Cheap Fermenter Option?

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I ran across these at the grocery store for $7 a piece and thought of buying a few so I can always have a batch or two of cider going (its so much cheaper, so why not..). Are there any problems I might run into with using these to ferment 5 gal batches of cider and/or beer?

The only clear problem I can think of is the possibility of overflow, but either reducing batch size or using a blowoff tube could easily prevent that. Anything else I should be concerned about?

 

I use one of those just without the handle. Makes it easier to clean

 

you have to check the grade of plastic that they're made of. I think you should use them only if they're a #1 or #2.

 

Also, you should be concerned about the blowoff. I try to keep my batches under 4.5G otherwise I'll just lose the volume to blowoff.

EDIT: don't forget the OxyClean for the cleanup afterwards.

 

Also Fermcap-s can be used to help reduce overflow.

 

That handle area is going to be hard to clean. Look around for Poland Springs bottles. There is a thread on here about the new ones. They're #1 plastic and have solid, not hollow handles. Also, they only cost $5 for a deposit and use all of the same Better Bottle hardware that you may be used to. They're actually made by Better Bottle. Just search around here for the thread on them.

 

If these are storing drinking water, shouldn't they automatically be the correct plastic grade?

 

No. Why would you assume that something that is safe to hold a fairly neutral liquid like water would automatically be suitable to hold a liquid that is slightly acidic and eventually comes to contain ethanol which has some solvent like characteristics.

That said, most 5 gallon water bottles that are not #1 are #7. #7 is a catchall that includes multi-layer plastic composed of multiple types of plastic (#1-#6). Odds are even with the #7 water bottles the layer in contact with the water is #1, but there is no way to be sure. On the other hand if it says #1, it is entirely #1.

 

Actually with a thorough soaking in oxyclean and a jet bottle washer, the handle is not really an issue. The oxy bubbles does a good job of getting any krausen out of the handle area...plus since they are tranparant you can see if there is anything stuck to it. I've used 3 gallon handled water jugs as small batch fermenters for years and NEVER had a problem getting them clean and sanitized.

 

I do wines in one of those, no issue at all. Crud around the handle area is not an issue when done with something like OXY. I tend to use VWP.