Primary fermenting container.

The place where I might be purchasing my equipment wants to sell me a 10 gallon Plastic container (like the one on the web site) that does not have a place for an air lock on the lid. They told me to place the lid on loosely, and everything will be OK.

http://eartheasy.com/eat_homebrew.htm

Is this a good Idea or should I be taking my business elsewhere?

It's not unheard of.

You can drill a hole and use a #7 stopper.

My first batch I made I did not use a sealed lid on the bucket. It made beer just fine, but I wasn't happy with my results. Was it because of no seal, I have no idea. You can make beer that way, but I, along with many others would suggest you keep your fermentations in a sealed container. A bucket would be good to start with because they are cheap and you will use it for other things, even later once you upgrade to carboy's. If that bucket seals well you can always drill a small hole in the lid, install a rubber grommet and insert an airlock for an airtight seal. That should do the trick.

As for the 2 liter bottle method. Never tried it, I think I've head some people on here say that they do it, but I would strongly suggest using glass bottles.

Use the internet to shop around a bit for the best kit for you.

There are many places that will sell you kits to make excellent beer... I'm fairly sure this is not one of them.

I got my beer kit as a hand me down from a friend and she DID have one of those buckets. After a few days research, I looked at that and said "I'm not using that, it's not food grade plastic!".

I'm SURE you can make beer with that kit. I'm also half sure you can't make good beer with that.

If you're seriously looking into the hobby, take a look at the kits offered by Midwest Supply (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdBySubCat.aspx?SubCat=11166&fd=1), Austin Homebrew (http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_33_52) or MoreBeer (http://morebeer.com/search/102142).

I'm not saying you should buy from them (But they're GREAT retailers) but take a look at what they offer. They all, on average, recommend a glass secondary, a sturdier plastic fermentor and guides on how to brew.

~Edit: Corrected many drunken typos.~

Thanks for all your replies,

I have two (used) Glass 5 gallon carboys that I picked up at a thrift store for $4.00 each, and want a decent Plastic Primary. I like the idea of brewing a 5 gallon batch in a 10 gallon container.

I want an air escape that I can control where the gas goes, and I will be looking into putting one in it before I purchase it.

I will be purchasing the rest of the equipment that I need "locally" the end of this week. That web site provided me with a means of showing you a picture of what is available at a local wine shop from which I got a quote.

Cheers.