Use infected buckets again?

[TheMan]

My brew buddies and I had a massive infection in 4 bucket fermenters. We let them soak in Oxy Clean for almost a week and they still smell like the infection. Should we bleach them and clean again?

Or should we just not use these particular buckets any further? I have not brewed since this incident and any more spoilage will crush my spirit lol.

Advice?

 

[JoeMama]

Buckets are cheap. (Cheaper than a batch of beer you have to dump because of a recurring infection)

Id say if you had bad luck with it once, you may be prone to another infection. Bleach may impart flavors into your beer as well

Besides, with plastic the nasties could be harboring somewhere in a hidden scratch that you cant detect.
My vote is to chuck them.
-Me

 

[Arkador]

+1 get another bucket or a glass carboy that cannot harbor nasties.

 

[kanielb1]

I clean my buckets and carboys with bleach all the time. I have never had it impart off flavors. The key is to rinse it completely off. I would get some new buckets too.

 

[TheMan]

I was hoping to hear someone say that...but not wanting to hear it at the same time. They were brand new buckets, only been used one time, which resulted in infection. I hate to have spent all the money on them just to waste them, but I do not want more infected beer.

 

[kanielb1]

Thoroughly inspect the buckets for scratches and stuff. If there isnt any scratches or any places that could harbor bacteria, soak them in bleach and hot water for half an hour or so, rinse the you know what out of them, oxy clean 'em, rinse the you know what out of them and try it again. Maybe do a cheap brew and if it comes out well, then the buckets are cool. Then again, if they were new buckets, it is possible that the buckets were not the culprit and something else was not sanitized properly.

 

[Munsoned]

Well, that's interesting... If they were first time used and resulted in an infection, I'd look up the chain to see if it may have come from somewhere else in your process. Like the others, I'd also replace the buckets. Not worth the risk.

 

[TheMan]

I've already thoroughly investigated what the cause might be (lengthy topic a week ago). I am not entirely sure. Could have missed sanitizing something. I'm past that part though. Sounds like a mixed bag of answers here.

I suppose I'll get one new bucket for now. At the least, I just need to get a successful batch done. I have a cheap batch on hand, but I guess I'd rather brew success and get over the failure than test out the buckets at the moment. Then maybe I'll get another cheap batch a try in one of the infected buckets. A 20 gallon infection takes its toll...

 

[Sawdustguy]

I've already thoroughly investigated what the cause might be (lengthy topic a week ago). I am not entirely sure. Could have missed sanitizing something. I'm past that part though. Sounds like a mixed bag of answers here.

I suppose I'll get one new bucket for now. At the least, I just need to get a successful batch done. I have a cheap batch on hand, but I guess I'd rather brew success and get over the failure than test out the buckets at the moment. Then maybe I'll get another cheap batch a try in one of the infected buckets. A 20 gallon infection takes its toll...

Chit can the four buckets. Go to a Walmart bakery, they will either give away or charge you a small price for the food grade buckets they use for shortening or frosting. See this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/cheap-food-grade-buckets-33273/. Your infection problem obviously did not come from the buckets. The odds on four separate buckets becoming infected with the exact same infection is miniscule. The common denominator is the beer and the infection that got into it before fermentation.

 

[quickerNu]

I kept an eye on your previous thread and still do not believe the buckets had anything to do with it. I use star san as a sanitizer and make 5 gallons at a time. Having a bucket full of sanitizer for a day or two eliminates my infection worries- miniscule scratches or not.

 

[Munsoned]

Another idea: do a really good and thorough bleach bombing of the infected buckets. Clean, santize, repeat. Then, buy one more brand new bucket. Do a 10 gallon batch, and use one brand new one, and one of the infected ones (5 gallons each). If you get another infection in the old bucket, at least you've hedged your losses to 50%. If not, then you have 10 gallons and can be pretty sure you're cleaning system worked.

 

[Sawdustguy]

Another idea: do a really good and thorough bleach bombing of the infected buckets. Clean, santize, repeat. Then, buy one more brand new bucket. Do a 10 gallon batch, and use one brand new one, and one of the infected ones (5 gallons each). If you get another infection in the old bucket, at least you've hedged your losses to 50%. If not, then you have 10 gallons and can be pretty sure you're cleaning system worked.

If he can get the buckets at $1 each from a Walmart Bakery like Ed Wort did, why go through the exercise?

 

[Munsoned]

If he can get the buckets at $1 each from a Walmart Bakery like Ed Wort did, why go through the exercise?

Yes, I agree 100%. If he has a cheap and easy source, then he should just replace them. If he's strapped and/or can't get replacements easily, that's another story. Since he likely has an infection up his line, and IF getting new buckets is a hassle and/or costly, then better to try to limit the losses and figure out his point of failure before spending a lot of time or energy getting a bunch of new buckets whatever the source. Just my $0.02.

Also, I think YMMV with the different Wal-Marts. Mine has flat out told me "no" when I asked for their left-overs. They might just be jerks where I am though...

 

[Synovia]

If he can get the buckets at $1 each from a Walmart Bakery like Ed Wort did, why go through the exercise?

$1, sure, but if hes paying $14/piece for Ale Pails from the LHBS....


The infection is upstream.

 

[springer]

I highly doubt that all four brand new buckets are the cause its nearly impossible . Its something upstream that either wasn't cleaned/sanitized properly. I once had a problem and I nuked everything that was post boil other than the vinyl tubing that I tossed with bleach rinsed several times, oxyclean soak and sanitized with Star San . And never had a problem again.


Was the entire batch brewed at the same time?

 

[Sawdustguy]

Yes, I agree 100%. If he has a cheap and easy source, then he should just replace them. If he's strapped and/or can't get replacements easily, that's another story. Since he likely has an infection up his line, and IF getting new buckets is a hassle and/or costly, then better to try to limit the losses and figure out his point of failure before spending a lot of time or energy getting a bunch of new buckets whatever the source. Just my $0.02.

Also, I think YMMV with the different Wal-Marts. Mine has flat out told me "no" when I asked for their left-overs. They might just be jerks where I am though...

$1, sure, but if hes paying $14/piece for Ale Pails from the LHBS....

Yes, if the buckets are that expensive, I agree with both of you. Here in NY the guy at the local Walmart Bakery has saved some of them for me and I gave him some homebrew for them, otherwise they get so many they get thrown in the trash.