non food grade bottling bucket

[reibrew]

Hey everyone,

I'd really like to siphon from my primary to a bottling bucket so I can batch prime. Will I run into any problems using a plastic non food grade bucket from the home depot?

 

[CatHead]

I wouldn't chance it for a couple bucks. No way knowing what chemicals are in that bucket.

 

[mufflerbearing]

I say no go. I don't gamble with my beer. Money maybe, but not my homebrew! They are like kids to me. I hope that doesn't make me a Cannibal.

 

[schooner427]

The problem with non food grade is the dye and the mold release chemicals used in manufacturing. I wouldn't take a chance even for a short time. If it about saving a few bucks you can check bakeries or restuarants, they receive ingredients all the time in food grade and may just give em to you.

 

[whoaru99]

Seen time and time again they're OK. Just wash it real good.

None of my "food grade" pails say anything on them about being "food grade". They just have the standard HDPE 2 designation.

 

[schooner427]

The difference is the purity of the plastic and the mold release chemicals that are used at manufacturing, most food grade will be stamped as food grade or usda approved

 

[schooner427]

Oh and. Hdpe 2 I believe is food grade but checking with the distributor or manufacturer is best.

 

[logan3825]

Homer buckets are fine for bottling. I used one for apfelwein. Just wash it good before you use it.

 

[jgerard]

I looked at the manufacturer for the cheap $2 buckets from farm n fleet, turns out almost all their buckets were food grade accept the ones made from recycled plastic. Check the manufacturers website, though if its the orange ones from home depot I can tell you those are NOT food grade.

I duck taped the lid down on my $2 bucket after filling with apfelwein. Not my proudest moment but I was in school and had lots of friends drinking from the corney and not enough fermentation vessels. No, I couldn't taste the difference.

 

[unionrdr]

Buckets marked HDPE 1 or 2 are food grade.

 

[reibrew]

Mixed reviews it seems. Again, this is only for bottling. My lhbs sells a 6.5 gallon bucket for $15, food grade. Might be worth the $12

 

[unionrdr]

My lhbs charged me $13 for a shorter,wider 7.9G bucket & Italian red/white spigot. That spigot has a recess on the end of the spout that fits a 3/8" tube tightly. Seems to me the clearish/white home cheapo bucket with the graduations on the side is food grade. But check to make sure,as I think someone on here uses it.

 

[reibrew]

So from what I gathered from this and other threads, I ended up getting a $4 bucket from lowes, it's blue, #2 hdpe. I read that most people had issue with the red dye in the orange buckets, I think I'll be safe for now

 

[ThatGeekGuy]

Just drink until you turn blue....

 

[Varmintman]

Uh oh I guess I am in trouble. I got a ten gallon square tote from walmart for my bottling bucket. Dang but I must have ruined hundreds of gallons of beer in that thing and not noticed it.

You will be fine with about anything as long as it is clean. The beer is not in it long enough to leach anything from the plastic.

 

[b-boy]

You can get 5-gallon food grade buckets at HD/Lowes. They're about 4 bucks. They are white. They are usually in the cleaning section, not with the paint.

 

[Leadgolem]

You know you can pick up a food grade white 5 gallon bucket at lowes for $3.50.

 

[reibrew]

I'm Canadian, I looked around for white buckets and didn't find any. I didn't check the cleaning section though

 

[Melchizedek]

Is this true?

Not All HDPE Containers Are Food Grade

There is a common misconception that all containers made of white plastic or HDPE plastic bearing the HDPE "2" plastic symbol symbol are food grade containers. This is not true.

If you are considering the purchase of a container from some place other than a kitchen or restaurant supply store, and the container is not clearly labeled as "food safe" or being made of food grade plastic, then you should assume that it is not food grade and you should not brine in it—unless you line it with a food grade plastic bag.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/plastics.html

 

[zachattack]

It is true. As others mentioned, just because a certain type of plastic can be food grade doesn't mean that one product is. Dyes, mold release agents, etc. that aren't part of the plastic itself can render it non-food safe.

 

[Melchizedek]

So why are HD/Lowes plastic buckets still recommended, apart from the dyed ones?

 

[Revvy]

It is true. As others mentioned, just because a certain type of plastic can be food grade doesn't mean that one product is. Dyes, mold release agents, etc. that aren't part of the plastic itself can render it non-food safe.

Actually, to be food grade EVERYTHING has to be....A former member who was a plastics engineer, posted a ton of great information on here.

As far as leaching goes, a food grade polypropylene will not typically contain anything harmful that will leach into the mash at an unacceptable level (true for HDPE as well). The company can not label it as food grade if this was the case (this isn't China where companies can put melamine into dog food without regulation, or lead based paints on toys). The only thing I can think of that might leach into the mash would be a mold release agent that's there to help separate the liner from the mold during it's initial manufacturing process. Probably a food grade mineral oil or paraffinic compound that's easily removed with soap and water. There may also be some type of antioxidant or UV inhibitor to stabilize the polymer from high manufacturing temperatures or sunlight exposure. Again, these would be food grade and not pose a risk at the levels added. Look at some food labels and see how often you find BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), yet you still eat this. Here's something else to think about: The residual component (terephthalic acid) used to make polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is in every plastic soda bottle because it leaches into the drink, especially the longer a bottle stays on the shelf. This is why a coke tastes different in plastic than glass or a can. Yet PET bottles are food safe.

let's have some common sense here, you think they'd use NON FOOD SAFE materials to make food safe?

Guys, for a bottling bucket, ESPECIALLY, you beer's only going to be in contact with the plastic for less than an hour. If you've cleaned and sanitized you bottling bucket, it's really doubtfull that anything's going to have time to leach out into your beer, even if it WERE possible.

This is MY Bottling bucket, Mine is the translucent Leaktite brand 5 gallon container with the gallon and liter markings from Homedepot.

Been using it for years, noone's died, been poisoned, had their d*ck fall off or grown excessive manboobs from drinking my beer.....

 

[zachattack]

Actually, to be food grade EVERYTHING has to be....

That's what I said I said that just because a certain type of plastic (in this case polyethylene) is often used to make a food grade product doesn't mean that all polyethylene products are food safe due to different dyes, release agents, etc.

just because a certain type of plastic can be food grade doesn't mean that one product is. Dyes, mold release agents, etc. that aren't part of the plastic itself can render it non-food safe.

I do agree that there's very little concern with a bottling bucket.

 

[b-boy]

So why are HD/Lowes plastic buckets still recommended, apart from the dyed ones?

These buckets are specifically labeled as 'Food Grade'. They have other white buckets that are not labeled this way.

 

[reibrew]

After fumbling around bottling with the siphon I said screw it and got a proper bottling bucket with a spigot. Using the Lowes bucket to haul grain and it fits my collander perfectly to squeeze my bag into. Cost me $19 but will make my beer making life easier