Home Depot buckets for fermenting

[northernlad]

If you could determine that the Homer buckets were made from virgin HDPE then there would be absolutely nothing to worry about, dyed or not.
You might only be concerned if they were made from recycled HDPE in which case you could not know what may have been stored in the original plastic that may or may not cause problems.
And, from my own broken record: the 2 in the triangle is a recycling code that has nothing at all to do with determining a plastic's food safety.
If you want to be certain it is food safe it will either be verifiable virgin HDPE or have NSF2 (which would never be found on a Homer bucket) printed on it somewhere.

 

[arturo7]

Mr Northo, although virgin material is important, the red colorant is also a factor.



Damn, I was trying not to get dragged in

...again...

 

[89OctaneStang]

I used to use my Homer buckets for racking when I started out. But now I use them for sanitation buckets but have never had any problems.. But when racking, the beer was never in them for very long.

 

[BeerCrazy]

Do you drill em and put in a spigot??? I have been wondering about em also. I have used drywall buckets to make wine with before (I do drywall so I have 100's of buckets), but in the last few years they have quit putting the rubber gasket in the lid,,,, thought of trying a lid from the brewhouse, just ain't got around to it, but the buckets I have been getting from the local shop, I have had to drill and put in a spgoit.

At least for beer, I wouldn't worry about the lack of gasket. But then again, I think an air lock is a luxury and have done just fine with tin foil.

 

[Mista_Sparkle]

Sorry I wasnt clear, I'm saying that I can get an ale pail only for $9 but then I would need a lid w/grommet @ $4 so really I'll just break it down for my lhbs prices

Homer Bucket + lid + grommet + airlock ≈ $7
Ale Pail + lid w/grommet + airlock ≈15

so the homer bucket is quite a bit cheaper however theres that slight extra risk of cancer or something... but hey, it saves you $8

 

[WhiteToad]

Also if you are needing to use drywall tools to stir your beer you might consider adding some more water

 

[Monkey]

So the comparison is $7 and a little bit of labor for a 5 gallon fermenter vs $9 and no labor for a 7 gallon fermenter?

Forgive me if I am underwhelmed at the value of the home depot bucket.

i can't find any ale pale buckets for under 25$. I think they might even be over $30, especially if you get it with a lid. The ones with spigots are more expensive as well.
Is there a website that sells them for $9 after shipping?

How did this conversation mutate into dry wall buckets? next we will somehow find ourselves debating a ferment inside of an old TV or something

"you can only use a 5-gallon toilet if it hasn't been crapped in"

 

[remilard]

i can't find any ale pale buckets for under 25$. I think they might even be over $30, especially if you get it with a lid. The ones with spigots are more expensive as well.
Is there a website that sells them for $9 after shipping?

How did this conversation mutate into dry wall buckets? next we will somehow find ourselves debating a ferment inside of an old TV or something

"you can only use a 5-gallon toilet if it hasn't been crapped in"

Morebeer sells a 6 gallon food save rated bucket with a lid (drilled) for $10 with free shipping.

 

[Jaysus]

I love buckets... just felt like sharing that.

 

[arturo7]

Problem Solved:

Lowes' offers their cheap 5 gallon bucket in gray. No problems with the red colorant.

 

[broadbill]

Problem Solved:

Lowes' offers their cheap 5 gallon bucket in gray. No problems with the red colorant.

HD's orange colorant gives you cancer.
Lowe's grey colorant makes your d*ck fall off.

Your choice!

disclaimer: I have no dog in this fight, I like to make stupid jokes.

 

[Hoppus_Poppatopolis]

Aw heck. Now I don't know what to do with my old tv.

 

[Bdogg]

I have mixed feelings about it. I mean farmers making moonshine used to use old tractor radiators as a still. Compared to that an orange pail is like nothing.

On the other hand unregulated plastics tend to leach chemicals into water and none of said chemicals are going to help you in the long run.

For me, spending the extra $5-$10 at the lhbs for a food grade plastic fermenter is worth not having to think about it. On the other hand, I know guys who routinely cook hot dogs on campfires they made out of treated lumber. So I guess it really just depends on how that kind of thing weighs on you. If you're asking... you probably already know the answer.

 

[Synovia]

Problem Solved:

Lowes' offers their cheap 5 gallon bucket in gray. No problems with the red colorant.

HD sells white ones too.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/has-anyone-ever-used-orange-home-depot-buckets-118095/ a good read....

My take is that you can brew in whatever you want. Will you instantly grow a third arm because you fermented in a Homer bucket? No. But you could eat off a lead plate for a long time with no effect too...

I am wary of FDA approved food grade plastic. And an unregulated plastic bucket with color dye is pretty near the top of my list for stuff I don't want anything I eat sitting in.

As to everyone who says they have fermented in Homer buckets and their beer is fine: No offense meant, but I really don't take taste comments from the net (with a few exceptions) very seriously. 90% of people seem to think their homebrew is better than commercial beer when I know that at least 95% of HB is worse than craft beer... As such, I take taste comments with about a pound of salt.

Ferment in what you like, they are your swimmers to kill as they say.

so, you don't brew in anything plastic right? you just use glass carboys?

Correct, I use as little plastic in my brewery as possible. I have some vinyl tubing, some thermoplastic tubing, and that is it. All plastic is rated food grade and I am fine with it. I use glass and stainless for fermentation. I just don't think the idea of using plastic not rated for food is a good one. It just isn't worth $5 (or whatever) to me.

So you don't drink milk, yogurt, or anything in a plastic colored container? It must make shopping very hard. Even Whole Foods insn't color-plastic free. I also believe my taste buds may be better then yours:rockin: but again its only an opinion BTW I only use glass...well, unless I'm using plastic

If it comes in glass, I prefer to buy it that way. Of course I eat out of plastic containers, but that doesn't mean I can't be wary of it and avoid it when possible. I just don't think plastic is a good thing for our bodies. Also, you will find that very few colored plastics are actually in contact with your food.

Your tastebuds may be better than mine, but I won't believe you until you say some things to make me think so. For example, I take carnevoodoo's opinion seriously because he has consistently made comments about commercial beers that I believed to be good opinions. Don't take offense, it is the interwebs, it is easy for me to say I am a beer connoisseur but difficult to show it.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Aw heck. Now I don't know what to do with my old tv.

I hooked up my Nintendo to it and placed it in another room away from the theater room...this way if the greatgrands want to play they don't bother me or use the big screen TV...

 

[Stagnasty]

HD's orange colorant gives you cancer.
Lowe's grey colorant makes your d*ck fall off.

Your choice!

disclaimer: I have no dog in this fight, I like to make stupid jokes.

Thanks for making that point. Me too. What got me started in this, was , since the Gov took my job and gave me food-stamps instead... I got to thinking,, I wonder how cheap i can make my own beer(with food stamp items,, ya know, your tax payer dollars at work and all,,since I can't afford it anymore. So that is my quest. At this point I am making 6 gals for 6 bucks,, at about 9.5 ABV. and dern it, it taste just like my lazy, shiftless uncle's homebrew, (he was too sorry to work, just stayed around the farm, made homebrew,:cross: and ,,,,,ya know,, come to think of it,, he kinda had it made.). Anyway,,, I am not too worried about cancer and or any of the green stuff,,, heck, I'm a homebrewer,, I am TRYING to drink myself to death,,, okay???

 

[northernlad]

Mr Northo, although virgin material is important, the red colorant is also a factor.



Damn, I was trying not to get dragged in

...again...

While I am not a plastics expert, I base my knowledge on the information I got from a customer who claims he is. We had a lengthy conversation about this very topic and he says that dyed HDPE is no different than non-dyed; it does not leach. This may not be the case with all plastics which is why most of us are concerned about it.
I think more important than the dye is the possibilty of contamination from recycled plastic.

 

[arturo7]

Mr North, I say to you respectfully, that I've been in the plastics industry for over 20 years. The difference between "dyed and non-dyed"plastics is not insignificant. The red dye is especially nasty stuff.

cheers

 

[apologeticus]

Thanks for making that point. Me too. What got me started in this, was , since the Gov took my job and gave me food-stamps instead... I got to thinking,, I wonder how cheap i can make my own beer(with food stamp items,, ya know, your tax payer dollars at work and all,,since I can't afford it anymore. So that is my quest. At this point I am making 6 gals for 6 bucks,, at about 9.5 ABV. and dern it, it taste just like my lazy, shiftless uncle's homebrew, (he was too sorry to work, just stayed around the farm, made homebrew,:cross: and ,,,,,ya know,, come to think of it,, he kinda had it made.). Anyway,,, I am not too worried about cancer and or any of the green stuff,,, heck, I'm a homebrewer,, I am TRYING to drink myself to death,,, okay???

where are you buying your grains etc. w/food stamps?

 

[northernlad]

Mr North, I say to you respectfully, that I've been in the plastics industry for over 20 years. The difference between "dyed and non-dyed"plastics is not insignificant. The red dye is especially nasty stuff.

cheers

Thats what I get for listening to some dude I don't know.

 

[bigdug]

HDPE (Homer buckets) and Pex (the supply plumbing in most of houses built in the last 15 years) are both forms of polyethelyne. Pex is dyed for the plumbing trade. Red for hot blue for cold white for genral use, the white also has a black inner lining to prevent alge growth, so even if you don't use it in your brewing, you are probably exposed to the dyes every day through general water use.

 

[arturo7]

Thats what I get for listening to some dude I don't know.

Just remember, you don't know me either...

(evil grin face here)

 

[northernlad]

Just remember, you don't know me either...

(evil grin face here)

I was hoping you'd catch that.

 

[phatuna]

DAMN! I just noticed that I spent the last 17 minutes reading all 54 of these posts... I'll never get that time back and I blame all of you

 

[Stagnasty]

where are you buying your grains etc. w/food stamps?

I ain't buying grains and hops,,, I'm making home brew,,, Grandma's Molassas, table sugar, and bakers yeat,,, I know it sounds horrible, but its about 100 times better than Bud Light Wheat,, or Bud for that matter

 

[northernlad]

I ain't buying grains and hops,,, I'm making home brew,,, Grandma's Molassas, table sugar, and bakers yeat,,, I know it sounds horrible, but its about 100 times better than Bud Light Wheat,, or Bud for that matter

Dude you're going to hell via the liver transplant wing.

 

[Vorsicht709]

Here is my two cents, being a homebrewer and a former employee of the Home Depot (paint department) and someone who has sold hundreds of these buckets. They are exactly the same as the bucket I got from my LHBS. The only diffrence is that the LHBS sells one, and Home Depot sells the other. I dont see why anyone would not want to use the exact same bucket because it is sold at a hardware store.

And for people who are complaining that the buckets have dye on them, what about the "Ale Pails" that have a design on them, that LHBS sell. Is it somehow okay when the LHBS does this?

I would not be suprised if the company that makes home depot's buckets also makes buckets for LHBS, but instead of slapping a Home Depot label, that slap on an "ale pail" logo. In my opinion a bucket is a bucket, no matter where you buy it.

 

[phatuna]

I ain't buying grains and hops,,, I'm making home brew,,, Grandma's Molassas, table sugar, and bakers yeat,,, I know it sounds horrible, but its about 100 times better than Bud Light Wheat,, or Bud for that matter

que banjo: nang nang nang nang, nang nang, nang nang nang

 

[Vorsicht709]

Originally Posted by Stagnasty
I ain't buying grains and hops,,, I'm making home brew,,, Grandma's Molassas, table sugar, and bakers yeat

This reminds me of Pruno, Eww.