Those 5 gallon water jugs

Yakima 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.
ardentfrost

ardentfrost

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2010
Messages
100
Reaction score
1
Location
Atlanta
What's the deal with those 5 gallon water jugs that you can buy at the grocery store or Home Depot for $13 ($5 for a refill)? They look very similar to a better bottle, but I've never seen pics of anyone using them as secondaries. $5 in water plus an $8 secondary sounds like a good deal, but I figure there's a reason people don't use them.

So what is the reason?
 
ardentfrost said:
What's the deal with those 5 gallon water jugs that you can buy at the grocery store or Home Depot for $13 ($5 for a refill)? They look very similar to a better bottle, but I've never seen pics of anyone using them as secondaries. $5 in water plus an $8 secondary sounds like a good deal, but I figure there's a reason people don't use them.

So what is the reason?
Click to expand...

You could use them .How much wort are you going to ferment though?
You need head space in the container for the fermentation process.
 
thunder said:
You could use them .How much wort are you going to ferment though?
You need head space in the container for the fermentation process.
Click to expand...

Well, not as much head room in the secondary is needed. I currently use 5 gallon glass carboys, so if those could be used, it'd be a really inexpensive way to get more. I'll still need more primaries in the form of 6.5 gallon buckets/carboys/BBs
 
ardentfrost said:
Well, not as much head room in the secondary is needed. I currently use 5 gallon glass carboys, so if those could be used, it'd be a really inexpensive way to get more. I'll still need more primaries in the form of 6.5 gallon buckets/carboys/BBs
Click to expand...

Your right i missed that in your quote.so use them just sanitize of course! all i use is 6.5 gal glass carboys for primary
 
I use a few when I need additional secondaries. I've had no bad effects. Just make sure the bottles don't have too many lips or edges inside as they will be impossible to clean. I wouldn't recommend a long secondary (more then 8 weeks or so) just to be on the safe side.
 
Bobby_M said:
The plastic may or may not be PET. Look at the recycle code. If it's a 7, forget it. If it's a 1, it's PET and can be used.
Click to expand...

Inspect any PET varieties carefully. Better Bottle owners take great care not to scratch their interiors which can harbor bacteria. Who knows how careful the water bottle re-fillers were...
 
I use BBs for secondaries. I figure to use them for many, many batches, and I'm not about to settle for another type of plastic to save $5. The differences between other plastics and PETE can be read on the Better Bottle web site.
 
ive been using the #7 bottles since i started brewing, the longest i leave in the botttle is 4 weeks tops with no secondary, suposidly the oxygen permitation is greater for the #7 bottles so i would not use for a long primary or long secondary, it has not ruined any of my beers so far, u have nothing to loose, besides i like the bottles with the built in handle:ban:
 
I use #2 five gallon buckets I found at Wal-Mart in the paint department.

The bucket with the lid comes right to $5 each. As I said, these buckets are #2's just like the ale pales you get at the LHBS. All you need to do is drill a hole in the lid, add a grommet, and you're good to go for five bucks!
 
I'm surprised the bottles would be #7. I mean, they're actually sold to hold liquid that you are expected to consume.

How is it safe for drinking water, but not beer.
 
norwegiangeek said:
I'm surprised the bottles would be #7. I mean, they're actually sold to hold liquid that you are expected to consume.

How is it safe for drinking water, but not beer.
Click to expand...

Water will not be sirectly effect by oxygen as beer would be. That is the major difference and why they are not recommended for storage of beer for a long period of time. If I was to use them, which I would consdier I would keep the secondary time frame to 2-3 week max.
 
SAMPLER said:
Water will not be sirectly effect by oxygen as beer would be. That is the major difference and why they are not recommended for storage of beer for a long period of time. If I was to use them, which I would consdier I would keep the secondary time frame to 2-3 week max.
Click to expand...

You are on the wrong track, it's not about the oxygen. I know it's wiki but read this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A
 
I use a #1 culligan bottle for my Apfelwein, since i only need the neck for head space. Definatley not big enough for a primary fermenter, good for a batch that is 5g or less to secondary (most of my beers are 5.25gal or so heading into secondary)
 
You can get $5 4 gallon bottles of PET plastic with spring water in them at sams club. I used the water for my last beer batch and kept the bottle. 4 gallon is an odd size and I will probably chuck it because I don't see myself making a less than 5 gallon batch.
 

Similar threads

MajorAce
5 gallon water jug as fermenter
Replies
5
Views
923
Jag75
Jag75
D
Restart fermentation to fix my mead?
Replies
9
Views
583
Raptor99
Raptor99
C
First Timer, what now?
Replies
6
Views
947
bwible
bwible
Zippy123
Reality check on Water Chemistry
Replies
27
Views
2K
WortMonger
WortMonger
F
tried out my new aio for the first time
Replies
8
Views
806
cfrazier77
cfrazier77
SSBrew 300

Latest posts

Back
Top