No-Chill in a bucket?

[htims05]

I'm looking into ways to conserve waste water and since it's quite warm where I live I've been looking at no-chill. Even with using a chiller I still have to wait till the next day to pitch as I usually can only get down to 95 (unless I spend a lot of time/effort/waste more water to prechill/ice etc).

So has anyone done no-chill in a ferm bucket. Seems like what i'm reading that the HDPE buckets should be fine to do this in from a withstanding temps perspective.

I use these buckets....

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Yes, I think the safe transfer temp is 170F, but I usually seal the kettle lid and transfer to a sanitized fermentor the next day once it is much cooler. Works out fine, though without the cold break I get some chill haze. Only a concern for competition.

 

[htims05]

Safe transfer temp? what does that mean - through reading this forum (and one guy that's some plastic engineer or something) and plastic mfg sites, say that HDPE working temp is 212f. Couldn't I just let it come off the boil some and go straight to the bucket - isn't that what they do in Australia with the "cubes"?

 

[NGD]

Looks like your good up to 248f according to this website.

https://omnexus.specialchem.com/selection-guide/polyethylene-plastic

Properties of High Density Polyethylene
HDPE Melting point: 120-140°C
Density of HDPE: 0.93 to 0.97 g/cm3
High Density Polyethylene Chemical resistance:
Excellent resistance to most solvents
Very good resistance to alcohols, dilute acids and alkalis
Moderate resistance to oils and greases
Poor resistance to hydrocarbons (aliphatic, aromatic, halogenated)
Continuous temperature: -50°C to +60°C, Relatively stiff material with useful temperature capabilities
Higher tensile strength compared to other forms of polyethylene
Low cost polymer with good processability
Good low temperature resistance
Excellent electrical insulating properties
Very low water absorption
FDA compliant

Found this as another resource. Personally I do something similar as @Hoppy2bmerry And it works just fine. Should be good either way.
http://fivegallonideas.com/plastic-types-old/

 

[rsquared]

Safe transfer temp? what does that mean - through reading this forum (and one guy that's some plastic engineer or something) and plastic mfg sites, say that HDPE working temp is 212f. Couldn't I just let it come off the boil some and go straight to the bucket - isn't that what they do in Australia with the "cubes"?

The cubes you're referring to are also HDPE, so in regards to temperature, what works for those will work for your bucket.

 

[Coastalbrew]

You're good as long as the bucket is HDPE. I've gone straight from the kettle to the bucket within 10 minutes of flame out no problem. I do like to put the bucket in an ice water bath after the transfer, just so I can get the yeast in the wort sooner, but it's fine either way.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Safe transfer temp? what does that mean - through reading this forum (and one guy that's some plastic engineer or something) and plastic mfg sites, say that HDPE working temp is 212f. Couldn't I just let it come off the boil some and go straight to the bucket - isn't that what they do in Australia with the "cubes"?

Just giving an opinion if you know the answer, I’m puzzled as to why you’re asking a question. Imagine a failure of the handle or lid seal and spilling nearly boiling hot wort.

 

[BandonBrewingCo]

Just be careful if you have a spigot. It won't withstand the negative pressure from cooling. I guess that's why the aussies use a cube before transferring to a bucket.

 

[htims05]

Just giving an opinion if you know the answer, I’m puzzled as to why you’re asking a question. Imagine a failure of the handle or lid seal and spilling nearly boiling hot wort.

I wasn't sure what you meant by safe transfer temp - yeah I had read that HDPE could technically handle it, but I was trying to find someone that had actually done it to know if there's any pitfalls, etc.

 

[Everhard]

I've got limited water resources but also don't want to wait long to get the wort into the fermenter\on yeast\in fermentation fridge so after seeing some one convert a window AC unit to chill water in a cooler that's now what I do. Cycle said AC chilled water thru a jacketed wort chiller and I can bring my wort down to pitching temps easily. Need 2 pumps. One to pump the chilled water and one to pump the wort.

E.

 

[balrog]

I second what @BandonBrewingCo says -- you will have SIGNIFICANT vacuum created if you have a gallon of headspace/air at boiling temp vs room temp. Aussies use the cubes to squeeze out any air before letting them cool.

 

[BandonBrewingCo]

I second what @BandonBrewingCo says -- you will have SIGNIFICANT vacuum created if you have a gallon of headspace/air at boiling temp vs room temp. Aussies use the cubes to squeeze out any air before letting them cool.

This also ensures the cube is self sanitizing. I mean I'd still give it a good shake with some star san in it after I thoroughly cleaned it but it's an nice extra reassurance to have.