VMCosco
Active Member
After much reading and research and many conversations, it would seem that racking to a secondary is a thing of the past
for the most part. Even for dry-hopping it sounds like most people just grow the hops in their primary. Some in a bag, some not.
So if I can get my hands in some food grade buckets, eliminating the need to free up my primary for another batch, do I really need a
carboy? They just seem like a PITA to clean and deal with.
So here is what I am thinking...another 6 gallon bucket for primary, a 5 gallon to use as a secondary if I need one, then a couple of 3 gallon in case I want to split a batch with different dry hops, for example.
Any huge flaws in my logic? I am aware of the possible scratching issue with buckets but I am ok with replacing buckets if that happens.
I am also aware of the headspace issue. What confuses me though is that everyone seems concerned about too much head space in the buckets but it also seems like racking to a secondary, which would have less headspace, is not the norm anymore.
I have access to buckets rated for biohazard containment (unused obviously), which I understand are rated even higher than food grade.
for the most part. Even for dry-hopping it sounds like most people just grow the hops in their primary. Some in a bag, some not.
So if I can get my hands in some food grade buckets, eliminating the need to free up my primary for another batch, do I really need a
carboy? They just seem like a PITA to clean and deal with.
So here is what I am thinking...another 6 gallon bucket for primary, a 5 gallon to use as a secondary if I need one, then a couple of 3 gallon in case I want to split a batch with different dry hops, for example.
Any huge flaws in my logic? I am aware of the possible scratching issue with buckets but I am ok with replacing buckets if that happens.
I am also aware of the headspace issue. What confuses me though is that everyone seems concerned about too much head space in the buckets but it also seems like racking to a secondary, which would have less headspace, is not the norm anymore.
I have access to buckets rated for biohazard containment (unused obviously), which I understand are rated even higher than food grade.