15 Gallon Plastic Carboy

[BBarnes]

I went to a homebrew shop to see if they had anything larger than a 6 gal. carboy I could use to rack about 40 gallons of wine into. The guy said a lot of people come and buy their used malt carboys, clean and rinse them well and have no problems. I am leery of using anything that held another substance that is not glass. Has anyone used something like this? It is PET and when I cleaned it with onestep it has no odors to speak of. It will be a nice transition for malo fermentation until I get it into a barrel. It has a spot to put a bung and airlock. The guy at the shop seemed like this was a rather standard deal but he makes beer so I am a little uneasy. It is a reputable shop though.

 

[Tom]

I would think it would be a good primary. Without seeing the container I with hold comment for long term.

 

[Wade E]

There are 2 ways to look at it, Beer is more susceptible to off flavors but wine is much more acidic which can do more harm to plastic causing it to leach out which makes me to paranoid with my product to use plastic for wine making other then very short term storage.

 

[BBarnes]

They are the blue food grade PET type that malt comes in. It would be a short term solution rather than spend hundreds on glass or stainless until I get it into my barrel. I want to rack off the lees once before I put it in the barrel. Plus I am blending and don't want to blend until I rack to the barrel.

 

[Wade E]

I think youll be alright then.

 

[arcticsid]

I heard many guys/gals using the larger Rubbermaid trash cans. New, Of course. They "smell" like plastic, but after a good cleaning and sanitasion they will work fine, only for the primary fermentor!!!

Once it is ready for a transfer to a secondary to finsh fermenting or for bulk aging the rules change. I would consider nothing less than glass, although there are some plastics that they say are quite suitable for fermentation.

Remember the primary fermentation is typically between 5-14 days. Thats probably not bad, but to think of your wine sitting in plastic longer than that is scary and you are really taking your chances. As far as off flavors are concerned, we still argue about the potential long term affects of the chemicals from the plastic leaching into your brew.

Personally, and I bet most will agree, a large Rubbermaid trash can will be just fine and dandy for fermenting a large batch. Just be sure to be able to transfer to a secondary into an appropriate vessel for the longterm.

As with anything involved with making wine or brewing beer, anything that touches your brew needs to be clean and sanitized.



Troy

 

[Madriver Wines]

I just found a 32 gallon trash can with the number 2 and HDPE on it for $14.44 at Walmart!! Includes a lid. Now to convince the wife its Ok to make 20 gallon batches ha ha.

 

[JakeSnow]

I think the malt container would be fine. Just give it a lot of cleaning. I would be concerned if there was still malt smell. My suggestion would be what Troy suggested. Use one of those large trash cans. There was an article in WineMaker mag two issues ago about converting one. I'm pretty sure it was the gray plastic trashcan that says 'Brute' on it. They are food safe. Problem is that those are typically 32 gallons and you have 40 gallons? I"m sure you can work it out.

 

[Huh?]

BBarnes,

I use the blue, food grade 55 gallon drums to make my wine and I've never had a problem. I use them as both a primary and as a carboy. When I use it as a carboy, I shoot CO2 into the drum before racking.