5 Gallon Dear Park water jug

Can I use these as fermenters? Primary, at least?

-Ivan

 

I've done it. I don't plan on doing it again, but I had no problems. Now I use Better Bottles...

edit - note my batch size was not 5 gallons when I used it

 

Whats the difference between a 5 gallon glass carboy and these?

 

One major difference is that glass isn't nearly as permeable as the water jug plastic. The other issue is, if you want to brew 5 gallon batches, you can't ferment them in five gallon vessels. They need at least one gallon headspace...

 

Do a search, the topic of using plastic water carboys as fermenters has been covered dozens of times, if not hundreds.

 

a 5 gallon fermenter filled with 5 gallons of wort...will blow off up to 1 gallon in the first few days..wasting beer.

Oh the humanity!

 

Damn... the kit I bought came with a 5 gallon carboy.

Can I ferment in the bottling bucket?

 

Yes, if you drill the lid for an airlock and stopper, but you should invest in a 6.5 gal carboy, they're only like $17.

 

Did it only come with one carboy? I could see if they gave you one 5 gallon carboy to secondary in, but not for primary. That's weird...

 

the lid already has the hole, but the bucket doesnt. Am I supposed to drill the hole myself for bottling?

Will blow-off or beer start oozing out of the spigot hole, or does the blow-off always go up to the top?

If not, then problem solved. I'll do my primary in the bucket...secondary in the carboy, then bottle in the bucket.

Sound good?

 

Blowoff/Airlock goes at the top, in the hole on the lid. You're good to go- no need for more holes.

 

It sounds like your kit has one bucket and one carboy. It may very well be that the intent there is to use the bucket, which might be a 6.5 or larger one, as the primary AND the bottling bucket. Do the primary fermentation in the bucket with the lid and an airlock in the hole on top. When that ferm. is done you can rack to the carboy for secondary, where your brew will settle out, and then you should have your bucket nicely cleaned out and available for use as a bottling bucket, where you'll get to use that spigot.

 

The bucket is a 6.5, but I think I'm missing something.

I do the primary in the bucket...secondary in the carboy, then bottle in the bucket, but where do I put the spigot. There's no hole on the bucket... Do I have to drill a hole into the bucket? Do I lay the bucket on its side and use the hole on the cover?

 

So my kit is retarded, then.

The box says it contains a bottling bucket...
In the box, there is a spigot...loose, in a plastic wrapping, as if I'm supposed to install it myself.
Then there's the bucket. It has a lid with a hole and a rubber stopper...but unlike the image above, the bucket does not have the spigot attached...it also doesnt have a hole to attach the spigot in the box.

And herein lies my confusion. What do I do now?

 

I must have misread a post above. If your bucket has no holes in the sides, and one in the lid, and it's 6.5 gal, then that's your primary! Most rules here would say to leave your brew in there until the SG is no longer dropping, as in you get the same readings on your hydrometer 2 days in a row, or after a week, whichever is LONGER. If you got a kit then it probably included a racking cane, a kind of hockey stick shaped hard plastic tube, which you attach a hose to (again probably included in your kit) and siphon your beer into the 5 gal carboy, where it sits for a couple more weeks, with an airlock from your kit, so that the remaining yeast settles out of your brew. Then you use your racking cane and hose to bottle your beer, hopefully with a little valve attachment on a piece of hose.

Where's you get your kit, or is there a similar one online? Perhaps we can see a picture and clarify all the parts if you like?

Matt

P.S. I'm no pro at this, I've just been reading a lot! Just make sure to read through the howtobrew.com site a few times, and then ask about any still misunderstood stuff here.

 

You don't need the spigot, just use the siphon to bottle with. I have done many a brew without a spigot.

 

Or you could drill the hole and screw it on, only takes a couple of seconds. You will find that do-it-yourself projects are an essential part to homebrewing.

 

The problem is, can I still use that bucket as a primary if I drill a hole and theres a spigot on it?

All signs are pointing to bottling with the siphon...dont think that will be a problem since the kit came with the bottling tube with the little spring-loadd valve.

I just dont understand why they included a spigot and label it as a bottling bucket if it doesnt have a hole...idiots!

 

This guy is fermenting in his bottling bucket...
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=4647&catid=1

 

Well they are not idiots if you look at it as they are giving you the option to have a spigot installed or not. Not everyone is comfy brewing in a bucket with a spigot. You should not have any problems with it as long as you clean it very well. Drill the hole, don't drill the hole. It is all your decision.

 

You'll be just as well off if you don't do any drilling. Do your primary fermentation in the bucket. It will be much easier to clean, has more head space, and you can poor chilled wort into it easily to add some oxygen. When the primary fermentation has slowed down, transfer your beer from the bucket to the cleaned carboy without splashing (keep the end of the siphon hose in the very bottom of the carboy) and airlock it. When the beer is done in the secondary or your run out of patience, rack it back into the bucket, mix in your boiled bottling sugar, mix it up, let it sit for a while, and add extra yeast if necessary. In the meantime, sanitize your siphon equipment, bottles and caps. When you're ready, start a siphon from the bucket and bottle.

 

I have made my decision... LOL...

I am going to ferment in the bucket WITHOUT the hole...
I'll do secondary in the carboy...
While thats going on, I'll drill the hole in the bucket for bottling...
and I'll bottle.

I'm going to ferment round 2 (whatever it is - I'll order something online) in the bottling bucket with the spigot. I'll be sure to take it apart and clean/sanitize after bottling round 1 and again before fermenting round 2.

At that point, we'll see what happens. I'll probably want to try to brew without using a kit for round 3, so when I go to the store again to get the ingredients I'll probably just pick up a 6.5 gallon carboy...their 21 bucks by me.

Thanks for all the help, guys.
-I