Buckets and spigots and water, oh my...

Both my fermenter and my secondary/bottling bucket have spigots. So long as I keep everything clean and sanitary, should I really have any problems with infection? Im borderline OCD when it comes to clean.

Next, when my primary ferment is done, and I rack, do you think that if I used the spigot, it would disturb the settled yeast too much?

And... Ive read on another thread that people are using bottled water in the brew and not boiling it. Is this an option? My tap has WAY too much chlorine in it and have been thinking of going to bottled water. Is there something bad about distilled water? Read that people try to avoid it.

Trying to see it from every angle. Thanks.

if you have a spigot on your primary, i would recommend using a racking cane that has been sanitized to move to secondary. i suppose you could sanitize the exposed part of the spigot, but there might be some areas in there that might harbor stuff. perhaps others have done this without any problem, but I would be inclined to use the racking cane (autosiphon even better). plus, it allows you to keep lowering it as you rack to minimize the disturbance of the yeast cake.

are you talking about top off water? i think some people have used bottled water to top off without boiling, but i'd go ahead and boil it first and let it cool while your brewing just to be safe. or you could let some tap water sit overnight to get rid of the chlorine. distilled water has no minerals whatsoever in it, so if you start with that, it's wise to add brewing salts and such to get it to fit a particular style. i think spring water or non distilled is preferred...

I use buckets with spigots for primaries, I think they save me a lot of grief. I thoroughly sanitize the spigot before attaching it to the primary then cover it with a plastic bag. After 3 weeks (or however long I choose to primary) I drench the spigot with Star San coming from a spray bottle, attach a hose and rack away!

Regarding chlorine... Use campden tablets to eliminate the chlorine and chloramine in your tap water without very much time or effort.

SeamusMac said:

I use buckets with spigots for primaries, I think they save me a lot of grief.

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Do you have any trouble with too much yeast stirring up?

The yeast cake usually stays on the bottom and is usually settled well below the spigot hole. I've never had any issues.

SeamusMac said:

I use buckets with spigots for primaries, I think they save me a lot of grief. I thoroughly sanitize the spigot before attaching it to the primary then cover it with a plastic bag. After 3 weeks (or however long I choose to primary) I drench the spigot with Star San coming from a spray bottle, attach a hose and rack away!

Regarding chlorine... Use campden tablets to eliminate the chlorine and chloramine in your tap water without very much time or effort.

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do you ever use the spigot to draw out from your fermentor to test gravity? i ask because i wonder if that would make it more prone to infections.