Buckets vs Glass

[Revvy]

Although you can get them online or at brewshops, you can also find them for about a buck at any hardware store.

They are for opening 5 gallon plastic buckets.

 

[sportscrazed2]

cool i will check out the hardware store. thanks for the advice.

 

[Skarekrough]

The problem I tend to have with buckets is the risk of stacking them up and with something attached to the outside gouging up the inside of the other that can harbor bacteria.

Glass is fragile and can break. But I also make it a point to stash them in a place where they're well out of the way. I find it's nice to make a daily task out of checking out how it's going rather than just having it out in the open.

As I have two small children the question comes down to really which one is less prone to potential damage. My theory is that with so many of their toys being made of plastic they see a bucket and gravitate to it. I've seen this when brewing; they'll come into the kitchen and won't touch the carboy because it's big and glass and they know thusly that it's fragile....but the plastic buckets with the "toddler could fall in and drown" graphic on it? Yeah....beeline right for the thing!!!

 

[sportscrazed2]

yeah my first bottling bucket got scratched simply by stacking the fermenting bucket inside it

 

[Yooper]

So Yooper, does that mean you have some for sale?

Heck no- I have about 10 of them full of wine. I just rarely have to move those!

 

[Revvy]

yeah my first bottling bucket got scratched simply by stacking the fermenting bucket inside it

But realistically, have you ever gone to a homebrewshop and NOT seen all the bucket fermenters stacked on inside the other? I frequent quite a few and I've never seen them stored any differently than at homedespot. If you run your hand inside your fermenters they are not going to fee 100% smooth. There's always shallow scratches and roughness on the surface. It's really the deep gouges that are of concern for sanization sake, and even then if you are meticulous in your cleaning and sanitization, you'd be ok.

 

[akthor]

If you put the lid on it and stack them on TOP of each other and don't nest them they take up as much space as carboys.

The whole scratched bucket thing is an urban myth IMHO though. Cleaned and properly sanatized there is no more risk of infection than anything else. Folks have used their buckets for years with scratches and no problems.

If you can afford carboys, and you like the blingyness, and you wanna see your stuff ferment, and don't mind the weight, the narrow opening and the danger of breaking them, then just SAY so.

Don't try to justify it by saying you are worried about scratches You have to take more care trying not to break your carboy than it requires to not scratch a bucket.

Just Sat. morning I had filled a wine bottle with Apfelwein and it slipped out of my hand as I was moving to put a cork in it What a friggin mess to clean up. And this was in the basement. I brew in the kitchen and have to carry my fermenters downstairs the thought of the mess a 5 gallon carboy full dropped in my kitchen or on the stairs or in the basement is enough to keep me using buckets.

I actually was offered by a friend who used to brew to use two of his carboys and a bucket he had since he wasn't going to be brewing anytime soon. I took the bucket but said no thanks to the carboys, I am just to afraid of breaking them.

I respect the hell out of you guys that do. I wish I could especially for non-beers like Apfelwein. But I am too dumb an clumsy

The problem I tend to have with buckets is the risk of stacking them up and with something attached to the outside gouging up the inside of the other that can harbor bacteria.

Glass is fragile and can break. But I also make it a point to stash them in a place where they're well out of the way. I find it's nice to make a daily task out of checking out how it's going rather than just having it out in the open.

As I have two small children the question comes down to really which one is less prone to potential damage. My theory is that with so many of their toys being made of plastic they see a bucket and gravitate to it. I've seen this when brewing; they'll come into the kitchen and won't touch the carboy because it's big and glass and they know thusly that it's fragile....but the plastic buckets with the "toddler could fall in and drown" graphic on it? Yeah....beeline right for the thing!!!

 

[AnOldUR]

but that's the same flawed argument people use for not wearing seat belts. No matter how careful you are moving glass carboys with milk crates and handles, you can still slip while cleaning or bump it into something. At best, you lose a batch of beer. At worst, you end up in the hospital.

Not going to get in on the glass vs. plastic debate, but it’s your argument that is flawed. It’s like saying, don’t cross the street because if you get hit by a car you may die. Better to look both ways, trust your judgement and proceed with caution.



But you may be convinced that there’s nothing on the other side of the street worth seeing. :cross:

 

[kingmatt]

I will never use glass carboys for brewing because of the safety issue. I have made a lot of tasty beer with my plastic "ale pail" and better bottles and I can't imagine that, even if using glass is better for your beer, it would be THAT much better that the safety risk would be worth it.

To each their own, but I have read enough "my carboy shattered and sliced my tendon" stories to keep me happily brewing with plastic.

 

[Valcarde]

I've got 3 glass carboys. I'd use Better Bottles if I had 'em. I can't see myself using buckets, as I like the beer porn of seeing what's going on in the fermenter

 

[Homercidal]

I have a glass carboy and only use it for secondary sometimes. I almost always use buckets. I would not mind a Better Bottle for secondarying in, but honestly, a bucket or my glass carboy work fine for that in the few instances where I'd want to.

TIP FOR CLEANING CARBOYS INCLUDING BBs - Fill with PBW/OXY. Let sit a few hours. Drain most of the liquid. Insert washrag. Swirl rag around to wipe the sides of the carboy. Pull out washrag.

Cleans great and keeps the glass and plastic free of scratches. It's amazing what a LITTLE bit of contact will do to clean your stuff.

 

[sportscrazed2]

just picked up one of those bucket wrenches this morning will try it when i get home. I still kind of want at least one better bottle for primary so i can obseve what's going on since the only way to do that with a bucket is to open it up. seriously the best solution would be a bucket with a transparent lid. I'm surprised nobody has created such a product yet I would buy it in a heartbeat. Maybe I'll pick up a spare lid cut a whole in it and plaster some plexiglass over it

 

[Revvy]

Don't need to cut a lid, just get a sheet of plexiglass, or glass bigger that the bucket and put it on top of the bucket. Remember buckets are airtight, and bad stuff aren't ninja's or acrobats, they can't get up and in, and if co2 is getting out, nothing can get in. Lots of folks ferment that way, just putting something on top of the bucket instead of the lid.

 

[akthor]

If u were paranoid you could run a bead of keg lube around the lip of the bucket before putting the plexi down, put an airhole in the plexi and use a blow off tube. The weight of the water and jug you use could hold your plexi lid down.

I am going to have a couple maybe even 3 of these 15 gallon fermenters to play with very soon

http://suburb.semo.net/jet1024/15 Gallon Fermenter.htm

 

[Shooter]

I've started using a glass lined plastic bucket!

 

[mikeysab]

Coopers fermentors have clear lids. Don't know if you can buy just the fermentor though. Their lid also has a rubber gasket which is nice. But those 15 dollar buckets do the trick. Adding a spigot isn't much more too.

 

[tippetsnapper]

To continue beating the dead horse and proving my laziness in searching endlessly on this forum for the answer: If leaving beer in a bucket for more than a couple weeks, isn't the bucket still porous and the potential exists to oxidize the beer inside? During fermentation I get the pressure of the CO2 inside, but after its run its course is there any risk of off flavors from the porosity of the plastic???

 

[Revvy]

To continue beating the dead horse and proving my laziness in searching endlessly on this forum for the answer: If leaving beer in a bucket for more than a couple weeks, isn't the bucket still porous and the potential exists to oxidize the beer inside? During fermentation I get the pressure of the CO2 inside, but after its run its course is there any risk of off flavors from the porosity of the plastic???

It is asked and answered in just about any long primary thread. But the answer is no. I just bottled a beer left in primary in a bucket for 5 and a half months and there were no issues......

 

[Razorbrew]

Tip - while the bucket is on the floor put you knee on the center of the lid and press down, then try pulling up the sides. It should make it a lot easier.

Buy a bucket wrench at Home Depot. $3.

 

[mikeysab]

Just pull the lid off..... is this really this big of an issue? Are you guys using your wives or girlfriends' fingers to take your lids off? You're men....pull the damn lid off and get over it.....it only hurts for a second, unless you break your long, painted, beautiful nails. Try lifting 200 pounds of copper wire while trying to feed it into a 4 inch pipe as a machine attempts to pull it, and you into the pipe......then tell me how hard it is to get a lid off of a fermenting bucket.

 

[johnnyt471]

Just pull the lid off..... is this really this big of an issue? Are you guys using your wives or girlfriends' fingers to take your lids off? You're men....pull the damn lid off and get over it.....it only hurts for a second, unless you break your long, painted, beautiful nails. Try lifting 200 pounds of copper wire while trying to feed it into a 4 inch pipe as a machine attempts to pull it, and you into the pipe......then tell me how hard it is to get a lid off of a fermenting bucket.

with all the bucket wrenches and wort aerators going on, you'd think the entire forum had contracted a bad case of noodlus armitis

 

[mikeysab]

I think I've spent too much time on these forums. I'm starting to get aggravated by the mundane, boring, frequently asked questions. And I shouldn't feel that way, because I asked some dumb questions in the beginning too. but pulling the lid off of a bucket is not even an answerable question. I don't even know if it WAS a question. But It should never BE a question. Bucket wrenches??? Really? Now i understand why slavery was such a big hit back in the day. I mean, who the frig wants to pull lids off buckets themselves??? Let's let someone else do it for us.

I think I've drank too much tonight. I apologize to those I've offended. Good night all.

 

[akthor]

Greatest post ever lol!

They can be a bitch to get off tho if they are the ones that really snap on with authority.

I know back in my 20's when I worked construction some lids had to be cut they are designed not to be opened otherwise since they have stuff that would be bad if it opened accidentally.

I played semi-pro football, lineman, and I still use a bucket wrench not cuz I can't pull the lid off but cuz I want to get it off as easily as possible so as to not jiggle my bucket around and disturb the trub.

Not cuz I'm a ***** and it hurts my hands.

Ok well it hurts a little ......

Just pull the lid off..... is this really this big of an issue? Are you guys using your wives or girlfriends' fingers to take your lids off? You're men....pull the damn lid off and get over it.....it only hurts for a second, unless you break your long, painted, beautiful nails. Try lifting 200 pounds of copper wire while trying to feed it into a 4 inch pipe as a machine attempts to pull it, and you into the pipe......then tell me how hard it is to get a lid off of a fermenting bucket.

 

[mikeysab]

Ha ha, I was pretty drunk last night, and trying to decide whether to order a BC or not. I had my credit card ready, then remembered that my wife would have a fit if I spent that kind of money while on furlough. It was more of a joke than anything, but I really can't see someone complaining about getting the lids off of fermenting buckets. I know the buckets you're talking about, where you have to cut slits in the sides, but these aren't even those kinds of buckets.

 

[lschiavo]

Just pull the lid off..... is this really this big of an issue? Are you guys using your wives or girlfriends' fingers to take your lids off? You're men....pull the damn lid off and get over it.....it only hurts for a second, unless you break your long, painted, beautiful nails. Try lifting 200 pounds of copper wire while trying to feed it into a 4 inch pipe as a machine attempts to pull it, and you into the pipe......then tell me how hard it is to get a lid off of a fermenting bucket.

Good one. Pulling wire does make for a long day and should make you strong enough to get a lid off a bucket

I dont think strength is the issue however. The edges of the bucket lid are sharp. I haven't cut myself yet but can see the potential. To avoid it I set my bucket on the counter, lay my forearms across the top and get a good grip with all 8 fingers. Then just lever it up with your elbows. A good grip and leverage is the key.

 

[rayg]

If anyone is worried about glass/plastic/better bootle controversies,
why not skip them all and just use a big aluminum pot, similar
to what you use for boiling, with a lid that has one of those
little sliding vents for letting steam out.

There are lots of things you can use for fermenting, including
gigantic cement jobs with no lid at all like the yorkshire squares,
just use your imagination. Heck, I bet you could do it in one
of those kid's swimming pools.

Ray

 

[mikeysab]

Good one. Pulling wire does make for a long day and should make you strong enough to get a lid off a bucket

I dont think strength is the issue however. The edges of the bucket lid are sharp. I haven't cut myself yet but can see the potential. To avoid it I set my bucket on the counter, lay my forearms across the top and get a good grip with all 8 fingers. Then just lever it up with your elbows. A good grip and leverage is the key.

You have 8 fingers? What happened to the other 2?

 

[lschiavo]

You have 8 fingers? What happened to the other 2?

I call them thumbs.

 

[mikeysab]

Thumbs aren't fingers? I had no idea. Are pinky's fingers? Middle fingers, ring fingers and pointer fingers are definitely fingers, it's right there in the name. But thumbs and pinky's give no indication that they're fingers. I'm going to have to google this one.

 

[passedpawn]

Thumbs aren't fingers? I had no idea. Are pinky's fingers? Middle fingers, ring fingers and pointer fingers are definitely fingers, it's right there in the name. But thumbs and pinky's give no indication that they're fingers. I'm going to have to google this one.

So off topic, but much more interesting than pl v. gl