fermentation bottles

is there any reason i couldnt use a regular 5 gallon water bottle to secondary? what about the 6 & 7 gallon water tanks you can get at any camping store for a primary?

as i understand, most plastic water bottles are susceptible to contamination due to the porous material used for blow-molding.

I don't believe that are usually PET, meaning that they will allow O2 to pass through too easily.

Cheap plastic = Oxidation = cardboard

could i coat them with something to make them usable?

sorry I sound so cheap, im just a poor college student who really wants to get into homebrewing.

If your really poor I'd just go for plastic fermenting buckets then, they are only like 7 bux or something and most brewshops have em.

Hey bummerkit,
Join the party! =) I too am a poor college kid brewing!

I brew 2.5 gallon batches in Mr.Beer kegs (I have 2), and have had a hell of a lot of success doing it. Of course, I don't use Mr.Beer recipes, which helps.

From MoreBeer.com the 6.5 gallon buckets are $8 + shipping. At my LHBS they're $11 + tax, which isn't too bad either. The Mr. Beer kegs are $10 at mrbeer.com. The really nice thing about them is actually being able to see the fermentation. =)

I tend to just take 5 gallon recipes, and cut them in half. Been working pretty well so far... I've thought about 5 gallon brews (As the 6.5 gallon buckets are cheap), but I like doing smaller batches just to get to try more beer faster. Of course, the down side to this is that it doesn't cost that much more to do a 5 gallon brew.

Doing some simple math, I worked my cost per bottle to a little over a dollar, but if I was doing 5 gallons, it comes out well under a dollar.

Most water cooler water bottles are polycarbonate and make an excellent secondary.

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

Most water cooler water bottles are polycarbonate and make an excellent secondary.

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This might be a deceiving statement, I think you would need to check the rating (the recycling number in the triangle on the bottom of the bottle). I looked at all my water bottles and they were rated #7 Other

I think anything less then a #1 PETE is not recommended for a fermenter?

1 PET - Polyethylene Terephthalate. Accounts for 20-30% of all plastic bottles manufactured. Most commonly found in 2-liter soda bottles, and water bottles.

2 HDPE - High Density Polyethylene. The most common plastic used in plastic bottle manufacture, about 50-60%. Usually found in milk and detergent jugs, shampoo and lotion bottles.

3 V - Vinyl/Polyvinyl Chloride.

4 LDPE - Low Density Polyethylene. Used in film plastics and plastic grocery bags.

5 PP - Polypropylene.

6 PS - Polystyrene. Used in disposable food service tableware, plates and cups. The "foam polystyrene" variety is often mistakenly called "Styrofoam" and is used for rigid packing material and peanuts.

7 Other All other plastic resins and multi-material plastics

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I know for a fact they are polycarbonate. And polycarbonate IS listed as a #7.

Been through this discussion before.

Polycarbonate does not have the barrier properties of PET... BUT, I'm not sure if that would be a problem for a primary fermenter where we are only talking about a week.

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

I know for a fact they are polycarbonate. And polycarbonate IS listed as a #7.

Been through this discussion before.

Click to expand...

Sorry, wasn't challenging what they were made of just questioning the O2 barrier properties of that grade (#7)of plastic especially for secondary.

I left a beer in a polycarbonate water bottle for over a year when I moved to college years ago. It was in my parents basement and I forgot about it. Anyway about 16 months later we bottled it and there was no indications of oxidation.

Polypropylene (white) carboys are used by many for aging beer and wine and is more permeable than PC. You'll never beat glass or SS, but sometimes the levels of O2 permeability we are talking about are extremely low, so I sometimes wonder how much a concern this really be.

The brewing industry was looking into ABS plastic for fermentors and cold storage tanks but decided the cost was still to high to replace SS.