Bought a complete brewing kit at a yard sale for $5.00

[doktorhook]

First I would like to say howdy to everyone as this is my first post, & secondly, I got a heck of a deal on some brewing equipment. 2 food grade buckets (1 6.5 gal. & 1 5 gal.), 1 bottle tree, bottle washer, bottle brush, hydrometer, siphon hose, bottling hose, spigot, bottle capper, bottle caps, air lock, measuring spoons, sanitizer, & a few other knick knacks for $5.00.

Now I'm about to put all of it to good use to make make my second batch of beer ever (first was Mr. Beer). I have a question though. The 5 gallon bucket is the racking bucket right? Is it also a secondary fermentor?

 

[BluBruShack]

WoW Congrats Dok!
Sounds like a heck of a find there for $5. You can use either of those buckets for primary or secondary fermentation. Its just preferred that you use one with the least amount of space above the beer for secondary fermentation. If your on your second batch I would not worry to much about doing a secondary fermentation. It is a lot easier to leave the beer in primary for 2-4 weeks and then bottling from there. Less of a chance for infection, oxidization, and things like that. I use my bottling bucket as a primary and then just bottle right out of there and havent had any problems.
Welcome to the forum, keep any questions coming, and happy brewing
BBS

 

[Improbable]

If the 5 gal has a spigot at the bottom, then it's definitely the bottling bucket. There's no real need to use a secondary fermenter unless you're doing a few slightly advanced things (adding fruit or whatnot for flavoring, trying really hard to clarify, etc), but there are some advantages to not using the bottling bucket as a primary: The siphoning process is a great time to mix in priming sugar with minimal oxidation, and there'll be no worries about winding up with trub in a bottle.

Just be sure to give the equipment a good once-over before you use it. I expect it only got one or two uses before someone gave up, but make sure the insides of the buckets aren't scratched up (this will harbor infections) and that there's no signs of mildew in any of the hoses or fittings.

 

[KevinW]

++1 on the (no secondary for "regular" beers) and the 4 week primary straight to bottle advice!

I would soak the fermentors, tubing/hoses, spoon(s), and any spigots or airlocks in Oxyclean Free for a day or so just to be safe but otherwise you scored a major deal.

Congratulations!

 

[unionrdr]

That was a great deal on a basic starter kit! Great find indeed. It'll more than pay for itself the first brew! Big congrats man! I also agree with a good soak/cleaning before using it the first time. & remove & clean the spigot,the seals,& the mounting hole as well. I've found that this is where a lot of bacteria & off smells come from when I'm cleaning mine.

 

[brian74]

Again, before you go nuts on secondary fermentation, research it. Many do not recommend it these days, claiming no added benefit and added risks.

 

[Smashing]

Wow, great deal! Definitely clean and clean again. You can use a bucket with a spigot for fermenting you just have to be super careful with it. That gives you 2 feremtors. The only real problem is the lack of head room in a 5gal bucket. good to do a smaller batch in though.

 

[kh54s10]

Thermometer? I didn't see that in the list. If you don't have one, get one and check it's calibration. Temperature and sanitation are the most important aspects in brewing.

And BTW, great find. My deluxe kit cost me $159.

 

[doktorhook]

Thanks for the advice & kudos guys. On the surface things look practically new. I suspect that it was used only a few times if that. The siphoning hose needs to be replaced, looks like for whatever reason, the end was cut off.
It did not come with a thermometer, but I have already corrected that. I also recently purchased a turkey fryer to boil the wort in. Which reminds me, any problems with the aluminum pot I need to know about?

 

[unionrdr]

They say it has to be conditioned first by boiling water in it. Something like that. I use stainless steel myself...

 

[kh54s10]

I use aluminum. I have read some that say definitely NO. Most say OK. I also read to "season" it. Fill it up with water and set it to a boil for a while. It will "oxidize"?? a coating or something on the inside. Mine has a dark tarnish at the bottom and lighter on the sides. This is normal and you don't want to try to remove it.

 

[KevinW]

I have a 13.5 gallon aluminum and I don't have any problems with my brain, at least none that I know of! That's the great thing about losing your mind, you are the only one who does not know it

Seriously, as stated it is a good idea to boil a pot o'water in it first to give it a layer of oxide and once there do not remove it. It looks bad but is actually good!

Do NOT use oxyclean on aluminum (assuming you even use oxyclean), it will remove the oxide layer and can leave a metallic taste to the first batch boiled in it until a new layer forms!

If you want to read up on aluminum feel free but from all I have read there is not fact based information to justify aluminum cookware contributing to Alzheimers disease!

Good luck