DIY Fermenter on the Cheap!

If made a bunch of these, for around $1.10 each. Took a gallon pickle jar, drilled a hole for a gasket and popped in an air lock. I plan to use them for small batch experiments and what not. All you have to buy is the gasket and the air lock. Cheers!

I actually really like that, especially compared with the 1 gallon wine jugs I've seen people use. Thanks for the tip.

Yeah, that's pretty BA. I'm going to do that next time I want to do a small batch.

clever. I'm thinking small batch meads. thank you for sharing.

If you were able to get pickle smell out of the lid, then you're a better man than I. The wife and I make pickles all the time, and our Mason Jars are dedicated pickle jars now.

I suppose you could make a starter in there...lol

pfgonzo said:

If you were able to get pickle smell out of the lid, then you're a better man than I. The wife and I make pickles all the time, and our Mason Jars are dedicated pickle jars now.

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I got the smell out of the jar fairly easily after a couple soaks in PBW, but the lid was another issue. On the advice of a friend, I put the lids in a shallow dish of water in the sun all day and let the UV do the trick. Worked like a charm. I was struggling with getting the smell out of the lid until he suggested it.

DocAJ said:

If made a bunch of these, for around $1.10 each. Took a gallon pickle jar, drilled a hole for a gasket and popped in an air lock. I plan to use them for small batch experiments and what not. All you have to buy is the gasket and the air lock. Cheers!

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We have been doing this for awhile for small batches of wine. We got started because we ran out of 1 gallon jugs that we were using. This has been working great. What I like about this is that you suggested where to get that gallon jar. It is a quick, easy, and cheap fix. Thanks for sharing.

awesome idea. Thanks!

DocAJ said:

I got the smell out of the jar fairly easily after a couple soaks in PBW, but the lid was another issue. On the advice of a friend, I put the lids in a shallow dish of water in the sun all day and let the UV do the trick. Worked like a charm. I was struggling with getting the smell out of the lid until he suggested it.

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Nod. The glass is nonreactive and not an issue. I'll try the water-in-the-sun trick on the lid! Thanks!

That's what I use to make starters in.

bja said:

That's what I use to make starters in.

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+1 (I actually use 1/2 gallon Mason jars...but same idea). You can get a rubber grommet like you get with an ale pale at the hardware store for 20 cents and make it air tight too.

Keyth

My older brother used to make his bread yeast & sugar hooch in those. Except he used the plastic ones and i'm pretty sure just manually relieved pressure every now and then.

Kept the damn things on a heating pad in the closet. Must have been terrible stuff.

Bought 2 of these on a trip to Costco. Got the glass soaking in some oxyclean solution and the lids sitting in the sun with some water in them. Thanks!
Are these gasket's you used easy to find at a hardware store? What are they normally used for? If I can't find them I'm thinking of just dedicating a few airlocks and silicon around the hole to seal them.

lebucheron said:

Are these gasket's you used easy to find at a hardware store? What are they normally used for? If I can't find them I'm thinking of just dedicating a few airlocks and silicon around the hole to seal them.

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You don't need airlocks, just leave the lid loose.

bja said:

You don't need airlocks, just leave the lid loose.

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hmmm. I'd be using these a secondaries and wouldn't have as much CO2 pushing out air and such. Have you tried just leaving the lid on loose a good week or two after the vigorous fermentation is done in primary? It would make my life easier...

bja said:

You don't need airlocks, just leave the lid loose.

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Or aluminum foil.

So just to reiterate, not making a starter in these, just using them as small secondary carboys. Still ok to just let the lids sit loose or need airlock?

lebucheron said:

Bought 2 of these on a trip to Costco. Got the glass soaking in some oxyclean solution and the lids sitting in the sun with some water in them. Thanks!
Are these gasket's you used easy to find at a hardware store? What are they normally used for? If I can't find them I'm thinking of just dedicating a few airlocks and silicon around the hole to seal them.

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My LHBS had the gaskets, but I'm sure a hardware store would have them as well...

lebucheron said:

So just to reiterate, not making a starter in these, just using them as small secondary carboys. Still ok to just let the lids sit loose or need airlock?

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Not sure aboutletting the lids loose, but the ease and inexpensiveness of installing the airlock has me using the airlock. I dont use my just for secondary (although with my Hefe, I'm going to do the secondary with a gallon of the wort and some watermelon), but for smaller and experimental batches (planning to do a 5 gallon stout batch and ferment each gallon witha different strain of yeast).

I really like that idea for experimenting brew!

Awesome idea!

DocAJ said:

Not sure aboutletting the lids loose,

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If you tighten the lid and then just crack it loose, it will be sitting on the seal and not let anything in, but co2 pressure will lift it enough to let any pressure out.

It's not rocket science.

bja said:

If you tighten the lid and then just crack it loose, it will be sitting on the seal and not let anything in, but co2 pressure will lift it enough to let any pressure out.

It's not rocket science.

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I make kefir in a pickle jar, and do the same thing.

I have used them for starters for a while now. If you clean them up quickly (eat the pickles quickly) then its not so hard to get out. I have a bunch of 1/2 gal ones from my parents. I used them for Starsan containers originally and after the first run thru Starsan they are pretty clean.