plastic fermenter lifespan

[oldwhiskers]

+1 on the K-Meta and carrying water in a bucket instead of a hose.

 

[wepeeler]

I switched to stainless steel after 2 batches in a row had off flavors. Havn't had any off flavors since. One of my buckets was 10 years old, the other was close to 2 years old. Both buckets were discolored and smelled like hops no matter what I cleaned them with or how long I soaked them for. For reference, I was mainly making neipas which sometimes had almost a pound of hops + yeast in the bucket.

 

[dwhite60]

I still have my original 6.5 gallon bucket from my first homebrewing kit I bought about 1990/1991. Those were the days you calculated mash efficiency with a paper, pencil and calculator. Made a LOT of good and some great beer with that bucket all without Beersmith, Mr. Malty, 35 malts and 17 types of hops per batch. There was ONLY dry yeast.

I don't use it because I'm only making 2.5 - 3 gallon batches anymore. It's been stored well. I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I decide to make a bigger batch of something.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Alex413]

Mosher (?) recommends putting a trashbag inside of an old smelly bucket, since they're relatively clean inside and can be thrown away once you're done. Never tried it myself but I think that could be an option if you're making something smelly like hefeweizen

 

[odie]

I have a hefe in my bucket right now. So it’s gonna stink after it’s done?

 

[ncbrewer]

I have a hefe in my bucket right now. So it’s gonna stink after it’s done?

No. It will smell really good.

 

[odie]

No. It will smell really good.

A couple weeks ago it smelled really nice inside the fermenter chamber. This morning very very stinky. But I didn’t open the bucket lid. Having hefe concerns. Been in the primary almost 3 weeks. It’s at 1.010 right now. Not sure it should go down any more. Never done a hefe before

 

[Ninoid]

I have two plastic buckets and wash them immediately after bottling with stream of hot water and let them dry. If I do not use it for a long time then spray it with OXI and after that I wash again with hot water. No any scratch. The only problem I ever saw on a one bucket is that the lid no longer seals properly, but I solved it with stretch foil.

Brew near of 30 batch, mostly with one of them.

 

[Clonefan94]

I have one bucket that I've used since I started brewing 7 years ago. The key is to clean them ASAP. I run hot water in them, do a good wipe down with my hand to get most of the gunk out. Then a little PBW and warm water and clean with a sponge. The only other time I replaced a bucket was when I did something stupid and scratched the inside of the bucket. For the cost of the bucket, I didn't think it was worth the chance. And spare buckets are always a luxury at my house.

Disclaimer: I recently switched to stainless though, because I think the residual smells in the plastic over these years was starting to bug me. After a few brews, no matter how hard you clean them, they will get stained and they will smell like beer. I never noticed any off flavors in my beer, but some gifted money came my way so I decided to splurge on a couple Anvil bucket fermenters.

 

[tellyho]

I tend to have a bucket for 5ish years before I replace. I brew 5 gal 1x/mo., So rarely need other vessels. Even though I have 3 carboys and various other buckets ...

 

[Nagorg]

I had a Better Bottle develop a crack near the bottom of it. Sadly this happened during fermentation. I noticed it in time to transfer to another Better Bottle and the beer was fine but the experience still sucked.

Researching this, I found that prolonged soaks (prolonged can be just a few hours) in PBW or OxiClean solution can degrade the integrity of the plastic and promote cracking. The chance of this was a buzzkill since I found soaking to be the best way to clean stubborn krausen rings. I switched to Big Mouth Bubblers so that I could get my arm in for scrubbing but even those could be tough to really clean sometimes.

Now I ferment in stainless mainly. I'll still use the Big Mouth Bubblers if brewing a smaller batch but that's mainly because I have them and they do work great. That said, I'd really like a SS Brew Bucket!

 

[d40dave]

I use these for primary and found the purple sponge is totally scratch free. I think it's a 3M product. when I first saw them I thought they would be good for my cast iron and boy was I wrong. Only use 'em on plastic, got 2 plastic big mouth when they first came out and don't have any scratches and are brightly clear. On the other hand my friend has 2 pet better bottles that are all foggy from using a carboy pressure cleaner and pbw,and he says he had contaminated beer twice and uses them only for hauling water for brewing.

I found many sponges that were purple but none that were called "purple sponge". I was wondering if anybody know what hottpeper13 what referring to. Does anybody have another suggestion to clean PET fermentors? Thanks.

 

[Ninoid]

Wash only with warm water and hand immediately after pouring beer and sprinkle with Starsan when it dries and seal (remain wet). After washing, go over it with your hand and if somewhere you feel that it is not smooth, wash it additionally with a wet fine cloth.
Open at the beginning of brew and leave to dry. A few minutes before pour the wort, sprinkle with Starsan again and just before pouring, drain the Starsan (it doesn't matter if it remains wet from Starsan) and pour the wort. This is how I work with a plastic fermenter for over 50 batchs and I have no problems. Replace the fermenter if have scraches or stains appear that cannot be removed without scrubbing or soap.

 

[hottpeper13]

They're called Scotch Bright Stay Clean and come in a 3 pack

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I used the plastic buckets for years; washed promptly and drained dry. As they developed stains and odors, I just repurposed them as sauerkraut fermenting buckets. I retained some for myself and passed others on to my non-brewing friends. Eventually, I raided the piggy bank and went to stainless; a move that I have not regretted. I can do either beer or wine with no concerns about residual stains and odors transferring to my next batch. It also allows me to heat my strike water in the fermenter, further sanitizing it to receive my wort.

 

[mashpaddled]

As long as you aren't hacking at the interior with steel wool or anything sharp I wouldn't worry about scratches. Excessively hot water will melt many plastic fermenters. Like, don't pour boiling wort in.

I have my original 7.9 gallon bucket from 2009 in use (although I've mostly switched those batches to fermenting in a keg) and several better bottles from the early 2010s still in use for sour beers. Any time the bucket got too discolored or took on the smell of an adjunct, it's easily removed with a warm water soak with oxyclean or PBW.

 

[aceluby]

I got some really good advice when I asked some homebrewers why I couldn't get the smell out of my glass carboys. No issues, just smelled like beer after a dozen brews, even after thorough cleaning and sanitizing.

Stop smelling your carboy.