FV new and old

[LarryF]

I got a new FV as I'd been using my current one since I started brewing in January 2015. It's been cleaned after every use and is very rarely empty. But you can see the difference 2 odd years have made. I swapped it out as I didn't want to risk an infected brew for the sake of £12 odd. The question I have is what's the longest anyone's used a plastic FV with no problems? Or am I just being a big southern shandy drinking softy?

 

[Fil]

i retired my buckets at the drop of a hat.. the problem being me stashing other kit inside em between brews resulting in scratches that dented my confidence in the ability to sanitise fully.

ive since shifted to the 4" neck vessels, way more robust when lumping 5gallons of brew about and the smaller neck while big enough for cleaning and tap servicing is small enough to deter the automatic reach to drop other kit inside..

if you want permanent fermenting vessels go stainless, the ss brewbuckets or even a 30 or 50l stock pot make good last you a lifetime options that dont break the bank like a conical would.. if feeling flush thermopots with IC chilling work a treat too..

 

[dad_of_jon]

about 25 brews before mrs doj scratched it

I was not a happy bunny.

 

[IainM]

My main fv is currently seeing its 31st brew since I started September 2015, of which two were cider and one wine.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I bought mine around the time i joined the forum so its 4 years old, its a bit scratched where i have been stirring to dissolve the sugar but as non of my wine has been ruined by it and its still airtight (always bubbles through the airlock) i haven't thought about changing it.

 

[MyQul]

I've only just recently retired my old Coopers FV that became my no chill cube because the tap was begining to fail. It was 4-5 years old

 

[Cwrw666]

I've not too long ago `retired' my old fermenter. I had a couple of brews with possible wild yeast infections - the beer tasted fine but the bottles were all `gushers' which was a bit of a pain. It was at least 10 years old, possibly as much as 15. I'll probably bring it out of retirement when I get round to sterilising it with bleach.
I normally sanitise with boiling water so scratches don't matter. Chemicals can fail to penetrate scratches filled with debris, but heat gets in everywhere.

 

[MyQul]

I've not too long ago `retired' my old fermenter. I had a couple of brews with possible wild yeast infections - the beer tasted fine but the bottles were all `gushers' which was a bit of a pain. It was at least 10 years old, possibly as much as 15. I'll probably bring it out of retirement when I get round to sterilising it with bleach.
I normally sanitise with boiling water so scratches don't matter. Chemicals can fail to penetrate scratches filled with debris, but heat gets in everywhere.

Previosly reading about you using your FV for 10 years inspired me not to chuck my Coopers no-chill FV/cube before I had too due to the tap begining to fail

 

[Godsdog]

Before I bought the fast fermenter in December 15 my bucket must have done 100s of brews and never had a problem it was only the last few year's in using it that I fitted an airlock to it's lid

 

[LarryF]

Looks like I've got a good spare sitting there maybe even a.......second FV. I've said it now, just looking to see if SWMBO heard me.

 

[Graz]

I've got one in regular use that has got to be at least 15 years old. It has had odd breaks of a a year or two when I gotten out of the habit of brewing. Looks a bit beige now but still produces decent beer so I see no need to replace it.

The only thing against it is the plastic is much less see through than the ones you buy nowadays. Makes it a bit of a pain trying to determine how full it is when making a brew, you've got to get the light shining through it from the right angle to see against the indicator on the outside.

 

[TheQuokka]

Yeah, you're being a bit of a Nancy. I kept my old fermenter for about 10 years before it picked up scratches. I currently have one that I bought second hand a few years ago as part of a set so I don't know how old it is, but it is the old "VB style" so must be pretty old. I sort of retired it as it was getting weak around the tap, but have resurrected it to rack beer from the Cooper's FV for cold-crash - replaced the tap with a bung.

 

[terrym]

When I started brewing nearly 50 years ago there was no such thing as a home brew FV made from food grade plastic. My FV therefore was an orange plastic dustbin just over 5 gal capacity which came with a fairly loose fitting black lid. Certainly neither were food grade.
I recall I would clean it with a scratchy pad if it got a bit of dried yeasty crud near the top.
I used it for over 25 years or so until I stopped brewing.
And I don't remember any brews going down the sink.
So although my two Youngs FVs don't get the Brillo treatment and are treated with a bit more reverence, based on my former experience I can see them lasting me for a few more years to come. :thumb:

 

[Gunge]

I'm still using FVs that are 15+ years old and look it too, but I've yet to see an infection. Some folk get way too uptight about this. I guess I've been lucky up to a point but there y'go. Just put stuff away bone dry and sterilise with super-diluted el cheapo bleach immediately before use - an approach which has served me well and hasn't failed me in donkey years, nay,ever.

 

[Godsdog]

When I started brewing nearly 50 years ago there was no such thing as a home brew FV made from food grade plastic. My FV therefore was an orange plastic dustbin just over 5 gal capacity which came with a fairly loose fitting black lid. Certainly neither were food grade.
I recall I would clean it with a scratchy pad if it got a bit of dried yeasty crud near the top.
I used it for over 25 years or so until I stopped brewing.
And I don't remember any brews going down the sink.
So although my two Youngs FVs don't get the Brillo treatment and are treated with a bit more reverence, based on my former experience I can see them lasting me for a few more years to come. :thumb:

Yeah,my first FV was an empty 5 gallon industrial hand cleaning bucket appropriated from work

 

[Fil]

My old brewbible from the 70's advocated lining an old bin with a black plastic bin liner for use as a fermenting vessel..

ironically its a practice now adopted by US craft brewers..

 

[Gunge]

My old brewbible from the 70's advocated lining an old bin with a black plastic bin liner for use as a fermenting vessel..

ironically its a practice now adopted by US craft brewers..

My first homebrew memory, and what also probably sparked the interest. When I was about six or seven I suppose, early 1970s anyway, I remember me dad and my two considerably older brothers getting a Tom Caxton kit and fiddling about with a bin liner at the top of the stairs. I can't remember what contraption they used to support it but it wasn't anything as sturdy as a bin! Predictably the whole lot ended up flooding the landing and stairs like a scene from any number of sitcoms on teevee at the time. Happy days (for me anyway)!

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

...they always do...

 

[Gerryjo]

Before retiring your FV have anyone thought about steam cleaning them either with a kettle or a wallpaper steamer?

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[Gunge]

Before retiring your FV have anyone thought about steam cleaning them either with a kettle or a wallpaper steamer?

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

A while back I got bored of sterilising and rinsing bottles and dug out the ol' Earlex steam wallpaper stripper, made an attachment so I could fire superheated steam directly into bottles. It worked and I could get the nozzle right to the bottom of the bottle. Did a few batches like that and all the ale was sound but I stopped because I was losing too many bottles shattering/cracking cos they couldn't withstand the heat. A pity cos it saved tons of time and used nil chemicals. But now you mention it I'll give my FVs the once-over with it. They're about due..