5 Gallonn water cooler jug for fermenting

[beerguy2009]

Is there anything wrong with using a 5 gallon water cooler jug for secondary fermentation? They are less expenive than a Better bottle and easier to get as there isn't a HB shop in town where I live.

 

[scotched]

Nothing wrong with it. I used a bunch of Arrowhead 5gal plastic bottles for my primaries/secondaries.

 

[Coldies]

I believe the rating of the plastic has to better lower than a 3. You can find this on the bottom of the jug that will have a triangle around it with a number in the middle of it. The thought was that anything more (Higher number) will leach off flavors and also is more acceptable to letting oxygen in.

Is this true, who knows and just what I have read. Im sure there are a ton of people out there that use them with no ill affects.

 

[lextasy23]

Funny, I was just thinking about this the other day. My only concern was getting a good sized stopper for the top.

Poland Spring bottles are dime a dozen here.

 

[airdusters]

i've used it before with no issues. the only thing that sucks is the biggest size i can find is 5 gallon so i only get 4 gallons of beer :-\

 

[Scratch]

I've been considering these also. We have a pile of free ones at work. The only thing that concerns me with the ones we have is that they have a built-in handle that creates some little protrusions inside. I figure at best they'd be tricky to clean, at worst they'd be a source of contamination. I'll probably still give one a try anyway.

 

[kpr121]

Funny, I was just thinking about this the other day. My only concern was getting a good sized stopper for the top.

Poland Spring bottles are dime a dozen here.

Not sure about those water bottles, but I have found 1 gallon apple juice containers take a carboy cap perfectly. I bet the openings are similar.

 

[AmandaK]

I believe the rating of the plastic has to better lower than a 3.

Hmm... since #3 is PVC, I doubt you would ferment in that. Even if you found a PVC container, me thinks it'd scratch easily.

Here's the breakdown: (Bettle Bottles are PET, or #1, for reference.)
#1 - PET or polyethylene terephtalate, used for water bottles, etc. 'generally safe', but still has a porous surface
#2 - HDPE, a higher density polyethylene. used for milk jugs, etc.
#3 - PVC, as mentioned
#4 - LDPE, low density polyethylene, used for grocery bags and the like
#5 - polypropylene, can also be used in food applications. used as straws, yogurt cups, etc
#6 - Styrofoam, enough said
#7 - The 'IDK what to call this thing' category.

So basically, #2 and #5, but #1 is also acceptable as long as you are sure to keep it clean! (Which I'm sure you do.)

 

[bottomofthebarrel]

this is what i'm using.
no problems at all.
i just use a blow off tube instead of an airlock.

 

[Coldies]

Hmm... since #3 is PVC, I doubt you would ferment in that. Even if you found a PVC container, me thinks it'd scratch easily.

Here's the breakdown: (Bettle Bottles are PET, or #1, for reference.)
#1 - PET or polyethylene terephtalate, used for water bottles, etc. 'generally safe', but still has a porous surface
#2 - HDPE, a higher density polyethylene. used for milk jugs, etc.
#3 - PVC, as mentioned
#4 - LDPE, low density polyethylene, used for grocery bags and the like
#5 - polypropylene, can also be used in food applications. used as straws, yogurt cups, etc
#6 - Styrofoam, enough said
#7 - The 'IDK what to call this thing' category.

So basically, #2 and #5, but #1 is also acceptable as long as you are sure to keep it clean! (Which I'm sure you do.)

Thats what it was! Thanks for clarifying that.

 

[mrk00k]

I always assumed PET was better, after all that's what Better Bottles are made of. Also, many water companies are switching from HDPE to PET.

 

[beerguy2009]

Wow! Sounds like I will have to give it a try. I just didn't want to use one and wreck a batch of beer (that would be a sin). Of course finding a stopper will be the next problem but we do have a couple places that sell a few brewing supplies so maybe they will have one that will work.

 

[norsk]

5 gal water bottles are what I began with...worked great until I wanted to make 6 gal brews. Once I went to 7 gal buckets with spigots on them I never looked back.