Home Depot Orange bucket

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commandercool724

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Hello everyone this is my first post I am new to the forums.

today i started my first brew it is an apple cider brew I took a homedepot bucket and a lid and drilled a hole for an airlock. i put 4 1/2 gallons of cider in the buckets with 4 pounds of brown sugar and pitched the yeast. Will I experience any problems using the homedepot bucket or should it be fine I didnt even think about it until now. I probably should have asked this before I started.
 
I highly doubt that thing is food grade (i.e. wont leach any nasty chemicals). I wouldn't of done it but it seems too late for you now. I would use something like this from now on.
 
yea that is probably a better choice but is 6 times the cost. do you think there is any potential of the final product being harmful? or just maybe an off flavor?
 
What number is on the bottom of the bucket? I believe they are #1 or #2 which are both food grade, so if you gave the bucket a good washing and it didn't have any scratches, you should be ok
 
I am not sure what number is on the bottom of the bucket but i did give it a good washing and it hadnt been used for anything else.
 
I don't know if they are harmful or not, or how to tell if they are, but I have used those buckets for other things and they always have a rough plastic odor going on, I don't know how you can get rid of it and if it will keep coming back. Especially once alcohol is introduced.
 
BTW, if you are really hard up for cash, I know a lot of people snag food grade buckets that ingredients came in from restaurants and what not. They throw them away anyways and I know wal-mart commonly gives them away if you have one with a bakery.
 
I personally only ferment in glass containers. It's pricey but I'm willing to shell out to eliminate any risk of plastic taste contaminating my beer. Plastic buckets are also really easy to scratch, and once you've scratched it, that scratch is almost certainly going to harbor a nearly permanent bacterial infection that means you gotta throw the whole thing away.

You can score a glass 5-gallon carboy for $20 or less from craigslist if you're patient. I got one yesterday for $20, even has a liquid-crystal thermometer sticker already stuck to it. If you reuse it 10 times that means you're only spending $2 per brew on the container, and they're almost impossible to scratch, so it's a pretty good investment if you ask me. And if you decide brewing's not for you, you can sell it for $20-$25 on craigslist and get all your money back, or even make a couple bucks in the process.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but if you intend to make brewing a regular hobby, you ought to consider dropping a $20-spot on a proper glass carboy.
 
A reviewer on the Home Depot website said it worked great for him, and that it is food safe. As long as you don't use anything else in it, and keep it clean and sanitized, you should be OK it seems.
 
This is a very common question around here and there are many posts discussing it. Using the search function will give you lots of info.

In summary they are HDPE #2 and therefore the same plastic used in plastic fermenting buckets but as far as I know they are NOT certified as food grade. This means that the plastic is food grade itself but some of the other things (think neon orange dye) may not be suitable for food contact. This is the way I understand it.

I do not use them for fermenting but if I had to I don't think I would be that worried about it. I DO use them for storing uncrushed grain as well as for milling grain in. Many around here do the same. I was easily able to get rid of the "plastic" smell by soaking some oxiclean in it overnight.

Welcome to homebrewtalk!
 
I would not use it for long term food contact. Save up while this one is fermenting and get bucket that is 1) NSF certified for food contact, or 2) sold by your LHBS as suitable for fermenting, or 3) Glass. Then use your homer bucket for sanitizing solution. A fermenting bucket and lid with an airlock hole is less than $15.
 
feedbag said:
I highly doubt that thing is food grade (i.e. wont leach any nasty chemicals). I wouldn't of done it but it seems too late for you now. I would use something like this from now on.
Click to expand...

Actually it IS safe to use, there's a ton of threads covering this, many of them can be found below, in the similar threads box....This is one of the most asked and covered discussion on here. It comes and goes but it's pretty often brought up new brewers and has been covered, with facts, and experience, instead of just opinion.

It may not be preferable to some people, but it's not harmful either... Despite people's conjecture they don't leach , they aren't any more O2 permeable than any other plastic fermenters we may choose to use, and threetaps has pointed even on the there's even people on the HD site that have used them successfully, and that they are safe for food.

It really is a matter of choice, nothing else, just like using water jugs, aquatainers, or or any other non-traditional fermenters that people have mentioned and tried out, despite what naysayers who may not have even tried them may posit on here.
 
Personally, I would relegate the HD bucket to utility use- but because of its size, not its color. Check out local supermarkets for the white HDPE #2 buckets. The bakeries get tons of stuff delivered in them that are then mostly tossed out. I got several nice ones that hold 3.5 gallons, ideal for half-batches & storage.
For fermenting, the standard 5 gallon bucket just isn't big enough. I don't find the 6.5 gal. "Ale Pail" quite big enough for some fermentations. I bought three 7 gal. white plastic (certified food safe, etc.) bucket from U.S. Plastics. I got them for around $30 delivered, with lids. These are available with lids in various colors. I got three different lid colors to help identify them. These buckets have a slightly taller aspect than standard, thus giving somewhat more headspace for a 5 gal. batch. They also have a real neoprene O-ring seal in the lid, which I like. All I had to do was drill a 1/2" hole in the lid, insert the standard grommet (available from Midwest), and I was good to go.
 
Free is a good way to go, but I use the 5gal buckets I bought them when they were white and had measurements on the side. I think they were $5 each. I use two of them for fermenting a 5 gal batch then consolidate to one when the "violence" is over.
 
Revvy said:
Actually it IS safe to use, there's a ton of threads covering this, many of them can be found below, in the similar threads box....This is one of the most asked and covered discussion on here. It comes and goes but it's pretty often brought up new brewers and has been covered, with facts, and experience, instead of just opinion.

It may not be preferable to some people, but it's not harmful either... Despite people's conjecture they don't leach , they aren't any more O2 permeable than any other plastic fermenters we may choose to use, and threetaps has pointed even on the there's even people on the HD site that have used them successfully, and that they are safe for food.

It really is a matter of choice, nothing else, just like using water jugs, aquatainers, or or any other non-traditional fermenters that people have mentioned and tried out, despite what naysayers who may not have even tried them may posit on here.
Click to expand...

This naysayer stands corrected, Revvy has spoken.
 
Revvy said:
Actually it IS safe to use, there's a ton of threads covering this, many of them can be found below, in the similar threads box....This is one of the most asked and covered discussion on here. It comes and goes but it's pretty often brought up new brewers and has been covered, with facts, and experience, instead of just opinion.

It may not be preferable to some people, but it's not harmful either... Despite people's conjecture they don't leach , they aren't any more O2 permeable than any other plastic fermenters we may choose to use, and threetaps has pointed even on the there's even people on the HD site that have used them successfully, and that they are safe for food.

It really is a matter of choice, nothing else, just like using water jugs, aquatainers, or or any other non-traditional fermenters that people have mentioned and tried out, despite what naysayers who may not have even tried them may posit on here.
Click to expand...

Forgive me father, but I am about to argue with Revvy...

While HDPE is generally food safe, other things such as added dyes may not be. THis is the distinction that must be made when choosing a bucket, If it does not specifically indicate NSF or "Food Contact Safe", then it is best left as a sanitizing or storage bucket. I sell a variety of food contact safe containers (read garbage cans) yet not all of the cans are declared food safe and the only difference is the dyes.
I am sure you can use the Homer buckets without incident, but the OP was asking...
 
northernlad said:
Forgive me father, but I am about to argue with Revvy...

While HDPE is generally food safe, other things such as added dyes may not be. THis is the distinction that must be made when choosing a bucket, If it does not specifically indicate NSF or "Food Contact Safe", then it is best left as a sanitizing or storage bucket. I sell a variety of food contact safe containers (read garbage cans) yet not all of the cans are declared food safe and the only difference is the dyes.
I am sure you can use the Homer buckets without incident, but the OP was asking...
Click to expand...

Well argue away....I'm not...

Like I said, it's all been covered on here, disputed/debated yadda yadda.....Including 5 threads right in the similar threads box below.

I just gave the info and pointed out that there's plenty of info and discussions already on here about it, and people do use them for fermenters, including folks on here.

As to the dyes,that was originally one of my "arguments" against it in some of the earlier threads, but other, more learned people on that subject corrected me, and pointed out the that orange dye really isn't an issue either. It doesn't leach.

So it really does come down to brewer's choice....

But you guys can continue to discuss it all you want, I was just pointing out there are people around here who for this topic it's not just mere conjecture, that there have people who have used it, and also have done enough research or have enough practical background in plastics who have ruled using it perfectly safe.

:mug:
 
As Revvy said, it's all conjecture. For as many who say they should not be used, it appears as though there are as many who have used them with no ill results. No scientific study has been done to prove or disprove whether or not the orange dye will seep into the fermenting wort, or whether or not it will cause off-taste(s) or worse, but those who have used them seem to not notice any difference. Just as us homebrewers say that beer is more resilient than we think, the human body shares this characteristic.

Fact is, there hasn't been a thread made that strongly discourages using the Home Depot bucket for fermenting, or attributes taste and/or health related maladies to the use of such a bucket. Knowing this, it becomes a matter of preference, and only that.

Many people have advised against driving a pinto for main reason that if even a pebble were to hit it at 10 miles per hour, the thing would explode in a fiery ball of metal and upholstery...but I know this guy who still drove the thing 'till it stopped working :) It's all preference.
 
I have two Homer buckets, and I bought them for fermenting. I was quickly turned off by them for one reason alone, and I now use one for Oxi-Clean solution, and one for sanitizing.

The reason I was turned off is the lid design. The lid is extremely difficult to get off, and the way it's designed, I ended up ripping the tabs, and I also ripped past the seal in the lid, so I don't think the one bucket is airtight anymore. Granted, it's my fault that I ripped it, I just decided at that point that the Homer buckets were too cheap, and I wasn't comfortable putting my beer in there.
 
I use one that is specifically used for fermenting Apfelwein. It works great. I personally just lay the lid on top of the bucket to ferment and fart away in my garage.

It is a personal preference, something is going to kill you someday. I doubt that the homer bucket will be the culprit.
 
phatuna said:
I use one that is specifically used for fermenting Apfelwein. It works great. I personally just lay the lid on top of the bucket to ferment and fart away in my garage.

It is a personal preference, something is going to kill you someday. I doubt that the homer bucket will be the culprit.
Click to expand...

Well unless it was filled with concrete and dropped on your head. :D

I have a feeling that when the great and inevitable zombiepocalypse occurs, the ubiquitous homer bucket is going to be quite a valuable bit of survival gear. Food storage, making "the sacred barley water" and other fermentable beverages as alternatives to noxious water, portable seats, clothing and other gear storage, and I'm sure a few ingenious weapon designs will be made with them.;)
 
thank very much for all of your input I will finish this one out inthe bucket. as it turns out my late grandfather used to make his own wine and apparently in the garage at a realatives house there is 5 glass 5 gallon carboys so i guess my problem is solved.
 
commandercool724 said:
thank very much for all of your input I will finish this one out inthe bucket. as it turns out my late grandfather used to make his own wine and apparently in the garage at a realatives house there is 5 glass 5 gallon carboys so i guess my problem is solved.
Click to expand...
Lucky you.. my father used to make wine also. I remember him having at least 3 glass carboys; but, they are long gone.
 
Warning ahead of time, fermenting wort in a glass container....i dont reccomend.... why ?

The mess is hard to clean up, the inside of the bottle gets full of yeast and it sticks to the upper top. Be sure you have a bottle brush/carboy brush to clean it off, because theres no way to get your hands in there!!

Personally, I use grape juice buckets....im sure theres plenty of places that sell grape juice for winemaking....they give you a pail full of juice, usually the yeast is already inside it all you do is open it up and it starts fermenting.

In your case though Id go there and just buy a bucket, they cant charge you more than 5$ for one, their food grade and will last you long.
 
Sum1Stu said:
Warning ahead of time, fermenting wort in a glass container....i dont reccomend.... why ?

The mess is hard to clean up, the inside of the bottle gets full of yeast and it sticks to the upper top. Be sure you have a bottle brush/carboy brush to clean it off, because theres no way to get your hands in there!!

Personally, I use grape juice buckets....im sure theres plenty of places that sell grape juice for winemaking....they give you a pail full of juice, usually the yeast is already inside it all you do is open it up and it starts fermenting.

In your case though Id go there and just buy a bucket, they cant charge you more than 5$ for one, their food grade and will last you long.
Click to expand...

Glass Carboys: Recommended by 6,724,921 out of 6,724,922 homebrewers.
 
northernlad said:
Glass Carboys: Recommended by 6,724,921 out of 6,724,922 homebrewers.
Click to expand...

I don't like to use glass because of the dangers involved with them (although small), because you have to be gentle with them and the fact that you have to keep them covered from light. I prefer stainless. MY preference so lets not turn this into a glass vs plastic vs stainless debate. Just stating that glass is not recommended by everyone.
 
My apologies...

Glass Carboys: Recommended by 6,724,920 out of 6,724,922 homebrewers.

Its a joke, son. Can that not be inferred from the obviously random number generated?

I fear you people may take this thing a bit too seriously. I will be sure to keep things like this to myself in the future.
 
northernlad said:
I fear you people may take this thing a bit too seriously. I will be sure to keep things like this to myself in the future.
Click to expand...

Keep posting ... I laughed. Never hurts to remind ourselves to chill out and have another drink! There's too much stress in this world. Isn't that what this hobby is supposed to get us away from?
 
commandercool724 said:
Hello everyone this is my first post I am new to the forums.

today i started my first brew it is an apple cider brew I took a homedepot bucket and a lid and drilled a hole for an airlock. i put 4 1/2 gallons of cider in the buckets with 4 pounds of brown sugar and pitched the yeast. Will I experience any problems using the homedepot bucket or should it be fine I didnt even think about it until now. I probably should have asked this before I started.
Click to expand...
Mr Cool-
what yeast did you use?
I would use a carboy over a bucket, you can find one for the same price as your bucket or less
 
northernlad said:
My apologies...

Glass Carboys: Recommended by 6,724,920 out of 6,724,922 homebrewers.

Its a joke, son. Can that not be inferred from the obviously random number generated?

I fear you people may take this thing a bit too seriously. I will be sure to keep things like this to myself in the future.
Click to expand...

I think it's probably more that you're implying that almost everyone uses glass carboys which is definitely not the case. I use almost all plastic fermenters and only bust out glass carboys for certain processes or wines.

While the people who have been around here and know that plenty of people use plastic realize what you said is a joke, you also said it on the beginners beer brewing forum and some of the people reading this will take what you said quite literally. It's easier to stop misinformation now when someone is open to peoples ideas rather than later when the are set in their ways.

No one wants you to stop posting, but don't get upset when someone corrects something that could be taken out of context and affect someones decisions in the future.
 
This question/thread came at perfect timing for me. I'm considering picking one up for sanatizing when I actually use my fermenting bucket. I typically use the carboy but when i use the plastic bucket I don't have a handy spare for sanatizing at bottling time so a Homer Bucket seemed like a quick and easy fix...

Thanks, Revvy, for reminding me about the "similar threads" section at the bottom of the page...

-Tripod
 
FWIW, I bought a homer bucket about a month ago, and the HDPE rating on it was a #2, I don't know if I would use it as a fermentation bucket because of the Orange plastic, but it is a food grade plastic.
 
Tripod said:
This question/thread came at perfect timing for me. I'm considering picking one up for sanatizing when I actually use my fermenting bucket. I typically use the carboy but when i use the plastic bucket I don't have a handy spare for sanatizing at bottling time so a Homer Bucket seemed like a quick and easy fix...

Thanks, Revvy, for reminding me about the "similar threads" section at the bottom of the page...

-Tripod
Click to expand...

I use them for storing bulk grain as well as for "working buckets" for sanitation purposes and whatever else pops up during brewing. Yeah they work perfect for sanitizing equipment in. I always get a lid cause they are dirt cheap and you never know when you will need one.
 
I saw this as the 'tongue in cheek' statement that it was meant to be. When I started brewing, plastic was a four letter word. Glass was the only 'sane' method. (Also bleach was the only sane sanitizer....) Now, almost 20 years later, plastic is given it's due. I am currently seriously considering converting.... and when I do, it WILL be on the cheap. I've been convinced that these orange buckets from HomeDepot, and similar buckets from Lowes and other competitors are a viable alternative. Yes I will have to modify them with a spigot, but to me brewing is a DIY sport, and this is just another venue for that.

That being said, if you aren't comfortable using these buckets as another brewing tool, then don't'. It's not a specific science that dictates that if you do things different, you are wrong. It's a hobby for gosh sakes. Hobbies are supposed to be relaxing. To me it's a Zen thing. If I am happy with the final product, which I am usually, then I have been successful.

Now I need to find a KC Chiefs bucket, that would be awesome (yes I know its' a 'rebuilding' year..)
 

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