DIY Conical Fermenter idea

[Porcelon]

Food grade, in the context of a fermenter, basically means completely smooth, right?

Wrong. It means that all the extra compounds they put into plastic to make it pliable, extrudable and set up properly are safe to eat.

So with non-food-safe plastic these random molecules are melted in, you can't wash them off and they will leach out of the plastic for as long as you use it.

Personally, I get small buckets from the grocery store for half batches (3.5 gal). They are food safe and sometimes have the silicone gasket in the lid.

Oh, and sometimes they have leftover frosting!

Matt

 

[the_bird]

Well, I'm pretty sure the answer is "both". The buckets you buy at Home Depot *would* be food-grade, but the process by which they make them is not as precise. It's the exact same material as the buckets we get at the HBS, but they still aren't food grade because of the manufacturing process.

 

[Porcelon]

Right, the material is the same (ie. HDPE, PET etc.) but the little extras they use to produce the bucket are not guaranteed safe.

If you can pick up bottled water, the bottle would be ok to use, and sometimes infomation is written on the bottom of the item. You just have to be aware of it's intended use, and if it's used, what's been put in it.

I've used food grade buckets for mixing mortar, so now I'd never use it for beer again.

 

[dantodd]

Yep, HDPE and most other plastics CAN be made into food-safe products. The buckets at home depot may use toxic (or non-approved) release agents to pull them out of the mold. The coloration may also be non-approved. Finally, the production line doesn't have to follow the same sanitation procedures. We all know how important sanitation is!

 

[Grimsawyer]

Is this a good idea or not, I mean getting One of these and fermenting in it? This seems like a plausable alternitave to ******* out the cash for a stainless steel conical fermenter. I am seriously thinking about it. I want to ferment my 10-12 gallon batches in something other than 2 or 3 glass carboys.

 

[dantodd]

When I'm ready to move up to 10 gallon batches I'm getting one.

A nice valve on the bottom and a better bottle racking spigot, drill the top for airlock and you're done.

 

[Orfy]

Is that top air tight?

 

[Dude]

OMG, I just saw this thread. All I can say is--I hope I'm not reading about you in the next publication of the Darwin Award winners.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

You never fried a turkey, worked with an oxy-acetylene torch, or used a chainsaw, I gather? Heck, if you've ever fried french fries, you've probably dealt with more grease than what I'm talking about.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

The feed isn't big enough into the box and the box is full. I can't add a sub panel without getting an electrical inspection. You can double up a breaker without an inspection. Its an older house. The wiring is a real mess.

You can add a subpanel without an inspection, and even if you couldn't why would it matter? The inspector only wants to see that you made a safe installation. He's not the enemy. If your wiring is such a mess, you're only making it worse by jury-rigging things. Oh and even if your box is full,you can still do it. Take out two circuits and move them to the subpanel. Then you have room for the 2-pole breaker for the sub.