Recommend a brew bucket!

[-Bezza-]

I have one like this which doesn't mess about when moving. Not sure where you can get them though.

 

[AdeDunn]

Not you as well!

Hang on, won’t stainless steel transfer heat more easily than HDPE? My iceprobe will have to work harder to maintain temps then.

Yeah, concern for the environment means I MUST not buy the shiny toy.

Until you wrap it in insulation yes. Once you insulate it, no. lol You won't have to replace it as often as you will plastic, and steel is better for the environment as it's easier to recycle surely? There goes that argument.... lol

 

[MickDundee]

PS 'Saisons in the Abyss' - DAMMIT you beat me to this (epic) name! I'm calling "4 Saisons in One Day (split batch)" and "Saisons in the Sun" now before anyone gets any ideas!

Haha, yeah all my brews are named after something in my music collection. I thought it was quite apt for my saison since people will say that citra doesn’t belong in a saison!

 

[Oneflewover]

I got this one, pretty happy with it. Quite rigid and feels like good quality. The picture isn't a good representation, the 30l version is only 36cm tall.
https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Demijohns_and_Fermenters.html

Edit, jeez I'm so cack-handed when it comes to technology.... Hopefully this link
https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/30_ltr_Plastic_fermenter_with_Lid_and_Tap.html

 

[Llamaman]

I got this one, pretty happy with it. Quite rigid and feels like good quality. The picture isn't a good representation, the 30l version is only 36cm tall.
https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Demijohns_and_Fermenters.html

Edit, jeez I'm so cack-handed when it comes to technology.... Hopefully this link
https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/30_ltr_Plastic_fermenter_with_Lid_and_Tap.html

That’s the Brupaks I just butchered.
I might order another one but I think the tap is too high. I liked the little cap for the airlock though - you could pitch yeast or dry hop through there and not need to open up the whole lid.

 

[dad_of_jon]

https://www.ampulla.co.uk/Plastic-B...lastic-Fermentation-Bucket-And-Lid/p-113-673/

its good for the money taller rather than wider...

 

[Druncan]

Speidel 30l Cider FV's Got four. I do about 40 brews / year.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPEIDEL-...hash=item41d23d0aa8:m:mEeVerbULumtlEAkCN617zw

But forget the lock. I put taps on the top of them with a tube to a 1l water bottle.
Only clean with non scratch cleaners
Get spare sealing rings

Now got some extra Brewbuilder 75l SS Conicals,,, Mmmmmm,,, ;oP

 

[Oneflewover]

That’s the Brupaks I just butchered.
I might order another one but I think the tap is too high. I liked the little cap for the airlock though - you could pitch yeast or dry hop through there and not need to open up the whole lid.

Yeah I'd agree that the tap is too high if you were to use it for bottling. Since I only use it for taking a gravity sample it's not a problem for me. I'd also agree that the cap for the airlock is great for those purposes, and I also put the siphon through there for bottling to avoid opening the FV right up :thumb:

 

[Cwrw666]

Would the (poor) seal on a bucket be sufficient to release the pressure? My concern would be the lid would suddenly "pop" (no doubt when I'm at work) spraying krausen and inviting air into the FV. I guess resting the lid loosely on the FV should work?

I don't use my airlocks to check on fermentation (I use a hydrometer for that) - I use them to stop air getting into my brew once krausen has died down.

I've never had a brew bucket with an airlock. The lids snap on but don't seal completely so they let gas out under pressure but nothing gets back in. Only time I've ever had the lid pop was when I accidently had a brew get up to 30c. Twas not a pretty sight but can't see that an airlock or blow over tube or whatever it's called would have helped.

By the way, I draped a bit of clingfilm over the mess to keep flies off. And the beer - treacle stout if I remember corectly - turned out fine.

 

[Llamaman]

It’s aliiiiiiiiiiiive!

 

[Llamaman]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Interesting to hear how airlocks aren’t needed on these buckets - I’ve always assumed you needed one. One less thing to worry about.

 

[Robsparky99]

The Coopers FV is about 25-27 litres in useable size, has no bubble airlock, instead uses the Krausen collar to move up and down if a large head is formed and then drops back into the brew. Without doubt the best plastic FV you can get. So easy to use, good quality and no air locks to mess about with. The only problem I have found is the bottling wand that comes with the kit is crap (it doesn't have a spring loaded tip, so just leaks all the time).

 

[Simonh82]

Until I upgraded to stainless I was very happy with this bucket from Malt Miller https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/30-litre-fermenting-bucket/. 50p extra and they will fit a grommet for an airlock.

 

[AdeDunn]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Interesting to hear how airlocks aren’t needed on these buckets - I’ve always assumed you needed one. One less thing to worry about.

That's just opinion, anecdote if you will. I've fermented open twice. The one time was a Saison, and towards the end I added an airlock, all was fine as it held the CO2 in once the krausen was gone in order to protect the beer. The other time wasn't deliberate, it was a bucket with a bad seal, and the beer got infected because of this, grew a pellicle and ended up revolting. So MY opinion is that fermenting open is a dice roll, it might be fine, then again it might end up infected and ruined.

As buckets go, the best I have used are the 30 litre love brewing ones. They have the head space to contain even the most insane krausen on a 23 litre volume, you're pretty much guaranteed a tidy job combined with a blow off tube. Taps are just the right hight too. I'm moving up to Speidels now though (they're cheaper from Brew UK though), one big reason for this is the Speidel airlock is literally HUGE, removing the need for a blow off tube, another is the handles are much nicer than a bucket handle. My buckets will still get used, for measuring volumes, collecting RO water and as bottling buckets. I bought mine complete with taps and grommet for airlock. The airlocks are the 2 part ones, so just remove the upper part, fit a 10mm ID hose to the inner part as a blow of tube, put the other end into 1 inch of diluted Star-San in a 2 litre bottle. Worked for even the most vigorous of fermentations. You can tell the tap is the right hight by the way, because you have to turn it the wrong way when it's sat on the floor.... I sit them on a shelf to use the tap, which you can see is just on top of the trub. I lose about 300mls-500mls each transfer.

 

[Llamaman]

The Coopers FV is about 25-27 litres in useable size, has no bubble airlock, instead uses the Krausen collar to move up and down if a large head is formed and then drops back into the brew. Without doubt the best plastic FV you can get. So easy to use, good quality and no air locks to mess about with. The only problem I have found is the bottling wand that comes with the kit is crap (it doesn't have a spring loaded tip, so just leaks all the time).

May I ask how tall it is?
Also, is the tap design such that a different bottling wand could be attached? Or is it a non-standard size?

 

[Llamaman]

That's just opinion, anecdote if you will. I've fermented open twice. The one time was a Saison, and towards the end I added an airlock, all was fine as it held the CO2 in once the krausen was gone in order to protect the beer. The other time wasn't deliberate, it was a bucket with a bad seal, and the beer got infected because of this, grew a pellicle and ended up revolting. So MY opinion is that fermenting open is a dice roll, it might be fine, then again it might end up infected and ruined.View attachment 14946

I don't think anyone was suggesting fermenting open, just not using an airlock (i.e. using a plain, undrilled lid).

 

[LeeH]

Black sheep use open fermenters, even with a visitors gantry on one side. Amazing!

Seems beer is more tolerant than us home brewers are lead to believe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[AdeDunn]

I don't think anyone was suggesting fermenting open, just not using an airlock (i.e. using a plain, undrilled lid).

Which is fermenting open, as if you fasten the lid down you create a pressure bomb, and your wife bans you from ever fermenting again. lol The only way it would work would be if you bucket was rubbish and leaked anway.... Which would be an open fermentation. When I did it intentionally by the way, I taped the corners of some foil over the hole where the airlock grommet usually goes, to keep dust etc out.

In regards to big brewers using it, might I respectfully point out the degree of hygiene present in their facilities in comparison to the average home brewers facilities... If it's in a sanitised brew fridge then yeah, it'll work great, no dust settling in carrying foreign bodies with it. Do it on a shelf in a normal kitchen, enjoy playing dice and playing with chance. As to beer been more tolerant blah blah, tell that to the one I had get a pellicle thanks to a lid that wouldn't seal right. Stopped using that bucket, never had another infected brew. There are just as many, if not more, people who have posted to say they had brews get infected from fermenting open, as have been fine. It is literally a matter of chance. It's all a case of whether you have those specific microbes/yeast spores drifting by at the time (not counting doing it in a sanitised fermentation fridge/chamber here, which is a whole different ball game).

This is seriously one of those times where you really do need to apply your own common sense, and apply judgement and decision making, keeping in mind that whatever you decide, your mileage may vary.

 

[AleofWight]

I’ve ordered one of these:
http://www.home-brew-online.com/equipment-c40/speidel-fermentation-vessel-30-litre-p3057/s4349


Hopefully it’ll arrive this week.

Love my 20ltr one.

 

[Dutto]

This 25 litre FV from Wilco, with a hole cut in the lid using a 10mm drill bit and a Stanley Knife, a bung with a hole in it screwed into the hole and a Blow-Off Tube to an old 1.5 litre whisky bottle. It looks like this ...

The lot for less than £12 and it will last you for well over a year if you don't scratch it too much. (I clean mine out with the "yellow" side of a kitchen sponge after use.)

https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-fermenting-bin-lid-25l/p/0022555

It also doesn't have a tap. I use a syphon so I consider a tap on a fermenter to be an unnecessary bit of kit that needs to be cleaned and sanitised.

Enjoy! :thumb: