Buying a new fermenter advice needed

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Mcdooba, Jan 27, 2019.

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  1. Mcdooba

    Mcdooba Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2019 South Dakota

    I am new to home brewing. I recently purchased the deluxe starter kit from northern brewer and it came with the 6.5 gallon glass fermenter and a 5 gallon secondary fermenter. I brewed an extract batch and just bottled it yesterday and while I was cleaning I noticed I had a crack on the bottom of both of my glass carboys. The only thing I did with my 5 gallon secondary fermenter was hold the sanitizer in it. So needless to say I have to purchase a new fermenter now. After trying to do some research there is a mind boggling amount of information for a new home brewer to process. So I was wondering if anyone had some advice for purchasing my new fermenter. I was starting to lean towards trying a plastic big mouth bubbler due to all of the horror stories about glass breaking and the issues around that. I also was wondering if I should just spend the money and invest in something like the SS Brewtech brew bucket. My head is spinning trying to figure out what type of fermenter I should purchase.
     
  2. skleice

    skleice Maven (1,271) Aug 6, 2015 Connecticut

    I'm a fan of the Fermonsters. Wide mouth opening, light weight, easy to clean and reasonably priced...also a variety of sizes.
     
  3. ricchezza

    ricchezza Zealot (670) Nov 2, 2005 Massachusetts

    I’ve only ever used carboys and buckets. Buckets are cheap; approximately $14. You can use them as is, or modify them (I’ve added stainless ball valves even though I don’t always use them). They are also easy to clean and dry hop in.
    Carboys are great for aging long term, watching yeast do its thing to wort, etc. Do whatever you want to glass and it won’t latch on to stains and odors (buckets can in time; but, again at $14 they can be replaced every so often if you choose).

    This is just my two cents, of course.
     
  4. thebriansmaude

    thebriansmaude Crusader (472) Dec 16, 2016 Canada (AB)
    Trader

    Whatever you do go with - I’d recommend something with a spigot.
     
  5. Eggman20

    Eggman20 Crusader (433) Feb 14, 2017 Minnesota

    Love the brewtech brew buckets myself. If you're new to brewing and not sure how long you will brew you should probably go with a plastic bucket as its a much cheaper option. But if you plan to brew a lot of batches the brew buckets are great. Super easy cleaning, wide tops for easy dry hop or fruit additions, and has a spigot on the bottom for easy tasting pulls.
     
    minderbender and PortLargo like this.
  6. Arturo2

    Arturo2 Initiate (0) Jan 6, 2019 Oregon

    All options will work, right?
    What do you get for your money is the question.
    We all have different budgets so ultimately it’s what you can swing.
    Plastic gets funky but is light.
    Glass is clean but also heavy and breaks.
    Stainless gives you the all the benefits with the only downside being cost. But it will last you 10-20 years.
    Having a conical bottom is big for me. And a spigot like thebriansmaude mentioned.
    My personal experience is I’ve outgrown(?) all the cheap stuff I’ve bought. Except the glass. I’ve kept a carboy around For lagers and ciders ... things that take longer. This way I can keep the stainless working.
     
  7. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I have been brewing for over 20 years (over 400 batches) and plastic buckets 'work' for me. I prefer the 7.9 gallon buckets since they provide plenty of headspace. No worries of a blowoff with moderate gravity beers; I do use Fermcap to mitigate the krausen when brewing higher gravity beers (e.g., my Quads, Tripels, etc,).

    I have been using the two buckets I have now for over 10 years with zero issues.

    As has already been discussed plastic does not crack (shatter) like glass does.

    https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/master-vintner-7-9-gallon-fermenting-bucket

    Cheers!
     
  8. Arturo2

    Arturo2 Initiate (0) Jan 6, 2019 Oregon

    Man I don’t have the acumen to keep plastic nice.
    My seals never stay. The nice lids with the gasket dry out.
    The plastic gets a lot of scratches.
    And of course, glass breaks.
    Stainless is idiot proof.
    Perfect for me.
     
  9. minderbender

    minderbender Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2009 New York

    I agree with those suggesting a plastic bucket for now. The beauty of a plastic bucket is that if you end up finding it unsuitable for any of the reasons that have been suggested, you are out, like, $20 max. It's safe, it's lightweight, and in my experience it's not that hard to keep a plastic bucket clean and relatively scratch-free (YMMV). Something like a Fermonster would also make sense (I have two and I like them a lot), with the advantage that you can see what is going on in your fermentation without removing the lid. But they are a bit pricier.

    I will also mention that many people do not perform secondary fermentations unless they are doing something unusual like aging on oak. You should be able to package the beer directly from primary, and by avoiding the transfer you will avoid oxygenation and (much less likely) possible contamination.
     
  10. Mcdooba

    Mcdooba Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2019 South Dakota

    Thanks for the great advice. I am new to brewing and the plan is to keep on brewing as so far I have really enjoyed it. I like reading and learning everything I can about it and this was a lot of great advice. I try to be very clean and meticulous with everything so I will probably go with the buckets for now and see how that goes. I do fear I may not take well enough care of the plastic but we will give it a shot! Maybe in the future upgrade to something nicer if I feel the need to do so. Thanks for the help!
     
    Eggman20 likes this.
  11. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    My cleaning process for my buckets is simply swabbing down with hot water and wet paper towels. That 'process' works for me.

    Cheers!
     
  12. riptorn

    riptorn Pooh-Bah (1,776) Apr 26, 2018 Georgia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    +1 on the hot water and paper towel thing.....and sooner is better. Dried crud might tend to make you (well, me) get aggressive and increase chances of scratching the buckets innards.
     
    minderbender likes this.
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