Ale Pails & Lids

[MarkKF]

I have an Ale Pail drilled with a spigot and a snap on lid with a grommet.

I wanna buy a couple more of each BUT with NEITHER drilled.
I've seen some priced o.k. but crazy shipping and other priced crazy.
Can someone point me to a reasonable web/mail order or brick & mortor in Connecticut.

I'd rather not use the Home Depot or big tops that don't seal as well.

 

[DromJohn]

Your standard mega hardware store, Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, should have identically sized food grade buckets.
Many restaurants will have these available as trash.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Your standard mega hardware store, Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, should have identically sized food grade buckets.
Many restaurants will have these available as trash.

I've never seen 6.5 gallon buckets at any big box stores

 

[augiedoggy]

I've never seen 6.5 gallon buckets at any big box stores

its the same lid.. the 6.5 buckets are only taller.. I have some from salt purchases for my reef tank as well... I dont live in Connecticut but the local HBS near me has these fairly cheap. they have them with or without spigots as well as 7.9 gallon buckets..

http://www.nthomebrew.com/fermentation-buckets/

Since I have no idea what the OP's idea of "reasonably priced" is I'm kinda guessing... If its not easy to find than whats reasonable goes up with supply and demand..

now the 6 gallon buckets are dirt cheap on ebay... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plastic-6-g...891415?hash=item4cfceccb17:g:EuEAAOSwg3FUkaKO

or 10 with lids for 10 bucks each with shipping..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Food-Grade-...723199?hash=item4d053332bf:g:cNoAAOSwuMFUkapL

 

[Soulshine2]

Uline sells food grade buckets and lids.

 

[kh54s10]

Watch the online stores for sales. That is when you can get the price down.

HD, Lowes etc do not have the 6.5 gallon buckets, only 5 gallon ones.

There should be plenty of options for LHBSs in Connecticut that are not too far away.

 

[Yooper]

I use the bigger fermenting buckets- this is one of the smaller ones: https://www.homebrewsupply.com/7-9-gallon-plastic-fermenting-bucket.html

They aren't cheap, but they are durable and easy to carry.

 

[BGHSmt7]

I'm actually going to my LHBS to pickup a few buckets. I know they have the 7.9 so Maybe I'll get some of those. I was afraid of the dimensions for how it would feel full (I've got a bad back so I've gotta be careful.).

 

[MarkKF]

I've seen $8 buckets and $2 lids. That's reasonable. But they charged just as much to ship. I've seen $18 buckets with reasonable shipping. Frankly if I buy two buckets and two lids the shipping should be almost the same as one bucket. Same size box and not overweight. I hate those gasket tops with the break off seal. The Ale Pail lid snaps on/off with ease. Thanks all.

 

[augiedoggy]

I've seen $8 buckets and $2 lids. That's reasonable. But they charged just as much to ship. I've seen $18 buckets with reasonable shipping. Frankly if I buy two buckets and two lids the shipping should be almost the same as one bucket. Same size box and not overweight. I hate those gasket tops with the break off seal. The Ale Pail lid snaps on/off with ease. Thanks all.

As you probably figured out some sellers hide some of the cost in the shipping prices to attract people who dont pay much attention to the shipping and some do not... Thats why one seller might seem so much cheaper... The bigger ones are not a commonly used and therefore cost more than the 5 gallon ones which are free from most restaurants as mentioned already. anything marketed for brewing is going to likely have a 30% or so higher price than the same thing not marketed and resold as such.

 

[IslandLizard]

When you include their shipping, U-line is a rip off, and kills most any deal. But... if you're near one of their warehouses you can pick 'em up, and forego the shipping charge. You'll pay tax though, as you would at your local store.

The buckets like you posted a picture of are commonly available from your LHBS. They may have a different design printed, depending on their wholesale source. I pay $13 for those type of buckets and $2.70 for a lid (drilled or not). Highway robbery! But if you take care of them, they'll last for many years. Some of mine have been in use for 7+ years, and will last another 7 years, easily.

As said before, if you find them on sale somewhere and their shipping is reasonable, get a few.

The larger 7.9 gallon buckets are great if you brew oversized batches or expect large krausen. But if you control your ferm temps well, there's hardly any need for the extra headspace. The downside of the 7.9 gallon ones is the extra space they take up in your ferm chamber. I cannot get 2 of those in my standup freezer, but 2 of the 6.5 gallons fit in there well, as long as I raise one by a few inches, so the widest areas, around the lids, are at different height levels.

I don't recall seeing 6.5 gallon buckets in restaurants, but YMMV. A restaurant supply store may sell them too.

 

[augiedoggy]

I have a 6.5 gallon one that originally had snow melting salt in it...

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm actually going to my LHBS to pickup a few buckets. I know they have the 7.9 so Maybe I'll get some of those. I was afraid of the dimensions for how it would feel full (I've got a bad back so I've gotta be careful.).

For lifting and carrying I find the 6.5 gallon buckets with 5-5.5 gallons of beer in them about the limit. I don't have any back problems, and am fairly skinny. I brew in the kitchen, and have to carry them downstairs to the fermentation freezer. Then back upstairs for transferring to a keg and cleaning. It's a bit awkward.

As I posted above, the larger 7.9 gallon buckets are much wider and take up more space in your ferm chamber, so make sure they fit and are suitable for your purpose.

 

[Uts]

I've purchased a few of these, and they've worked great

http://www.homebrewing.org/AIH-8-Gallon-Fermenting-Bucket-and-Lid_p_5183.html

i dont remember exact shipping because i had a bunch of other stuff in the same orders.

 

[IslandLizard]

I've purchased a few of these, and they've worked great

http://www.homebrewing.org/AIH-8-Gallon-Fermenting-Bucket-and-Lid_p_5183.html

i dont remember exact shipping because i had a bunch of other stuff in the same orders.

That's a great price, they're usually $15 and up.
They don't have a metal carrying handle, just plastic molded grips on the sides, if that's important for the OP.

Shipping 2 of those to me (MD) runs $15.29, which kinda ruins the deal.
$18.94 shipping for 3 of them. $21.34 for 4, getting better that way.

They're wider than the tall one in the pic.

 

[Uts]

yeah, i live in MI, but not exactly next door to AiH. i usually order lots of other things, so the extra shipping is usually worth me not having to drive an hour+ to one of their locations.

side note, i've never come close to having a blowout doing a 5 gallon batch. i've had a couple of cleanups to do with the standard 6.5 gal buckets.

 

[MarkKF]

Found a homebrew supply I previously did not know of in state (barely) $10 bucket and $3 lid, that's reasonable. Shipping it all for $8 saves me more than that in gas. Kudos to NY Brew Supply on the CT/NY border.

 

[IslandLizard]

Glad you found your new store!
Hope you grabbed at least 2.

For larger mail orders, it sometimes pays to order out of state to circumvent sales tax on equipment and stuff, not grain.

 

[balrog]

That's a great price, they're usually $15 and up.
They don't have a metal carrying handle, just plastic molded grips on the sides, if that's important for the OP.

Shipping 2 of those to me (MD) runs $15.29, which kinda ruins the deal.
$18.94 shipping for 3 of them. $21.34 for 4, getting better that way.

They're wider than the tall one in the pic.

I like that style, got mine from RiteBrew. I always order my recipes double milled from Neil and adding one of those didn't make the shipping but a couple dollars more.

 

[IslandLizard]

I like that style, got mine from RiteBrew. I always order my recipes double milled from Neil and adding one of those didn't make the shipping but a couple dollars more.

+1 to Ritebrew for everyday low (or decent) pricing and reasonable shipping rates.

I haven't seen SS Perlick taps at a better price than his, anywhere!