cone Bottom Bulk Storage Tanks - US Plastic Corporation
 
I'd jump on that conical in a minute, but my problem is space and heat control. Even in Louisville right now, it is tough keeping my 2 primaries above 66. The glass one is in a cooler of water, and will have an aquarium heater soon.

In the summer, the reverse is the problem.
 
Thanks for the tip; I'm going to have to head out and pick one of these up. I live in a small apartment, but a friend of mine has a small workshop in his house he doesn't mind me storing junk in... it'd be nice to have a second primary for apfelwein or something that I could actually transport in the car. I just don't trust a bucket in the back seat, you know?
 
It really is up to the individual brewer and what their ideals and reasons are for brewing. No sense in arguing it. This statement pretty much summed up the OP's stance right off the bat.

sampson420 said:
Ok so I really wanted to ferment a bunch of booze, but I didn't want to spend all kinds of money and stuff...
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Hey if that's all you want, go for it.
:drunk:
 
I applaud your ingenuity...You will probably get a lot of flack from some people, but screw em...

People always like to bring up o2 permeability of plastics, but noone can cite actual examples that may or may not just be "collective wisdom," which might have originally even stemmned from glass container industry propaganda and not real scientific fact...

People did the same thing when the better bottle started appearing on the market. Or do whenever someone asks about brewing in absopure jugs....Including a 55 gallon plastic drum...

One thing to remember is that it really is doubtful any O2 can get through a barrier where CO2 is pushing out....

And although this is probably not a good idea for longterm storage, the average batch of beer is consumed in a couple of months WAAY earlier than oxydation occurs, so even if "oxygen permeability" is an issue...if this is going to be beer that is going to be consumed relatively young, the oxydation isn't really an issue.

I have seen beer and wine fermented in all manner of containers online...

The only issues I would have are the angles for cleaning, like OllllO said, BUT oxyclean would probably deal with that...only problem is that you wouldn't really know if some karuzen matter get's lodged in the crease...also any leeching from the plastics, like BPH....

But I can see how in my small loft brew closet how I could get 2, maybe three of them in the same space that a single bucket occupies...I betcha 7 or 8 would fit side by side in my swamp cooler where only 2 buckets fit...
 
My local bakery sells used frosting buckets with lids for $1. Food grade, air tight lids, and smooth as silk on the inside. I drilled a hole for airlock and it works great. Cheapest fermenter ever.
 
goodbyebluesky82 said:
I picked up a 5 gallon bucket in the paint section of wal-mart this week. Its got the "2" on the underside so its good to go, and only $4.27. (the lid is another $1)
Click to expand...

I can definitely see how this would work as a bottling bucket. But I am curious how it would work for a secondary, as the lid on the wally-buckets are not very tight (compared to the hurculean ale pail lib). Would this pose any problems?

Thanks,
 
mthompson said:
I can definitely see how this would work as a bottling bucket. But I am curious how it would work for a secondary, as the lid on the wally-buckets are not very tight (compared to the hurculean ale pail lib). Would this pose any problems?

Thanks,
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You could always place a couple bricks or books on top of it....remember if CO2 is pushing out...nothing can get in...
 
mthompson said:
I can definitely see how this would work as a bottling bucket. But I am curious how it would work for a secondary, as the lid on the wally-buckets are not very tight (compared to the hurculean ale pail lib). Would this pose any problems?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Home Depot Homer buckets #2 food grade on sale for 2.97 the lid is 98 cents and the lid has an o ring. I put a gallon of water in one and turned it upside down no leaks after 24 hours. I am using them for grain storage but may use a couple for secondary's I bought 10 .
 
Revvy said:
You could always place a couple bricks or books on top of it....remember if CO2 is pushing out...nothing can get in...
Click to expand...

I was just thinking that if you rack to one of these buckets for secondary, that there isn't that much more CO2 production from the beer. But then again, these things really only hold 5 gallons, and won't have that much head room to refill with CO2.

Right now, I only have a primary bucket and bottling bucket. I was looking at getting some more pails, and these might be a reasonable alternative to the$16.99, 6.5 gallons. I guess I am just falling into the old marketing assumption of 'maximizing my utility, given certain budget constraints'. (man, I hate this aquaculture marketing course I am in right now!)


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So, I guess I am wondering if we have come to a verdict on the wally/HD buckets (as long as they are #2) - yay or nay?

Thanks,
 
B3 has buckets for $8 (6.5 gallons) lid is $2, though. I haven't been able to find 6.5 buckets anywhere locally.
 
springer said:
Home Depot Homer buckets #2 food grade on sale for 2.97 the lid is 98 cents and the lid has an o ring. I put a gallon of water in one and turned it upside down no leaks after 24 hours. I am using them for grain storage but may use a couple for secondary's I bought 10 .
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I need to check out homer buckets... I had no Idea they were water-tight... Mayber a better Idea than the aqua-tainers..
 
noremorse1 said:
Where you stationed? I am up at Fort Lewis in Washington.
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Fort Lewis was my last duty station....in 1971. It was my son's first when he went active duty 2 years ago,and where he returned to when he came back from Iraq last summer. He's there now,but is supposed to be leaving soon and will be at Ft Meade. He is an MP.
I loved that area! It sure has changed though,I couldn't recognize anything but the mountain when we were there in July.
To keep this on topic... are Homer buckets just 5 gallons?
 
A natural foods/organic supplement store near me does water sales for coolers and they have a few glass ones that come and go and the lady told me she would sell them for $7. I was psyched.
 
My wife dragged me into Wal-Mart so I thought I'd check those plastic containers out. The price said $12.99 and the seals didn't look tight and the inside smelled something nasty.

I haven't bought an Ale Pail in awhile but don't those run $12-$15 dollars?
 
Shonuff said:
My wife dragged me into Wal-Mart so I thought I'd check those plastic containers out. The price said $12.99 and the seals didn't look tight and the inside smelled something nasty.

I haven't bought an Ale Pail in awhile but don't those run $12-$15 dollars?
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its seemed kinda weak to drive an hour round trip for just an ale pail(global warming dude), Mine did smell kinda funky, but after a few minutes soaking in a little bleach water it was clean, and so far its fermenting great with no noticable leaks. I know its ghetto but I was really looking for a cheap one time solution, not a long term investment. And mine was $10.99, your wally world sucks.
 

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