Any new news on Home Depot Homer buckets?

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broadbill said:
that's fine, but you have to at least concede that the beer you would lose to blow-off is worth something. In that case, there is a break-even point where is makes sense to buy the larger bucket to avoid that loss.

The same goes for labor....sure you might not value it to what you get paid for work, but your time is definitely worth something isn't it? Is an extra 8-12 bucks worth being able to put in the same amount of labor to get 5 gallons instead of 4? (not to mention....with a 7 gallon bucket you can brew a 5.25 gallon batch to end up with a full 5 gallons)

You could even call it an intangible cost...lets say you LOVED that latest batch of beer and you are all out. How much would you pay to have another 6-pack of it? You could consider that towards how much you are willing to pay for a slightly larger bucket (or how much to upgrade to a 10 gallon system, but I digress).

Again, if you are doing the traditional 5 gallon batch a 7 gallon fermenter is the BEST tool for the job.
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That's if you had a wicked blow off, which I could still happen for sure. To be fair I definitely agree with you on the larger bucket and larger batch approach, not so much from a cost savings perspective but a logical one. It takes the same time to make a 1 gallons, a 3 gallon, a 5 gallon and so on, so why not make a bigger batch and get more beer the first time around. :mug:
 
Personally, I am wary of even "Food Grade" plastics. The US legally allows various recycled plastics to go into food grade containers, and generally focus on percentages of safety rather than being 100%. Add the fact that home brews are acidic and stay in the container longer means you end up with a much greater opportunity for leaching.

Also, remember BPA? That's still used in some food storage containers and is proven to be harmful to human health.

I fully realize I'm being overly cautious, but it seems like a silly thing to risk just to save a little $. Lowes does have labelled food grade buckets for only like 50 cents more, which I feel safer using for other things (like kruat/kimchi etc).

strantor said:
I was searching the forum to see if the orange Homer buckets are safe to ferment in. There was a lot of discussion back in 2009. Someone was saying that a chemist had verified that they are food grade, then someone else said that they sold an injection mold to a guy who makes the orange buckets for HD and they use the cheapest worst crap possible. Not sure who to believe.

The most recent discussion (2012 - ghetto brew kit) was by cherrington3, who actually used one of the buckets to boil his wort and then was never heard from again.

I was wondering if in the past 4 years, anybody has actually regularly fermented (not boiled) in one and could testify as to whether or not they poison the brew or cause any bad flavors.
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norsk said:
Curiously, just as most 5 gal buckets hold more than 5 gal.,
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Not the 5 gallon homer buckets I have.

Oh, you are talking about those super-expensive, high-falutin buckets the LHBS sells? Well, you should get something for the price premium, right??? :)
 
forcabrew said:
Homer bucket grain storage a bad Idea?
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I'm Ron Burgundy?
ron-burgundy2.jpg
 
AnOldUR said:
I use two 5 gallon carboys for most of my beer. Scale recipe to 7 gallons and put 3-1/2 gallons in each. Plenty of head space, more beer!
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Yeah, i am thinking about getting a few of these for my split batch experiments.
 
clevernonsense said:
Also, remember BPA? That's still used in some food storage containers and is proven to be harmful to human health.
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Thats not really true. All studies about its effects on health are inconclusive and the FDA has not banned it because there is no evidence its harmful. they banned it on use in baby bottles only and that was just to boost consumer confidence after the furor that came out. its been in many of our food containers since 1960.
 
pwkblue said:
I generally shop at The Home Depot as they are always $2 per item cheaper than Lowes.....but Lowes now carries a 5 gallon "Food Grade" bucket for under $3. The matching lid is another $2...but has a nice gasket seal..seals very tight.
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Just bought one today.
 
strantor said:
The most recent discussion (2012 - ghetto brew kit) was by cherrington3, who actually used one of the buckets to boil his wort and then was never heard from again.
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While this is written clearly, please clarify - he boiled IN a plastic homer bucket??? Am I reading that right?
 
pwkblue said:
here is the thread...and a picture of the boiling bucket

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ghetto-brew-kit-369699/
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a picture AND video ....and y'all were busting on a guy for using cheap buckets for fermenting, this takes it to a whole new level


edit: and whilke I am all for innovation and new tricks/gadgets, there is a reason plastic buckets are not rated for high temps, such as the acetol they likely contain....and the formaldehyde the acetol releases when it's heated
 
Don't make it a habit to ferment in Homer Buckets. They're made for mixing paint and cement. Store grain in them, but maybe use a liner for long term storage stuff. Would you use the same cheap orange plastic to eat off of if they made dishes out of it? Maybe once...if I had to, but not by choice.

Come on, common sense people.
 
itzkramer said:
Don't make it a habit to ferment in Homer Buckets. They're made for mixing paint and cement. Store grain in them, but maybe use a liner for long term storage stuff. Would you use the same cheap orange plastic to eat off of if they made dishes out of it? Maybe once...if I had to, but not by choice.

Come on, common sense people.
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Go visit a marshalls, and you'll find plenty of orange plates. Sure they might be a little fancier, but I doubt any of those have a #2 food grade on the button.
 
I just came from Home Depot and i took pictures of the homer buckets ...they are way skinnier and the 5 gallons are til the rim... in all fairness I've never brewed on buckets but i think its very possible and as long as you are sanitary you should be fine..



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And this is the bottom of it with its codes


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whats funny is if they were died white, like a brew bucket, than nobody would have a problem with it. Am I wrong in thinking that for the regular fermenters they put something in the plastic to make them white?
 
HDPE is naturally somewhat translucent. They 'could' add any color they want, but it comes raw as whiteish color. Molded some gasoline funnels today with 'natural' HDPE. It's the same material used in milk jugs and other things.

Also it might be worth it to know that any product not approved as food safe or better may have other things in it such as mold release, oil, contamination from other materials, etc. as a consequence of a production facility. Food grade products have a more stringent cleanliness and contamination standard to follow.
 
For the record I think that the mold releasing agent argument that was brought up is totally valid. I have worked on injection mold machines before and watched the operators. They spray the mold with some nasty stuff called "stoner" and shoot the molten polymer/rubber/plastic/HPDE/whatever pellets in there. The pellets melt against and conform to the shape of the surface of the freshly "stoner" coated mold, so I assume that some of that crap HAS to become impregnated into the plastic. I had not thought of this (did not realize that buckets were injection molded) before asking about the homer buckets. In light of this, I would recommend using only food grade containers for storing grains or fermenting.

And that is my final word. I am officially withdrawing from this discussion. thanks again everybody.
 
10 pages on Homer buckets might be completely ridiculous, but when I read posts like this ^^^^^, I think it's worth educating myself.
 
If you're looking to go on the cheap for fermenters go to Menards and purchase 4 gal spring water bottles...I think I paid $5/ea. I use three of them for a 10 gal batch. I get my knife steel nice and hot, melt a hole through the nipple and stick the air gap in. It's nice and tight. I've thought about flipping them and poking two holes and shoving a tube to the airspace and venting through the bottom and installing a drain situation to capture the yeast.
 
strantor said:
For the record I think that the mold releasing agent argument that was brought up is totally valid. I have worked on injection mold machines before and watched the operators. They spray the mold with some nasty stuff called "stoner" and shoot the molten polymer/rubber/plastic/HPDE/whatever pellets in there. The pellets melt against and conform to the shape of the surface of the freshly "stoner" coated mold, so I assume that some of that crap HAS to become impregnated into the plastic. I had not thought of this (did not realize that buckets were injection molded) before asking about the homer buckets. In light of this, I would recommend using only food grade containers for storing grains or fermenting.

And that is my final word. I am officially withdrawing from this discussion. thanks again everybody.
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Thanks for the follow-up, OP. I'm out too guys.
 
Through all of this thread I have come to a conclusion of my own (Secret One). Thank you to everyone that has actively participated!

~Dis
 
I am brewing a 3.5 gallon batch right now...that will be going into the Lowes Food grade 5 gallon bucket for fermentation...using a gasketed ale pail lid which fits perfectly.
 
Dang, I have about 12 homer buckets. I don't use them for fermentation but I have been storing grains in them. I'm not dead yet or anything but had I read this first I would have bought something else to use to keep grain in.
 
Gameface said:
Dang, I have about 12 homer buckets. I don't use them for fermentation but I have been storing grains in them. I'm not dead yet or anything but had I read this first I would have bought something else to use to keep grain in.
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Since it's dry goods and presumably not left in there very long, not something to get too anxious about.
 
I kinda thought they'd be ok for grains anyway,being dry. Mine has had a lot of water,PBW,& starsan run through it over the course of the year I've been using it. I wonder if that could've made any kind of improvement?...
 
clevernonsense said:
Since it's dry goods and presumably not left in there very long, not something to get too anxious about.
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Well I tend to stock up and while I usually plan to brew regularly I've actually gone the last 3 months without brewing because my brewing area in the backyard has been snowed in and I've been too lazy to shovel it out. I have some uncrushed grains that have been in buckets for about a year.
 
broadbill said:
then scale your recipe to 4-4.5 gallons or split 5 gallons between 2 buckets. 5 gallons in 5 gallon bucket will take you right to the lip.

Putting 5 gallons of fermenting ale in a 5 gallon bucket, I would estimate you would lose 0.5 gallon to blowoff. That's a lost 6 pack every batch. If you value your homebrew similarly to craft brew...that's a $8-12 loss per batch.

That extra $8-12 for a bigger bucket doesn't seem like such a rip-off now does it?

As I said, penny-wise, pound foolish....
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I started fermenting in recycled moasses buckets, back when I was still using Cooper's kits. I figured I'd just use less extract/sugar/brew enhancer and make 16L batches instead.

Pretty sure it would only take one try for somebody to put a 5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon bucket, if they got that far along anyway.
 
i've drained my hot sparges into the orange buckets tons of times without issues. I also let starsan solution sit in them for weeks without issue
 
I didn't read the whole thread, but here is a good reason why HD buckets are cheaper, even if they are HDPE.

HD orders the buckets by the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Each of those buckets costs them a couple of cents. A company that sells "Brew Buckets" are maybe only buying a few thousand at a time.
 

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