Owners of SS Brew Bucket - Is it worth getting?

[BonzoAPD]

Question for all of you Ss Brew Tech Brew Buckets. Is it really worth getting or do you wish you spent your money on something else brew related? My bday is coming up and I am contemplating getting one. http://www.ssbrewtech.com/products/brewbucket


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[Transamguy77]

I checked out the link and was drooling till I got to the price, it's a really nice piece of equipment but I think I personally would wait till I was where I wanted to be in my brewing before dropping that much on a fermenter, my buckets don't look as nice but do the same thing.

 

[cannman]

I love the options if I were to brew 10gal+, but at the price... a $40 carboy looks pretty good... In fact, I brew 6gal glass carboy and secondary in a 5gal glass carboy all for under $80 (including shipping) the price his hard to beat, does the job...

now if I had $225 to blow, I'd work on upgrading my all grain system first...

 

[fbold1]

I for one, think that they are definitely worth the cost. I will be ordering one next month. I have my doubts about the plastic buckets that I use because they tend to have an odor to them, which tells me that they may be imparting a flavor to my beer that I really don't want, and glass carboys are a PIA to work with.

 

[The542]

I bought 6 at the introductory price of $175. I love them. I can pressurize to about 4 psi and push through the hop rocket straight into the keg w/o any air contact. Great head space on a 5 gal batch, and same price as if I'd gone with two blichmann Ferminators. I can fit five in my ferm freezer w/o modifications.

 

[rappell]

I really like mine. The benefits of a conical in a fraction of the space. But I got mine at the beginning for $175 with free shipping. $225 is a little steep, but if you want a conical it's the cheapest way to get one.


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[normonster]

I have two of them. I started out with these so I can't compare to carboys or buckets.

That said:

• I do not like the gasket on the lid as it is subject to little nics that might harbor the same stuff a plastic bucket could
• I do not like the lid as it is not very solid and you can depress it with little pressure potentially sucking sanitizer down into your brew
• I do not like the plastic feet they put on the legs as they've basically disintegrated from rocking the things to mix in oxy
• I do not like the valve because the tube doesn't get anywhere near the bottom of the bucket and the rotating aspect of it literally moves it like 2". Not to mention it is small and cheap. The weldless nature of it also makes the pressure with which you tighten the thing paramount to avoiding leaks (very, very little pressure)

• I do like that they stack in use or storage
• I do like that I don't have to worry about light penetration
• I do like that they are easy as can be to sanitize/clean
• I do like that the sidewalls are nice and thick
• I do like the way they look
• I do like that Ss is coming out with a cooling system to free up my beer fridge for cold-storage only

If I could go back I'd still probably buy them again, knowing I will be using them for a long time.

The one thing I would caution is to spend your energy/money on temperature control before you worry about the vessel you'll be fermenting in. I'd rather have a fridge, temp controller and two plastic buckets than two Ss Brewbuckets alone.

 

[Spartan1979]

I have one that I bought @ $175. I'm satisfied with it. The only complaint in the feet, but I think I found some that I can use at Amazon. I just have to empty the Brew Bucket before I can try them.

I'm thinking about buying another and getting rid of most of my carboys.

 

[fuelish]

I'm thinking about buying another and getting rid of most of my carboys.

What's wrong with buying another and keeping the carboys....and brewing more??? Or maybe make some meads/wines you can just let live in the carboys to bulk age.....that'd be MY solution

 

[hunter_le five]

I can't speak to the Brew Bucket, but this is what I use, and it is similar-ish. At $135, I'm happy with it. I wish they still made the larger ones.

I added a $12 thermowell for temp control, and am thinking of adding a spigot as well.

 

[Spartan1979]

What's wrong with buying another and keeping the carboys....and brewing more??? Or maybe make some meads/wines you can just let live in the carboys to bulk age.....that'd be MY solution

I never have more than two beers fermenting at one time and that's fairly rare, although I want to change that. I don't make wines or meads.

 

[Shaneoco1981]

They have done a redesign on the twistable valve. The tube on the end is now longer so the amount that you can twist to get right to the top of the yeast cake is much greater. Before the redesign came out, they added a piece of tubing to accomplish the same thing the redesign did. I also love that they offer a temp control for their brew bucket so I don't need a fridge to make a lager now. I love that I can stack them when in use. Saves me a great deal of space when I am in the process of finishing my basement and space is at a premium.

 

[fbold1]

That's a coincidence, Shane lives in Rochester, MI which is where Hunter, from the lone star got his Deep Woods ss Fermenter.