Why doesn't anyone sell these?

Cheap plastic hydrometers - Someone could make a killing on them! I finally bought a refractometer, my hydrometers had an average life of less than two months.

Thin stainless steel liner for fermenter buckets It wouldn't even have to be strong (read: thick and expensive) enough to support the weight of 5 gallons of beer. You could just drop it in your ale pail and pour your wort in. Maybe with a thin stainless lid as well.

Anything else?

I don't know but I like both ideas!

I'd like to see a variable size airlock/blowoff gromit, one to fit most holes, you know like the variable transmission?

Just make it like a large cone from size A to size Z.

Do they have this already?

You mean like a CVT?

I can see this, but homebrewers would make jokes about it left and right... Like a stepped cone shape that would fit over a large variety of hole sizes...... ahem...


Like these hats, but with a tube on top!

robtotten said:

Thin stainless steel liner for fermenter buckets It wouldn't even have to be strong (read: thick and expensive) enough to support the weight of 5 gallons of beer.

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I think this is a *great* idea, but why would it have to support the weight of the beer by itself? You said it yourself...it's just a liner, and will be fully supported by the structure of the bucket...it just sort of converts a plastic container, with it's scratch-ability, into a metal one. I'm not sure if a lid is even necessary...even when filled to 6 gallons, there's still some space between the fluid level and the bucket lid, and if you had a lid, you'd have to have some way to introduce an airlock or blow-off tube...I guess you could just have a hole that you'd have to line up with the airlock grommet on the true lid. Definitely a great idea...I think you need a business plan!

I was actually talking to a buddy of mine this past weekend that is a biochem engineer and he said that the pharmchem industry is moving away from SS as fast as possible and it moving towards sterile/disposable bag/liner systems.

This may eventually bring a new meaning to BIAB.....

Well they already kind of make the plastic hydrometer that goes in your carboy.
http://brewballstore.com/

I know you are probably thinking of a hydrometer like the glass ones, So they don't break so easily...Maybe with time...Who knows.

winstonofbeer said:

Well they already kind of make the plastic hydrometer that goes in your carboy.
http://brewballstore.com/

I know you are probably thinking of a hydrometer like the glass ones, So they don't break so easily...Maybe with time...Who knows.

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Those brew balls look like a bad idea, wouldn't yeast and/or anything else settling on them throw off the SG they were designed to float at? Maybe they were not designed for anything other than very general estimates.

winstonofbeer said:

Well they already kind of make the plastic hydrometer that goes in your carboy.
http://brewballstore.com/

I know you are probably thinking of a hydrometer like the glass ones, So they don't break so easily...Maybe with time...Who knows.

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saw the brew balls but how accurate are they? just a few air bubbles and.. bang... false reading and what about temp correction?. would love to see a plastic or pyrex hydrometer! only broken 1 in 10 years plus, and have a spare but i'd buy one!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/has-anyone-ever-used-brewballs-208624/

Looked around elsewhere for previous postings...
That was really the best informative one.

There are hydrometers out there made of polycarbonate. I did a quick search and found these. They are not made especially for brewing and the scale is a bit wide. Also, they are a bit more spendy than the ones we use. Also, I am still using the hydrometer that came with the kit that SWMBO bought me for Father's Day 5 years ago...

mr_goodwrench said:

There are hydrometers out there made of polycarbonate. I did a quick search and found these. They are not made especially for brewing and the scale is a bit wide. Also, they are a bit more spendy than the ones we use. Also, I am still using the hydrometer that came with the kit that SWMBO bought me for Father's Day 5 years ago...

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WOW! "a bit more spendy" is a bit of an understatement... but if your hard on your toys... like my brother. he broke 4 hydrometers in a year when he was brewing! LOL me broke 1 in 10 years+ and have a spare...

funny story about the spare. the bb's in the bottom rusted... just never fully trusted it after that. checked in distilled water and read slightly off the new un-rusted one ( so slightly it wouldn't make a difference) but confidence was shaken in it. I'm figuring condensation got on the inside somehow.

There's a brew your own beer store near me and they use plastic liners. Mostly because they have so little staff you'd have to pay a guy just to clean fermenters.

I can see the medical industry moving that direction because they need things to be sterile. Like certified sterile. Not let's shake some star san around and hope its sanitary. Brewers don't need a sterile enviorment, just a sanitary one.

doctorRobert said:

There's a brew your own beer store near me and they use plastic liners. Mostly because they have so little staff you'd have to pay a guy just to clean fermenters.

I can see the medical industry moving that direction because they need things to be sterile. Like certified sterile. Not let's shake some star san around and hope its sanitary. Brewers don't need a sterile enviorment, just a sanitary one.

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I don't know how much those sterilized bags cost, I imagine they arent very cheap or else we would be using them already. But how about a high-temp reuseable bag that could be sanitized in the dishwasher? There are many everyday plastic materials that are cheap and dishwasher safe. The problems I see would be water from your dishwasher pooling in the bag and staining (might just be aesthetic).

It would be nice to have a stockpile of these that you can just swap into your bucket in between batches. Would safe a lot of cleaning time when we are trying to bottle one batch, transfer another to secondary, and brew at the same time.

I was given 1 or 2 plastic bags to line a fermenter with at last year's Brewday at Yoopers. I forgot I had them, but I will be trying them out soon. Instead of cleaning your bucket, you just toss the bag away.

or, you pull the bag out and squeeze the yeast from a cut-off corner...

robtotten said:

Thin stainless steel liner for fermenter buckets It wouldn't even have to be strong (read: thick and expensive) enough to support the weight of 5 gallons of beer. You could just drop it in your ale pail and pour your wort in. Maybe with a thin stainless lid as well.

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I can't believe I am going to speak to sanitizing.. but here goes: Sanitizing.
The "bag" concept would work as it is presumably sealed or hangs outside the bucket (thusly being sealed by the lid). However, a stainless liner would be trickier to seal and therefore you would have to sanitize the inside of your plastic bucket, and then both the inside and outside of the stainless sleeve.
I don't want to poo-poo your idea, but the sleeve would need a gasket that would touch the plastic lid, or some sort of seal-able lid itself. Else you won't get too many homebrewers to jump on board with the idea.

A polycarbonate hydrometer I like.

Not to burst a bubble or be a nay-sayer. If ANYONE has an idea for some improvement that is good. Keep thinking!

Plastic hydrometers, sure why not. There seems to be plenty of folks that break them. I still have my original one and the spare. I just think it may be easy to scratch and harbor "bad stuff".

SS liners for a bucket...I think this is a poor idea. It seems good at 1st but the only way this could be beneficial from a cost point is to make them in 5 gallon sizes. Since there seems to be a $10 price increase from the 5 to the 6.5 gallon buckets. Even with a lid it is still going to be a PITA to clean the inside and outside of the liner and the bucket every time something is moved. The other problem is once this gets to $40 total you could have gotten a keg. You can ferment in them...

Plastic liners...I am disliking any long term fermentation "bag". It would have to be non-biodegradable to have fermentation happen in it. This means land fill and trash increase/ not eco-friendly. I refer to the previous statement about kegs...they are reusable.

Some people on here line their bucket fermenters with the large oven turkey bags. I tried it, but they leaked almost everytime. Maybe I was doing something wrong.

Because refractometers rarely roll off tables and because PET or Reynolds Turkey bags work as good as a steel liner.

For the life of me I'll never understand why so many have issues with the Reynolds liners. Yes. They do sweat between the bag and the bucket but they still contain all the yeast and krud making clean-up as simple as a hot rinse.

Looked at some plastic hydrometers, and they are pricey. I'll take a refractometer or two for that price! I have been using the same hydrometer that I bought when I first started over 20 years ago. I have no idea what you guys are doing to yours!

The bag concept in pharmchem is two fold from what I am told. 1) SS is expensive, 2) easier/faster to clean thus faster turnaround of bioreactors.

Landfill or not these bags are cheaper in the long run for the industry from both a time and materials standpoint. Never said these industries were green.....unless of course we are talking about greenbacks.

As far as homebrewing.....I don't really see it. We kind of enjoy the novelty of our craft whether it is a glass carboy, SS conical or a bucket. Commercial brewers on the other hand.....there may be some application there.

Homercidal said:

Looked at some plastic hydrometers, and they are pricey. I'll take a refractometer or two for that price! I have been using the same hydrometer that I bought when I first started over 20 years ago. I have no idea what you guys are doing to yours!

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I'm with you there, Homer. In fact, I did buy a hydrometer a few months ago and couldn't be happier with it.

JasonInBTR said:

The bag concept in pharmchem is two fold from what I am told. 1) SS is expensive, 2) easier/faster to clean thus faster turnaround of bioreactors.

Landfill or not these bags are cheaper in the long run for the industry from both a time and materials standpoint. Never said these industries were green.....unless of course we are talking about greenbacks.

As far as homebrewing.....I don't really see it. We kind of enjoy the novelty of our craft whether it is a glass carboy, SS conical or a bucket. Commercial brewers on the other hand.....there may be some application there.

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FWIW, AFAIK, the Reynolds bags are UV medium/long term exposure degradeable.

What about just a stainless steal bucket with a clip on lid, or would that cost almost as much as a conical?

GilaMinumBeer said:

For the life of me I'll never understand why so many have issues with the Reynolds liners. Yes. They do sweat between the bag and the bucket but they still contain all the yeast and krud making clean-up as simple as a hot rinse.

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Well, next time you're in the neighborhood you'll have to show me the technique, because I tried it three times!

The first time the bag basically blew the bottom seam and didn't contain a danged thing. The other two times, it partially leaked and the fermenting wort got between the bag and bucket and blew the bag up with CO2 so that when I opened up the bucket the thing was ballooning out. I like the concept, but in terms of actual application, it certainly didn't work for me.

Varroa said:

What about just a stainless steal bucket with a clip on lid, or would that cost almost as much as a conical?

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yea, like a simple SS stock pot! Drill the lid for a bung, split rubber tube around the rim for a seal, and a couple of clamps...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IS05TI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

SS milk cans would work but they are expensive unfortunately.

Shooter said:

Well, next time you're in the neighborhood you'll have to show me the technique, because I tried it three times!

The first time the bag basically blew the bottom seam and didn't contain a danged thing. The other two times, it partially leaked and the fermenting wort got between the bag and bucket and blew the bag up with CO2 so that when I opened up the bucket the thing was ballooning out. I like the concept, but in terms of actual application, it certainly didn't work for me.

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Have you tried spritzing the insides of the bucket? Water, StarSan, etc... to get the liner to "cling" to the sides?

I have done this so many times it's become second nature to me. You are definitely not alone, I just don't get why.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Have you tried spritzing the insides of the bucket? Water, StarSan, etc... to get the liner to "cling" to the sides?

I have done this so many times it's become second nature to me. You are definitely not alone, I just don't get why.

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It's because YOU have provided inadequate instructions Gila!!!!

After the first blowout, I did StarSan the inside of the bucket, because I wanted it to be sanitized in case it happened again. I really think you need to post some kind of YouTube video. There's probably some major step you're forgetting to tell us, "...and here's where I pump a vacuum into the area between the liner and the bucket." Whoa, whoa, vacuum, WTF?!?!?

I thought about the bag liner and wondered if it was practical to drop a SS ring in the bottom to keep it form pulling up when you open the top or siphon the beer out. I have access to some cheap SS rod...

Homercidal said:

I thought about the bag liner and wondered if it was practical to drop a SS ring in the bottom to keep it form pulling up when you open the top or siphon the beer out. I have access to some cheap SS rod...

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That might be worth a shot.

My thoughts on the SS liner would be a rolled top so that it seals with the gasket in the bucket lid.
Found this while looking around on the ol' internets. The price listed is per unit. Don't know what their definition of a unit is?
For the SS pot with the lid, I thought maybe a gasket with a ring clamp?
Just my 2cents.

How about a stainless steel hydrometer with the scale laser etched on the side? It would be virtually unbreakable. True the etchings could harbor growth, but that is why you never put a hydrometer back into your beer.

biochemedic said:

I think this is a *great* idea, but why would it have to support the weight of the beer by itself?

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Reread my post, I agree with you!

Debbie Downer,

It's great (and innovative) that folks are using them, I may even give it a shot. But I would rather use stainless steel, and there seems to be a hole in the market as there aren't a lot of options between the standard carboys / buckets and steel conicals.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Because refractometers rarely roll off tables and because PET or Reynolds Turkey bags work as good as a steel liner.

For the life of me I'll never understand why so many have issues with the Reynolds liners. Yes. They do sweat between the bag and the bucket but they still contain all the yeast and krud making clean-up as simple as a hot rinse.

Click to expand...

Those are awesome. Not super precise, but very useful for what they are.

winstonofbeer said:

Well they already kind of make the plastic hydrometer that goes in your carboy.
http://brewballstore.com/

I know you are probably thinking of a hydrometer like the glass ones, So they don't break so easily...Maybe with time...Who knows.

Click to expand...

they make plastic swing arm hydrometers........ cheap. I wouldn't use one. but they definitely make them.

the hydrometer manufacturers would be out of business in no time if they made them unbreakable

robtotten said:

Reread my post, I agree with you!

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Ah yes, I see I did misread that line...despite the naysayers, I still think this is an interesting idea. Still, I do like being able to watch my fermentation (*way* better than a lava lamp!), which is why I had started using better bottles for primary. I guess I would consider giving that up though, if there were some relatively inexpensive way to get a stainless steel option.