Bottling in a closed system + homemade fermenter with spigot

[estricklin]

So Wal-Mart had buckets on sale for &2.58, yep I bought some. The down side is of coarse they only hold 5 gallons, but hey for that price I'll make do. I also bought some lids, which I drilled a small hole for the rubber grommet and airlock, and they work great when I tested them with water. I wanted a bucket with a spigot up higher than normal, so that I could bottle straight from it, or transfer to bottling or secondary, (I do a lot of lagering), with no risk of contamination. I tested this theory with a batch of beer once, I fermented in a bottling bucket, which I've done many times anyway, but before siphoning I opened the spigot to see how much sediment I would get, I was surprised after just a quart of 2 it was running clear. I used a 1 inch wood cutting spade bit to drill the hole for the spigot, and it doesn't leak a drop.

I tried to read around and find more info but I mostly found some old posts from people that were asking if they could bottle from primary, and were told not to. I'm one of those people that has to try things for myself. I will post results because I am brewing tomorrow.

 

[swackattack]

Id make surw thw buckets are food safe. Plastic leeching does happen

 

[estricklin]

Id make surw thw buckets are food safe. Plastic leeching does happen

They are food safe.

 

[BigSumpin]

They are food safe.

Is there a # 7 inside of a recycle symbol on the bottom of the bucket ?
If not, it's probably not food grade.

 

[estricklin]

Is there a # 7 inside of a recycle symbol on the bottom of the bucket ?
If not, it's probably not food grade.

Nope, but it's made out of HDPE, and it's made by the exact same plastics company that made my 6.5 gallon bottling bucket, that costs 4x more.

Anyway so far I'm still alive......

 

[drawdy10]

Yikes. This was the only thing that James from basic brewing discovered in this weeks episode to be unsafe in all the home brewing equipment and chemicals, the only thing he said was definately unsafe is those non food grade buckets from Walmart and lowes and whatnot.

 

[cgenebrewer]

The plastic is probably fine, but its the color that I would worry about. White buckets generally use color derived from titanium that is foodsafe, but other colors may not be.

 

[dyqik]

The plastic is probably fine, but its the color that I would worry about. White buckets generally use color derived from titanium that is foodsafe, but other colors may not be.

In addition, there's the mold release agents and other things used on the surface of the buckets in manufacturing. Even white HDPE buckets can be non-food safe.

 

[neo71665]

Those are not food safe buckets. The wall mart closest to me doesn't carry food safe but the one 30 mins further up the road does. Tractor supply here also carries food grade containers. You might have to look but there is no need to not use something food safe.

 

[midfielder5]

Nope, but it's made out of HDPE, and it's made by the exact same plastics company that made my 6.5 gallon bottling bucket, that costs 4x more.

Anyway so far I'm still alive......

The use of blue non-food grade buckets for fermenters is not the place to save $10, IMO. There are different levels of plastics made by the same company. The food-grade buckets are more expensive because it is required to use "virgin" materials. The cheap hardware buckets are made with recycled materials and they don't know what is in them. This was stated in the Brewing podcast mentioned in a prior post above me.
Alcohol is a solvent and will leach toxins in your beer, over time. You may not keel over immediately but I would not risk toxic exposure for $10, sorry.

 

[estricklin]

The use of blue non-food grade buckets for fermenters is not the place to save $10, IMO. There are different levels of plastics made by the same company. The food-grade buckets are more expensive because it is required to use "virgin" materials. The cheap hardware buckets are made with recycled materials and they don't know what is in them. This was stated in the Brewing podcast mentioned in a prior post above me.
Alcohol is a solvent and will leach toxins in your beer, over time. You may not keel over immediately but I would not risk toxic exposure for $10, sorry.

The reason why I started this thread was to discuss using a bucket with a spigot for fermenting, NOT to debate food safe buckets. There are plenty of threads on this topic already.

I feel like this is a good technique, it reduces chances of contamination and makes the process much simpler. Not only for those who bottle, but for those of us who keg also. Only having to sanitize the one piece of hose is nice, also I can leave the lid on the bucket with only removing the airlock when transferring.

Oh well......

 

[WileECoyote]

Hello, I have been using bottling buckets with a spigot for primary's for a long time now, they do make everything a lot easier.

I keg and bottle right from primary, works great.

One thing to watch out for is, make sure you take the spigot completely apart when cleaning it, also soak all the parts in really hot water for a while before washing them as gunk likes to buildup and stick in them.

A tiny amount of missed gunk left in the valve, can and most likely will cause a nasty infection in your future beers.

Been there done that.

Cheers

 

[estricklin]

Hello, I have been using bottling buckets with a spigot for primary's for a long time now, they do make everything a lot easier.

I keg and bottle right from primary, works great.

One thing to watch out for is, make sure you take the spigot completely apart when cleaning it, also soak all the parts in really hot water for a while before washing them as gunk likes to buildup and stick in them.

A tiny amount of missed gunk left in the valve, can and most likely will cause a nasty infection in your future beers.

Been there done that.

Cheers

Your exactly right, I always take mine apart, and clean them with soap and then sanitize. Most of the time I run e'm through dishwasher.