I have recently picked up some food grade 3.5 gallon buckets from some local grocery stores. What im wondering is if they are safe to use as primary fermenters for 2.5 gallons of brew. They all have the marking of HDPE on the bottom. If i cant use them as fermenters i can always use them as sanitising buckets. Thanks for the help!
Some questions on food grade buckets?
- Thread starter big_ajk
- Start date
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kvh
Well-Known Member
As I understand it, they're only good if they have the #1 in the recycling triangle on the bottom... I could be wrong.
Also, make sure they're not too scratched up inside. That's always a bad situation.
kvh
Also, make sure they're not too scratched up inside. That's always a bad situation.
kvh
Thanks for the info. These have the number 2 in the triangle on the bottom. It would be nice to ferment two seperate 2.5 gallon brews that were from the same boil. Maybe use a different yeast to see what the changes are. I definately want to make sure they are safe to use for my brew tho first. Thanks kvh!
Im brewing tomorrow and i was wondering if anyone knew if the #2 buckets would be alright for fermenting? It would be nice to brew 2 small batches of the same beer and try different yeasts to see how the final product is affected. Thanks!
OK...so i may have been a little on the slow side this morning. I picked up my ale pail and sure enough...right there on the bottom was a number 2 in the triangle and an HDPE marking. So if its good enough for the ale pail to use...i dont see why it would hurt to use the ones i got for primary fermenting. Thanks for the answers again!!
jb444
Active Member
If they're food grade they won't kill you, but any liguids/chemicals that have bee nin it will leech into the plastic - since theyre from a grocer thats unlikely, but they wont make good secondarys since they are pourous
(I think anyway...I was told only PET won't let stuff through)
(I think anyway...I was told only PET won't let stuff through)
Buford
Well-Known Member
1-3 are foodsafe as long as no pigments are added to the plastic and it is unused or has only been used for food materials. 1 is PETE, 2 is HDPE (used in buckets and milk jugs) and 3 is LDPE (used in soda bottles and White Labs tubes).
