Scored a freebee today

My SWMBO came home this morning with a 3 1/2 gallon bucket used for donut glaze. She got it from the bakery at her supermarket she works at. It looks like I will be able to get some more too.

Will this work for small 1 gallon batches of wine using whole fruit? My 5 gallon plastic lid fits perfectly on it so I'm hoping I can use it.

Yes, and get some more! That's what I use for all my fruit wines, unless I'm making a big batch. They do have the lids, too, if you ask nicely! Frostings and peanut butter come in those and of course, they are food safe!

You can use it for primary, and even secondary if you just drill a small hole in the lid for the airlock. You rack young fruit wines often, so that size is very good! You can make 3 gallon batches of dandelion in it (doesn't foam much), 2 gallons of everything else. Rhubarb, blueberry, blackberry, chokecherry, peach, etc. The possibilites are endless! Then, when major fermentation is over, you can use the 4 liter size of Carlo Rossi jug wines. A #6 stopper fits in there perfectly! Great for the 2 gallon batches.

Edit for clarity- you would use 2 jugs, one gallon each, of the Carlo Rossi when you rack into secondary and/or bulk aging.

Great news!
I'm going to search for some decent frozen fruit so I can at least get something going in there.