The bottom of my bottling bucket is scratched.

[sportscrazed2]

i only used it once. when i cleaned it i just used unscented dish soap and a sponge. could it be because i put my fermenting bucket inside of it? that's the only reason i can think of. should i replace it or just make sure i scrub with a bleach solution on a sponge or something?

 

[HalfPint]

Use it for measuring water/storing brewing equipment or something. It's not worth ruining a batch of brew over a scratched bucket.

 

[sportscrazed2]

allright think i will pick up another before i bottle next batch. will use it for storing star san or something

 

[bovineblitz]

I stopped using a bottling bucket once mine leaked one time. Now I use an extra 5gal carboy and an autosiphon to bottle. You could always do that.

I got one of these from the supermarket for $6, it's an eco-sense bottle made of #1 plastic, works great:

image (removed the embedded image from the thread because it was HUGE and made the thread annoying to look at):
http://sustainableink.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/img00034-20100421-1853.jpg

 

[sportscrazed2]

could you use one of those for fermenting with as well? been thinking of picking up a better bottle for primary but that is like 1/4 the price

 

[HalfPint]

You can also go to Wall Mart's baking department and ask them if they have any old frosting buckets (they're 5 gallon food safe buckets). I know other members have done this with good results.

 

[tunoffun]

I used my 6.5g primary bucket to haul gravel for a backyard pond once.
To say it's scratched is the understatement of the century.
I clean it well, and soak it for 30 minutes or more in my sanitizer (starsan) before use, just like I"ve always done.
Never had a problem.

I really think the whole thing about scratches is way overblown unless you don't practice good sanitation.

 

[sportscrazed2]

so if i let it soak in star san for 30 minutes it should be fine? i would probably do that anyway. and for the dude who posted the huge picture while nice can you please remove it? it's kind of screwing up the way the page is displayed

 

[lumpher]

it will be fine. sanitize like you said. use as normal. lather, rinse, repeat. it's all good. whose bucket here isn't scratched? I don't see any hands...

 

[sportscrazed2]

even if the scratches are pretty deep? don't know how they got that way.

 

[HalfPint]

I used my 6.5g primary bucket to haul gravel for a backyard pond once.
To say it's scratched is the understatement of the century.
I clean it well, and soak it for 30 minutes or more in my sanitizer (starsan) before use, just like I"ve always done.
Never had a problem.

I really think the whole thing about scratches is way overblown unless you don't practice good sanitation.

To each his own, but perhaps you're just used to drinking contaminated beer? J/k, but seriously why risk hours of your time and a good penny of you hard earned money on a stupid $15 bucket?

 

[bovineblitz]

could you use one of those for fermenting with as well? been thinking of picking up a better bottle for primary but that is like 1/4 the price

Yeah I've used it for a saison and for a cider, worked great. I happen to have several 5 gallon containers so I've started doing 4.25 gallon batches instead of 5.25. My gf and I can only drink so quickly anyways!

(didn't realize the image was so huge, i took it out, sry bout that)

 

[sportscrazed2]

alright cool. how do you downsize the recipe for 4.25 gallons instead of 5 gallons? do you procede as normal but only top off to 4.25 gallons? thinking of starting full boils over the summer so I can do them on the deck with a turkey fryer.

 

[tunoffun]

To each his own, but perhaps you're just used to drinking contaminated beer? J/k, but seriously why risk hours of your time and a good penny of you hard earned money on a stupid $15 bucket?

Because I'm not risking anything. That's the point.

Superficial scratches aren't hard to clean & sanitize. People seem to think undesirable organisms build forts in them impervious to attack, and that's just not the case.

It's nearly impossible to not scratch food-grade containers. If I threw out every one that got a minor nick in it, those $15 buckets would add up to alot real quick.

And no - my beer has never been contaminated... not once.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Reynolds makes these fantastic food grade bags with pH and heat resistant plastic.

Just so happens that with a little effort they can also serve as a bucket liner too.

$2.99 for (3) 24 pound Turkey bags is cheap insurance, IMO, when it comes down to using a scratched bucket.Kinda doesn;t work well with bottling buckets tho, lest I suppose you puncture the bags for the spigot assembly.

 

[bovineblitz]

alright cool. how do you downsize the recipe for 4.25 gallons instead of 5 gallons? do you procede as normal but only top off to 4.25 gallons? thinking of starting full boils over the summer so I can do them on the deck with a turkey fryer.

I do one of two things.

1 - use beersmith to scale the recipe down

2 - do a normal batch but rack 1-2 gallons into a different container (1 gallon glass jug or mr. beer keg) and do something funky with it. I'm currently trying out adding bacon to a porter and making an amarillo ipa with saison yeast. It's a fun way to test things out.

 

[sportscrazed2]

alright cool. i emailed the company that sold me it just to see if i could get a replacement and they agreed to send me one. i don't think i should have to replace it after one use. it is pretty scratched up down there have no idea how it happened

 

[bovineblitz]

very nice, glad you didn't have to shell out any $ to find an answer. Sounds like a great company.

 

[Carolinabrew21]

I would say it's 50/50 on weather to discard or not as long as proper sanitation is being preformed i wouldn't see a problem hah, maybe some star sand and a pressure washer!