I am new in homebrewing and for now I brew from kits. At my first batch my plastic faucet was leaking. So my question is: can I replace the plastic faucet with a metal one? and what are the metals that don't affect the beer?
Metal faucet
- Thread starter montego
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BoisePorter
Well-Known Member
I'm assuming you are talking about the spigot on the bucket. You don't want to ferment in your bottling bucket. You should get a bucket without a spigot or use carboys. If you insist on using this bucket and want to try a metal spigot, I wouldn't use anything that isn't stainless steel. But a bucket is probably going to be cheaper.
rtichota
Well-Known Member
Even if it's plastic it shouldn't leak, but what faucet are we talking about here?
http://www.brouwland.com/en -> "BREWFERM starter's kit complete"
This is the equipement I used. The hole process is about putting the kit's content in the fermentator along with water, yeast and sugar. After 10 days of fermenting I transfer the beer into glass bottles. And what I am trying to say is that the spigot/faucet (I don't know english very well) is leaking and I want to replace it with a metalic one (let's say one made from bronze)
This is the equipement I used. The hole process is about putting the kit's content in the fermentator along with water, yeast and sugar. After 10 days of fermenting I transfer the beer into glass bottles. And what I am trying to say is that the spigot/faucet (I don't know english very well) is leaking and I want to replace it with a metalic one (let's say one made from bronze)
BoisePorter
Well-Known Member
The spigot probably isn't the problem. It's probably the seal around it. Check to make sure it has a gasket at least on the inside. You should be able to unscrew it to check. Then tighten it.
rtichota
Well-Known Member
If you're set on replacing it, I would check out Bargain Fittings for a stainless steel weldless setup (not sure about international shipping). You can make the same thing out of brass and copper from the plumbing section of a hardware store too.
It's not leaking from the interior, it's somehow leaking from exterior, so it doesn't solve anything.
I'm still confused. The wort is getting from the inside of the bucket to the outside so it is either leaking around the faucet (check the the gasket), or it's leaking through the nozzel (the tubing idea would solve this). But still, the bottom line is you should get a food grade bucket with lid and ferment in that, not this one, that is really a bottling bucket despite the lid with airlock.
Trust us, get the new bucket then unscrew the faucet and get a new one, preferably free fom the vendor you linked. Good luck.
Trust us, get the new bucket then unscrew the faucet and get a new one, preferably free fom the vendor you linked. Good luck.
Rancher
Member
The type of spigot that is on that bucket appears to be the same as on mine, it rotates, not sure if there is an "O" ring inside, but I've never tried to take my apart. Bottom line bottling buckets are not good for the primary fermentation stage, buy a bucket without a spigot.
This is commonly called plumbers silicon.montego said:
Rancher=John
I am not sure I fully understood this. You are saying that I should put the wort to ferment in a bucket with no spigot.. and after fermentation what will happen? How do I put the beer in bottles with no spigot?
BoisePorter
Well-Known Member
Correct. You will then use a siphon system to get the beer from the primary (bucket with no spigot) to the bottling bucket and do so with as little splashing (oxidization) as possible.
Rancher
Member
The spigot hides bacteria, it's hard to clean it all out most home brew use a secondary glass carboy to settle and age the beer a bit after the primary fermantation.
Without seeing it, I'm guessing you are getting a leak from in between the handle/spigot piece and the part that secures it to the rest of the assembly. You could try to seal it with food grade grease but this shouldn't be necessary. If your equipment is new you could try to complain about it from where you bought it from. I probably wouldn't mention that you are trying to use it for a primary though since that is not its intended use. Or you could just buy another. It would be a lot cheaper than trying to find food grade metal parts.
I can't comment on metal spigots much because I have never tried it but I do use a bottling bucket for my primary. I don't use a secondary and I have another bottling bucket for actually bottling. It has worked fine for my last 19 batches as long as you --> make sure you disassemble and thoroughly clean it every time (perhaps soak it in bleach water for a few hours after draining) <-- it should work just fine. Also sanitize the inside of the spigot before bottling. I usually do this with a spray bottle of Starsan. A small amount of the trub does come out when it first starts but 99% stays in the primary.
I can't comment on metal spigots much because I have never tried it but I do use a bottling bucket for my primary. I don't use a secondary and I have another bottling bucket for actually bottling. It has worked fine for my last 19 batches as long as you --> make sure you disassemble and thoroughly clean it every time (perhaps soak it in bleach water for a few hours after draining) <-- it should work just fine. Also sanitize the inside of the spigot before bottling. I usually do this with a spray bottle of Starsan. A small amount of the trub does come out when it first starts but 99% stays in the primary.
Rookie mistake - I too fermented my first couple of batches in a bucket with that plastic spigot. Then I boiled the spigot one day because it sat around in the laundry room for a few weeks and I was worried about bacteria (look at the thing with all its crevices and such, it would be a great place if you were a bacterium). Putting it in boiling water ruined the seal pretty much. Teflon tape around the red plastic piece made for a tight seal when I put it back in for the next couple of batches. Then I wised up and decided to use a bucket without the hole or spigot.
Getting the beer out afterwards is simple: racking cane and siphon. Do a search for it on your favorite LHBS website.
Getting the beer out afterwards is simple: racking cane and siphon. Do a search for it on your favorite LHBS website.
Actually it is the intended use. He linked the kit he got which pretty much is this plastic bucket with plastic spigot and lid with airlock that you ferment in, and bottle from. But still he would be better off getting another bucket without spigot. The problem is he needs a bunch of other stuff as well since this setup he has doesn't have a racking tube, siphon, tubing, bottling wand, etc. His current problem is he needs to take the beer out of the fermenter in order to remove the spigot to figure out why it is leaking and fix it, but he probably doesn't have anywhere to put the beer in the mean time.
superjunior
Well-Known Member
why not? I've been fermenting in bottling buckets for over a year with no problems. when in use I rotate the spigot upwards so there are no drips. after use I take the spigot off, scrub than soak in starsan. no leaks, no infections and no problems
GoldMiner
Well-Known Member
why not? I've been fermenting in bottling buckets for over a year with no problems. when in use I rotate the spigot upwards so there are no drips. after use I take the spigot off, scrub than soak in starsan. no leaks, no infections and no problems
+1 I've been using fermenters with spigots for years.
No infections here either.
Gary of HomebrewerTV even recommended it in his brewing tips episode.:rockin:
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