Home Depot water jugs?

piper27 · Jun 30, 2016

I have a couple of glass carboys and a couple of Pet carboys,is there any reason not to use these 5 gallon bottles as carboys? Their cheaper than pet carboys, but probably not as strong. Might be able to use them in a pinch, what do you think?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/5-Gal-Water-No-Exchange-Initial-Purchase-5GALIP2/205227468

Curtis2010 · Jun 30, 2016

Likely not a good idea due to type of plastic (check code on bottom). Most water jugs are not make from alcohol/acid resistant plastic (like PET) and will leach into your brew. Not only does it taste nasty, but many of these chemicals are carcinogens.

piper27 · Jun 30, 2016

Curtis2010 said:
Likely not a good idea due to type of plastic (check code on bottom). Most water jugs are not make from alcohol/acid resistant plastic (like PET) and will leach into your brew. Not only does it taste nasty, but many of these chemicals are carcinogens.

Thanks Curtis, I knew there had to be a catch.

kh54s10 · Jun 30, 2016

I have fermented in a water bottle a few times without any noticeable problems. I don't know if it is the same plastic as the HD ones. Definitely no nasty taste.

Mine are 3 gallon bottles that I bought at Walmart for about $3. Unless you want the water, I would buy 6 gallon PET bottles that, to me, are much more useful than a 5 gallon bottle. I have one (PET) 5 gallon and it rarely gets used.

IslandLizard · Jun 30, 2016

6.5 gallon brew buckets work great! <$15 with a lid. Easy to clean.

kh54s10 · Jun 30, 2016

Yes, there are better options at not much greater price....

buMbLeB · Jun 30, 2016

Yeah don't do it, I looked into this myself a while back and learned a lot I really didn't enjoy knowing about plastic contaminants.

piper27 · Jun 30, 2016

IslandLizard said:
6.5 gallon brew buckets work great! <$15 with a lid. Easy to clean.

Hey Lizard, where do you get the 6.5 with a lid for $15 bucks?, I think I paid $24 delivered for the last one I got.

NoIguanaForZ · Jun 30, 2016

piper27 said:
Hey Lizard, where do you get the 6.5 with a lid for $15 bucks?, I think I paid $24 delivered for the last one I got.

Well there's your problem

As for the bottles, I believe the ones I picked up are PET as well. I was using them to store pre-boiled water, a lot more of it before I got around to getting some campden tablets. Fun fact: they *shrink* when you pour 180 F water into them. o.o

Calaeb · Jun 30, 2016

The water jugs that I purchased from walmart, are from the same material the buckets are made from which is pet. I'm not a expert but I would think its the same as a fermenting bucket. I've not noticed any off flavors from using it, I do know that you dont want to ferment in colored jugs, but mine are clear. To each their own but a 5 gallon bottle for $6 bucks is a good price.

Curtis2010 · Jun 30, 2016

Here is a good summary of characteristics by recycle code.

https://www.containerandpackaging.com/info/plasticology.asp

I would avoid any labelled 7 for sure, its a catch all category of uncertain composition. Many water jugs are 7's and often labelled for water only too. 6 probably not a good call either.

piper27 · Jul 1, 2016

Thanks for that chart Curtis, good info

IslandLizard · Jul 1, 2016

piper27 said:
Hey Lizard, where do you get the 6.5 with a lid for $15 bucks?, I think I paid $24 delivered for the last one I got.

Both my LHBSs sell the standard 6.5 gallon brew buckets for $12.50, lids are $3.95 (used to be $2.70 IIRC). I get 10% discount (AHA or Brew Club). One of them sometimes runs specials with 20% off everything, except Blichmann. That's when you buy that gallon of Starsan!

Shipping these things can kill the deal easily. US Plastics (and many others) sell plastic buckets of various sizes, but again, the shipping tends to be outrageous. If you live near one, you can pick them up.

4 gallon icing buckets can be had for free from your bakery. Great for smaller batches.

If you treat them well, no scratching, the buckets can last many years. Some of mine are 8 years old, still going strong.

IslandLizard · Jul 1, 2016

Calaeb said:
The water jugs that I purchased from walmart, are from the same material the buckets are made from which is pet. I'm not a expert but I would think its the same as a fermenting bucket. I've not noticed any off flavors from using it, I do know that you dont want to ferment in colored jugs, but mine are clear. To each their own but a 5 gallon bottle for $6 bucks is a good price.

PET (#1) is different from HDPE (#2). Buckets are usually made from PETE, and clear plastic carboys and wide mouth fermentors from PET.

piper27 · Jul 1, 2016

IslandLizard said:
Both my LHBSs sell the standard 6.5 gallon brew buckets for $12.50, lids are $3.95 (used to be $2.70 IIRC). I get 10% discount (AHA or Brew Club). One of them sometimes runs specials with 20% off everything, except Blichmann. That's when you buy that gallon of Starsan!

Shipping these things can kill the deal easily. US Plastics (and many others) sell plastic buckets of various sizes, but again, the shipping tends to be outrageous. If you live near one, you can pick them up.

4 gallon icing buckets can be had for free from your bakery. Great for smaller batches.

If you treat them well, no scratching, the buckets can last many years. Some of mine are 8 years old, still going strong.

That's a great price. My LHBS charges $24.00 for them.

IslandLizard · Jul 2, 2016

piper27 said:
That's a great price. My LHBS charges $24.00 for them.

That's probably not a very Local HBS, since you had them delivered. Isn't there one around where you live/work? Alternatively, many outfits offer flat shipping or even free shipping with larger orders.

Anyway, buckets have several advantages over carboys, but also a couple drawbacks (headspace isn't sealed very well, CO2 dissipates when lifting lid) for which workarounds can be found.

I only use glass carboys for long term aging sours now. The plastic ones are safer to handle than glass, but you still need to be careful as they can deform or develop cracks.

piper27 · Jul 2, 2016

IslandLizard said:
That's probably not a very Local HBS, since you had them delivered..

I had it kind of wrong, but not too far off. I just called my Local brew shop to get a price and it's $19.77 for the 6.5 with lid including tax, so that's not as high as I had thought. I had already ordered online with some other gear.

Yesfan · Jul 2, 2016

I have two that I use in my brewery, but I don't use them as fermenters. I mainly use them to hold excess water for future brews.

I also use one to hold my Star-san. After reading about leaching problems with beer, could the same hold true for star-san?? What effects would I be looking at by using Star-san that's been stored in this jugs?

Curtis2010 · Jul 3, 2016

Star San is an acidifier so the plastic would need to be acid resistant. Of course, you are not going to consume the Star San so less of an issue. Still some pretty nasty chemicals can be leached if not an acid resistant plastic.

Yesfan · Jul 4, 2016

Curtis2010 said:
Star San is an acidifier so the plastic would need to be acid resistant. Of course, you are not going to consume the Star San so less of an issue. Still some pretty nasty chemicals can be leached if not an acid resistant plastic.

Thanks. I've had some off flavors with my last few batches, so I'm wondering if this could be an issue. I made a fresh batch of Star-san and have it stored in one of my fermenting buckets.

Home Depot water jugs?

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