Aluminum fermenter

Hi, im new to brewing and am trying to get everything as cheap as possible. At work we have 5 gallon aluminum "bottles" that hold vitamin E oil. Would this be okay to use as a fermenter if I sterilze it?
Also, I have also read somewhere about using 1 gallon glass bottles for fermenting, is it ok to split it up to ferment or not?
Thank you in advance.

I'd be interested in seeing these bottles.

Those aluminum bottles sound interesting. The only problem is they are a little small and would restrict you to making 4 gallon batches. You need extra headroom in your primary fermenter.

Honestly though the cheapest way to get everything you need is almost always going to be buying a kit from a LHBS or from one of the online suppliers (austin homebrew, midwest, northernbrewer, etc.). There are a number of pieces you need besides just the fermenter.

Edit: Welcome to HBT by the way.

The bottles sound interesting, but do your homework on them, first. If they are coated inside (likely), then they would probably make fine fermenters. If not, prolonged contact with bare aluminum may give your beer a bit of a metallic flavor.

Disclaimer:
PLEASE don't start the "but I use an aluminum brew kettle and have no problems" debate here. I know you can use aluminum kettles without issues. I'm talking about weeks of contact, not hours.

Oh yeah, welcome to the forum! I'll second the kit idea. You can probably get one for around $100 and you'll be set until your new obsession... er .. hobby requires upgrade.

Thank you for the quick replies, I'll take a picture of it but it may take a little while.

I was considering buying a kit, but I bought 2 5 gallon plastic buckets at a local bakery, made a wort chiller , found 4 half gallon growlers with rubber seal and a gallon one,a hydrometer , A bottle rack, and a thermometer.
All I think I really need is some tubing,airlock, spigot, brew pot, sanitiser, some brushes, and a spoon.
This site is a great place for brewing, I'll be visiting often!

To answer your other question, no problem with splitting up the ferment, but you would need six 1-gallon bottles and six airlocks.