Possible misinformation about plastic fermentation buckets

[Revvy]

There is a sub shop near me that sells theyre used give gallon pickle buckets, but I fear the smell of brine would never leave...

Sorry but the one thing that can't be gotten out of buckets to use them for brewing is pickles....I don't think you'll find one success story in all these threads. The pickling brine penertrates way too deep into the plastic.

And probably the olives as well.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pickle-bucket-173350/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pickle-buckets-144485/?highlight=pickle

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pickle-taste-bourbon-stout-132670/?highlight=pickle

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pickle-bucket-grist-104109/?highlight=pickle

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pickle-bucket-85010/?highlight=pickle

As all the above threads have shown, even multiple soakings of oxyclean won't work....If it were that easy there wouldn't be so many threads.

As much as I am all for scrounging, recycling and repurposing, and finding free stuff for our hobby. I have to say pickle buckets really just need to be passed by. Get yourself some frosting buckets, or even soy sauce buckets from the local chinese takeaway, but not anything with vinegar, it's an acid and will penetrate the bucket.

Look for frosting or soy sauce buckets, or go get white hdpe buckets from lowes or had....

 

[unionrdr]

I too use the orange homer cheapo buckets for soaking bottles,storing PBW solution,cleaning fermenters,all those extranious uses in brewing.
And the 3 piece airlock can be used for the manometer function mentioned. Just watch the center piece,it rides up in varying increments ime.
And some time ago,I posted how pop taught me & my older brother how to brew in a hollowed out pumpkin. You used either an airlock,or tube & balloon. You also have to coat it well with wax,& maybe set it in a pan. It'l ferment the walls of the pumkin,& get thinner & weaker as it ferments.
I prefer the safety of plastic,but you do have to be careful not to use anything abrasive when cleaning it. So I use my cleaning wand hooked to the tap to blast it as clean as I can. Then fill with PBW solution & soak for a week. Lightly scrub with bottle brush or soft towel & rinse well/dry. I've never had a single infection by being thorough.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

And some time ago,I posted how pop taught me & my older brother how to brew in a hollowed out pumpkin. You used either an airlock,or tube & balloon. You also have to coat it well with wax,& maybe set it in a pan. It'l ferment the walls of the pumkin,& get thinner & weaker as it ferments.

That's too cool, man!!

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,looking back on how it turned out,it'd be perfect to mix with a wheat beer. Kind of a hazy orange clear color. Nice buzz...I forget the flavor,but wasn't much flavor at that.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Yeah,looking back on how it turned out,it'd be perfect to mix with a wheat beer. Kind of a hazy orange clear color. Nice buzz...I forget the flavor,but wasn't much flavor at that.

Yeah, the pumpkin ale I brew has a healthy dose of wheat in the grain bill. Makes for a nice amber pumpkin ale.
I don't, however, ferment in a pumpkin.

 

[unionrdr]

I might give it a shot this fall,but put it in the basement just in case,like pop did. They did it in the old days in the root celler,he said. Seems to me that's where grandma made here cherry wine.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I might give it a shot this fall,but put it in the basement just in case,like pop did. They did it in the old days in the root celler,he said. Seems to me that's where grandma made here cherry wine.

You should! I'd love to hear how it turns out.

 

[unionrdr]

I was thinking of brewing a wheat beer in my ale pale,& the pumpkin hooch seperately,then blend & bottle. Flavor complexity/balance/strength might be better that way in my mind?...

 

[H-ost]

I have glass Carboys and once/if those break (one already has) I will never buy another. I also use BBs because I like looking at the fermentation and they are better than glass in my opinion. However, I was at the LHBS today getting some ingredients and expecting to buy another BB which I thought would be about 25 dollars. When I realized the BBs were 37 dollars, without a care in the world, I bought a bucket for 15... Even if I were afraid that a scratch in the bucket could cause me to need to replace it, I can still buy 2 buckets for the price of 1 BB and 2 BBs for the price of 1 6.5 gallon carboy.

 

[robanna]

I really have to question that a plastic bucket would introduce more oxygen in a week or two through the plastic walls than would be introduced in the process of transferring the beer to another container.

The fermentation process has expelled/displaced all of the O2 from the primary but the secondary is currently full of O2 so unless you purge the secondary with CO2...

 

[jkendal]

Sorry but the one thing that can't be gotten out of buckets to use them for brewing is pickles....I don't think you'll find one success story in all these threads. The pickling brine penertrates way too deep into the plastic.

And probably the olives as well.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pickle-bucket-173350/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pickle-buckets-144485/?highlight=pickle

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pickle-taste-bourbon-stout-132670/?highlight=pickle

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pickle-bucket-grist-104109/?highlight=pickle

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pickle-bucket-85010/?highlight=pickle

As all the above threads have shown, even multiple soakings of oxyclean won't work....If it were that easy there wouldn't be so many threads.

As much as I am all for scrounging, recycling and repurposing, and finding free stuff for our hobby. I have to say pickle buckets really just need to be passed by. Get yourself some frosting buckets, or even soy sauce buckets from the local chinese takeaway, but not anything with vinegar, it's an acid and will penetrate the bucket.

Look for frosting or soy sauce buckets, or go get white hdpe buckets from lowes or had....

Doesn't soy sauce have vinegar in it?

 

[jkendal]

I really have to question that a plastic bucket would introduce more oxygen in a week or two through the plastic walls than would be introduced in the process of transferring the beer to another container.

The fermentation process has expelled/displaced all of the O2 from the primary but the secondary is currently full of O2 so unless you purge the secondary with CO2...

It's been my experience that whenever you transfer your beer to a secondary it causes enough CO2 to be released from solution to force all of the O2 out. You can test this by lighting a match and holding it directly over the mouth of the carboy - it WILL go out because of the CO2 coming out of the carboy (i.e. no more oxygen left).

I think many people worry needlessly about O2 in their secondary and don't worry near enough about the increased risk of infection every time beer is transferred to another container (which is why I haven't used a secondary for several years now). Just my $0.02

 

[WileECoyote]

In reality a fermenter is a fermenter is a fermenter.....glass, plastic, carboy, bucket, jerry can, keg, milk jug, ceramic crock, glass hurricane jar, stainless steel or plastic conicals, pet food storage vessels (vittle vaults), HD or Lowe's buckets, frosting buckets, water jugs, the old Mr Beer jug...

Revvy you didn't mention using a old Studibaker gas tank. lol

Sorry couldn't resist.

Cheers

 

[Revvy]

Doesn't soy sauce have vinegar in it?

Not enough evidently to penetrate the plastic and affect the beer like pure pickle brine does.

 

[Revvy]

Revvy you didn't mention using a old Studibaker gas tank. lol

Lol, that's only for 'shine...and we don't discuss distilling here.