plastic totes for fermenters

Hi, I was going to make some fermenters and am having some trouble getting big enough buckets here in juneau alaska. Has anyone tried making fermenters out of plastic totes. I think If I can get one with a lid that seals on tight it might work pretty good. Any thoughts on this?

The type of totes you find may not be food safe and could lead to leaching some nasty tastes into your brews. Have you looked at Winpacks?

What kinda tote?

If you a referring to totes like those large rubbermaid totes, I think the concern might be the strength of the walls. Also I'm not sure if any (regardless of brand) are food safe. You could look for a local restaurant that might be willing to give you some empty pickle buckets. I've also heard of people using 5 gallon buckets from home depot or lowes

I can get 5 gallon buckets but was hoping to get 6 or 7 gallon. Yes I was talking about something like a rubbermaid tote.

Try Cambro food storage containers, they will work perfectly for your needs.

H-ost said:

The type of totes you find may not be food safe and could lead to leaching some nasty tastes into your brews. Have you looked at Winpacks?

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No I have not looked at winpacks, what are they?

Stay away from Homer buckets.

DannPM said:

Try Cambro food storage containers, they will work perfectly for your needs.

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whats the biggest cambro container I can get?

I don't think the Cambro units are cost effective.

I found some IRIS airtight pet food storage containers that look kinda good and ship for free from amazon

arturo7 said:

I don't think the Cambro units are cost effective.

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I'm not sure how shipping is but they are cheaper per gallon than a better bottle iirc.

Op they can go up to like 15 gallons iirc. On my phone or I'd give ya the link I have bookmarked.

DannPM said:

I'm not sure how shipping is but they are cheaper per gallon than a better bottle iirc.

Op they can go up to like 15 gallons iirc. On my phone or I'd give ya the link I have bookmarked.

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Post the link if you can. I may be thinking of something else.

Here's a 22 Gallon one for $50.72 before shippng:

http://www.zesco.com/Cambro-182615CW-135-Food-Storage-Box-18-x-26-x-15-Clear-pz117D299.htm

Was that what you were thinking? I haven;t got one but I plan to get a wide shallow one to do some experiments on ester production in Saisons like this one: http://www.zesco.com/Cambro-18266CW-135-Food-Storage-Box-18-x-26-x-6-Clear-pz117D297.htm

DannPM said:

Here's a 22 Gallon one for $50.72 before shippng:

http://www.zesco.com/Cambro-182615CW-135-Food-Storage-Box-18-x-26-x-15-Clear-pz117D299.htm

Was that what you were thinking? I haven;t got one but I plan to get a wide shallow one to do some experiments on ester production in Saisons like this one: http://www.zesco.com/Cambro-18266CW-135-Food-Storage-Box-18-x-26-x-6-Clear-pz117D297.htm

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Those would work. You could probably find the same thing in polyethylene (PE) for less cash.

Go to a bakery in Juneau and ask if you can "recycle" a few of their honey buckets, or other type of food grade buckets. Often times they are tossed out in the trash or put into the recycling bin so they are more than likely happy to have someone find a use for them. Pay them back with some brews!

I don't know how things work in Junea, but at my bakery I have gotten a few 4 gallon buckets. If you up your batch size to 6 gallons or a little more you could split into two of those like people do with 10 gallon batches. That might give you some flexibility to play with different dry-hoping or yeast combinations, blending, etc.

tennesseean_87 said:

I don't know how things work in Junea, but at my bakery I have gotten a few 4 gallon buckets. If you up your batch size to 6 gallons or a little more you could split into two of those like people do with 10 gallon batches. That might give you some flexibility to play with different dry-hoping or yeast combinations, blending, etc.

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Haven't you heard? Everything is bigger in Alaska...

Not sure about shipping costs to Alaska but these are good buckets.

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23470&catid=752&clickid=searchresults

Walk into Wally World and look at their Rubbermaid food containers. Check the bottom for the classification of plastic used. Now go look at Rubbermaid and Sterilite "tote" type containers and compare the plastic classification.

You'll find they use the same exact plastic... class 5... polypropylene. PP is a food safe plastic 100% FDA approved. Go check out your frig... I've got plenty of "PP" containers that food was sold in... everything from margarine to sour cream.

You can ferment in a 1/4 keg. Remove the stem, clean it out and bingo a stainless fermenter. You can save all the pieces and return it for your deposit when you are done with it.

rustynails223 said:

No I have not looked at winpacks, what are they?

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Sorry, I don't have access to a computer on the weekends or I would have replied sooner. These might be what you want http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/search.aspx?search=win&page=1

If you a referring to totes like those large rubbermaid totes, I think the concern might be the strength of the walls.

San, I use a standard one for a water bath for my carboy. It holds up fine with internal water pressure

Home depot carries 5 gallon buckets with leak proof lids for $5. Food grade.