Screwtop buckets

[tampa911]

Anyone use Screwtop buckets for primary/secondary fermentation?

I got regular buckets with my starter kit and I am thinking the seal for the lid is bad as I am getting no activity in my airlock on my very first brew, but it seems to be fermenting away.

I have been leaning towards a glass carboy, as it would be nice to see what is going on inside, but these seemed to be a pretty good fit as well. http://www.bayteccontainers.com/65galsctoppa.html

Anyone ever used them, or have any thoughts?

 

[Bensiff]

I just use 6 gallon PET (Better Bottle is the big brand name but you can get PET for cheaper) for the bulk of my work.

 

[Face Eater]

I use those to store my bulk grain, wouldn't see why you couldn't use them for fermentation. Drill a hole, get a grommet and put an airlock in.

 

[Revvy]

You have fermentation. IGNORE what your airlock is or isn't doing. And trust those of us who've been doing it longer than you?

Bubbling doesn't really mean anything other than the airlock is bubbling. And airlock is not a fermentation gauge, it's a vent to bleed off EXCESS gas, be it oxygen or EXCESS co2. It shouldn't be looked at as anything else, because an airlock can bubble or stop bubbling for whatever reasons, including a change in temperature (gas expands and contracts depending on ambient temps) changes in barometric pressure (You can have bubbling or suckback in the airlock, depending on pressure on the fermenter) whether or not a truck is going by on the street, the vacuum cleaner is running, or your dog is trying to have sex with the fermenter. Or co2 can get out around the lid of the bucket or the bung...it doesn't matter how the co2 gets out, just that it is.

And bubbles don't coordinate with anything concrete within the fermenter either, "x bubbles/y minute" does NOT TRANSLATE to any numerical change in gravity....if an instruction says do something when bubbles do something per something, throw the instructions out.

Fermentation is not always dynamic, just because you can't see what's going on, doesn't mean nothing is going on. And just because your airlock starts up, and then slows down or stops in a few days, doesn't mean fermentation is over YET, it just means the excess co2 is not coming out of the airlock...not that the yeast is done.

The only way to know how your beer is doing is to take a hydrometer reading, if you're worried. But not until 72 hours have gone by. Then if you're still concerned, take one...then you'll know.

Counting bubbles does not equate to anything usable in fermentation. It's not like "x bubbles/minute= y gravity points." It just means that co2 is being released....but it could also NOT be bubbling, and still fermenting away.

Relax, leave your beer alone and let it do it's thing for a couple more weeks, and most importantly, IGNORE what your airlock does or doesn't do.

In fact you might find this discussion on the superfluousness of airlocks something that will help you get a handle on this. It was started by a newer brewing who just grasped this concept.

You don't need screwtops lids, you just need to not concern yourself with what your airlock does or doesn't do.

 

[DPBISME]

I use a 14 Gallon screw top bucket as a fermenter, I have two of them, and have had no problems.

I have yet to find a link to one but if I do I will add one later

 

[mpcluever]

The only thing I'd be concerned about with the screw top buckets is that it's IMPOSSIBLE to get my screw-tops off the bucket. Once anything got to the top it would be impossible to clean. I recently picked up a bunch of food grade buckets and swapped my grain buckets with the screw lids and it was a painful evening of bending plastic and pulling as hard as I could. There was much cursing involved.

 

[Roachmeister]

The only thing I'd be concerned about with the screw top buckets is that it's IMPOSSIBLE to get my screw-tops off the bucket.

Hrm. That's the entire reason I am scouring the web for screw tops to begin with.

Perhaps you are screwing them on too tight? Just needs the barest little air tight seal to keep the CO2 trapped inside and funneling through the airlock.

(I've never had a beer not bubble through the airlock...? Was reading the post above concerning ignoring that.)

 

[mpcluever]

Hrm. That's the entire reason I am scouring the web for screw tops to begin with.

Perhaps you are screwing them on too tight? Just needs the barest little air tight seal to keep the CO2 trapped inside and funneling through the airlock.

(I've never had a beer not bubble through the airlock...? Was reading the post above concerning ignoring that.)

I don't think I was specific enough. I can unscrew them, that part is fine. The part that attaches to the bucket itself is darn near permanently attached. Anything that gets up into that seam is there permanently. You will never clean it out.

 

[DPBISME]

The only thing I'd be concerned about with the screw top buckets is that it's IMPOSSIBLE to get my screw-tops off the bucket. Once anything got to the top it would be impossible to clean. I recently picked up a bunch of food grade buckets and swapped my grain buckets with the screw lids and it was a painful evening of bending plastic and pulling as hard as I could. There was much cursing involved.

The type I have if they are on to tight I can just whack them with a hammer or piece of 2 by 4 to break the seal...

They are about 14 gallons and have large red tops and have a wide lid so they are easy to clean like a bucket...