I Win! I've Found the World's Best Fermenter!

Check it out! Transparent food grade bucket with nice molded handles. All the benefits of a bucket with all the voyeurism of a better bottle. Just drill a hole in the top, add bung and add tap to the bottom if you're so inclined. And of course they come in all sizes. The one I have has markings to 22L but will actually hold approximately 24liters. The translucent one is #5 plastic BTW. :rockin:

Cambro - 22 qt. Camwear Round Storage Container - #RFSCW22-135


I have this one, which is translucent and 1/2 as expensive as the one above. You could easily keep an eye on what's going on in the fermenter but it's not quiiite clear enough to look the little yeastie-beasties in the eye.

Cambro - 22 qt. Round Storage Container- Translucent - #RFS22PP-190

Not to take business away from our beloved brew shops but I bet this site has some other fun toys or ingredients for cool DIY projects.

Enjoy
BrewOnBoard

:rockin: we need a clapping smiley. nice find

I don't believe these are airtight.
At least the ones I use at work aren't.

still, if they work for you

thataintchicken said:

I don't believe these are airtight.
At least the ones I use at work aren't.

still, if they work for you

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You might be right. I'll check mine tomorrow using the baking soda and vinegar trick. If they aren't airtight then perhaps they don't need an airlock in the top after all. The lid has lots of overlap with the sides and snaps tight and if it isn't airtight it would let air out but I doubt any infection would come creeping in.

BoB

#1 and #2 are the safe plastics.

the MLT to end all 10 gallon uber insulated with a drain !!!

BrewOnBoard said:

Check it out! Transparent food grade bucket with nice molded handles. All the benefits of a bucket with all the voyeurism of a better bottle. Just drill a hole in the top, add bung and add tap to the bottom if you're so inclined. And of course they come in all sizes. The one I have has markings to 22L but will actually hold approximately 24liters. The translucent one is #5 plastic BTW. :rockin:

Cambro - 22 qt. Camwear Round Storage Container - #RFSCW22-135

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It's not even 6 gallons and it's only $3 cheaper than a better bottle. Sorry to poop on your parade, but it may be the worlds worst fermenter.

Cheeto said:

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Back when I worked as assistant cook between classes at the university dining hall, we had like 50+ of these we would use in catering halls and our off site catering all the time- didn't even think of these! Clamp pretty tight with a rubber gasket, and they're stackable too! Probably would upgrade the spigot...

*EDIT* HOLY $HIT THEY'RE EXPENSIVE!!! I should go make a visit, see if they have a spare or two... */EDIT*

I'd rather not add any negatives, but I gotta mention that drilling polycarbonate might crack it.

Really, buckets aren't that bad!

5.5 gallons is too small for a primary and there's a slight concern with BPA leeching with polycarbonate.

6.5 or 7 gallon glass carboys are still hard to beat - IMO of course!

Ditto Brewpaster nothing beats glass

Im not sure where you guys got the idea those were poloycarb plastic... the cheap second one is likely because of its opaque white color that is because of an aditive which stablises the shape of the container, it is also common in #2 as well though... I think the more expensive 22q bucket is likely pete but as said its more expensive then a 5 gallon better bottled and cheaper then a 6 gallon... so thats about right but you cant do a full batch and get 5 gallons at the end....

I dislike better bottles because of there price, Pete is the most common plastic because it is used in soda bottles and many house hold containers... A one gallon pete bottle cost less then 25cents to make... A three gallon pete bottle less then a dallor, and a 8 gallon less then 5 dallors... 2 liter soda bottles are made on mass for pennies a piece.... Can i ask why better bottle makes over a 400% profit on a single bottle???... and of course becasue of the demand for pete carboys these days (for three reasons. 1 )brewing, 2) water storage, 3) problems with 18 of the 120 differnt types of #7 plastic) the price is artifically inflated so a better bottle is now only 10 dallors less then a glass carboy of equal size... thats insane and it pisses me off... its not a matter quality which drives the price up (Coke and pepsi both ship large quanities of soda syurp and soda in variouos sized and shaped carboys, same with Fago, and 7up franchies).... So why are Pete products so expenisve when it comes to brewing and home storage? Because its a new market and it makes alot of money,as glass breaks people switch to BB, as the FDA is forced to recall types of #7 plastic people replace there water bottle and bucket fermenter with BB... and people who are starting end up truning to BB... its a monoply... Supply is kept low to keep prices high so they make moer money spending less money... its sound bussiness practice but really really bad for consumers.

As for the insultaed water coolers those are likely to be made of #2 and probably would work great... but like you said they are horriably expensive... I have heard of people buying the old insulated and heat resistant gatorade coolers because they are made of #1 plastic but can cost sometimes as much as 30 dallors for a 3 gallon and definatly as high as 70$ or 80$ for a 8 gallon... people often find them for really cheap at flee markest used... or get cheaper #2 type ones for about 2/3's the price.

Well i hope these things work out for you

Cheers

hammer one said:

Ditto Brewpaster nothing beats glass

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Until you drop that ***** on your foot or near your foot.

I'm thinking that based on his unique situation, BoB wouldn't want to use glass.

There are about a bazillion options that would work.

Vittles Vaults and those plastic lab carboys would be other things to consider.

hammer one said:

Ditto Brewpaster nothing beats glass

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Just don't do this with your glass carboy.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP6ZEenvRho]YouTube - Better Bottle Experiment[/ame]

BrewinJack said:

I dislike better bottles because of there price, Pete is the most common plastic because it is used in soda bottles and many house hold containers... A one gallon pete bottle cost less then 25cents to make... A three gallon pete bottle less then a dallor, and a 8 gallon less then 5 dallors... 2 liter soda bottles are made on mass for pennies a piece.... Can i ask why better bottle makes over a 400% profit on a single bottle???... and of course becasue of the demand for pete carboys these days (for three reasons. 1 )brewing, 2) water storage, 3) problems with 18 of the 120 differnt types of #7 plastic) the price is artifically inflated so a better bottle is now only 10 dallors less then a glass carboy of equal size... thats insane and it pisses me off... its not a matter quality which drives the price up (Coke and pepsi both ship large quanities of soda syurp and soda in variouos sized and shaped carboys, same with Fago, and 7up franchies).... So why are Pete products so expenisve when it comes to brewing and home storage? Because its a new market and it makes alot of money,as glass breaks people switch to BB, as the FDA is forced to recall types of #7 plastic people replace there water bottle and bucket fermenter with BB... and people who are starting end up truning to BB... its a monoply... Supply is kept low to keep prices high so they make moer money spending less money... its sound bussiness practice but really really bad for consumers.

Click to expand...

Ok, here's some information for you.

Better Bottles is a brand name which is ownd by a company call HighQ. HighQ is a company that specializes in laboratory water purification systems. This is a nich company that doesn't pound out hundreds of thousands of soda syrup containers a year. They make very high quality product that is expensive to manufacture and hence the product is more expensive to the consumer. HighQ took containers that they were already manufacturing and have sold them to the wine and beer making community. I for one, see the benefits of using better bottles reguardless of their current cost. In knowing more about what HighQ does as a company, i see that they arn't a fly by night outfit passing a cheap and crappy product.

If using glass is you thing.. then fine. We've all used it at one time or another. But people either have this love/hate thing with better bottles, and the ones who don't like them tend to make unfounded statements about them.

Stile said:

Ok, here's some information for you.

Better Bottles is a brand name which is ownd by a company call HighQ. HighQ is a company that specializes in laboratory water purification systems. This is a nich company that doesn't pound out hundreds of thousands of soda syrup containers a year. They make very high quality product that is expensive to manufacture and hence the product is more expensive to the consumer. HighQ took containers that they were already manufacturing and have sold them to the wine and beer making community. I for one, see the benefits of using better bottles reguardless of their current cost. In knowing more about what HighQ does and a company, i see that they arn't a fly by night outfit passing a cheap and crappy product.

If using glass is you thing.. then fine. We've all used it at one time or another. But people either have this love/hate thing with better bottles, and the ones who don't like them tend to make unfounded statements about them.

Click to expand...

Excellent reply! That is what I was thinking, only without the pertinent facts to back it up.

BrewinJack said:

Im not sure where you guys got the idea those were poloycarb plastic...

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Ummm, because it says right in the PDF(from the first link you posted) that the clear ones are made of polycarbonate?

Joe

The first thing I noticed was the polycarb, isn't that the stuff that everyone was warning about?

wildwest450 said:

It's not even 6 gallons and it's only $3 cheaper than a better bottle. Sorry to poop on your parade, but it may be the worlds worst fermenter.

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Ummmm.... No not really. 24 liters is 6.34012926 gallons (give or take) The poly one is $3 cheaper than a better bottle but it is see-through like a BB AND can be cleaned like a bucket so it has the best of both worlds. That's the up side. Of course, if you drill it it will shatter and since it's poly if you brew in it it will leach BPA which will give you *****-tits. That's the down side.

So........ Scrap the poly container idea. :cross:

Now the second link is the one I have which I bought at my LHBS years ago along with a cider kit I never used. It's <$10 BTW which makes it more attractive. I doubt it would shatter with drilling as it is PET.

ThatAin'tChicken brought up a good point about it not being airtight. I did the baking-soda + vinegar test and found that it is in fact not. It's almost airtight. I did a mythbuster's style second test with a 1/2 gal vinegar and 1cup baking soda which were instantly mixed. The lid popped off nicely and flew about 2 feet.

What I'm wondering is: is the fact that it's not airtight a problem or a feature? My LHBS sold it to me along with the kit, bottle caps, a capper, corn-sugar and NO airlock telling me that it was all I needed to complete the kit. Based on my baking soda experiments I think that it would allow fermentation gasses to escape without an airlock.

As far as contamination concerns, the way that the lid lip is constructed I think that as long as germs don't grow legs, opposable thumbs, (and intelligence) there is just no way they'll get in. In fact, knowing what I know about how operating rooms are run as "sterile" environments I think it won't be a problem at all. I "might" worry about O2 issues if you left it in the fermenter for a year though.

Thoughts?

BrewOnBoard

PS If it doesn't work then I found the world's best bottling bucket!

BrewOnBoard said:

Ummmm.... No not really. 24 liters is 6.34012926 gallons (give or take) The poly one is $3 cheaper than a better bottle but it is see-through like a BB AND can be cleaned like a bucket so it has the best of both worlds. That's the up side. Of course, if you drill it it will shatter and since it's poly if you brew in it it will leach BPA which will give you *****-tits. That's the down side.

Click to expand...

The translucent one if it is made of high quality PET is a way better choice. One of the primaries advantages of high quality PET is that it is hydrophobic, mostly nonreactive and non-absorbent. It will still scratch easily so it should never be cleaned like a bucket. Because it is PET it should require no scrubbing or wiping down at all. Everything on the walls should just dissolve right into solution. One of the great things about the better bottle is that you can shake it to speed this up. Hard to do with a bucket but you could just let the PBW soak for a half hour and you'd be fine. While I really like my Better Bottle system this seems like a great find for anyone who likes buckets! This is a better bucket. ;->

Joe

So are polycarbonate sight glass tubes a problem with kettles? And if so can someone point em to a good source of glass tubing with a 3/8 OD? I just bought and installed one of these Forsale
I wondered about the polycarb tube, what's the verdict?
-Ben

I'm not convinced that the small surface area inside 1/4" ID tubing would be of any concern to BPA leeching. It's less a quarter of an ounce of wort in 5 gallons and what all sight glass kits use. Yes, you can use Pyrex glass but you might want to talk to the few folks who tried that without shielding it. It is TOUCHY... don't sneeze too hard.

Stile said:

Ok, here's some information for you.

Better Bottles is a brand name which is ownd by a company call HighQ. HighQ is a company that specializes in laboratory water purification systems. This is a nich company that doesn't pound out hundreds of thousands of soda syrup containers a year. They make very high quality product that is expensive to manufacture and hence the product is more expensive to the consumer. HighQ took containers that they were already manufacturing and have sold them to the wine and beer making community. I for one, see the benefits of using better bottles reguardless of their current cost. In knowing more about what HighQ does as a company, i see that they arn't a fly by night outfit passing a cheap and crappy product.

If using glass is you thing.. then fine. We've all used it at one time or another. But people either have this love/hate thing with better bottles, and the ones who don't like them tend to make unfounded statements about them.

Click to expand...

Oh dear me thinks you doth protest to much.