Bottling Bucket

[Sammyk]

Can a 7.8 bottling bucket also be used as a primary?

Pros/Cons?

 

[Arne]

Should be able to as long as it is food grade. Only problem I can see with it is cleaning around the spout. Arne.

 

[Rocky]

Sammy, I have spigots on all of my "primaries" including a 20 gallon, a 10 gallon and 2 each 7.9 gallon buckets. After each use, I remove the spigot, clean it with soap and water, rinse well, soak it in K-meta solution, rinse and dry it. Neve had an issue. I use the spigot for going from primary to secondary instead of pumping or siphoning.

 

[Sammyk]

It is a pail from my LHBS and has a spigot in the pail.
Looks like it will be OK to use a primary too.
Is the spigot hard to remove?

 

[DoctorCAD]

The only thing wrong with spigots on buckets is that they sometimes fail to turn themselves off before the grape juice gets high enough to run out all over your brand new oak floors.

Not that this has ever happened to me...

 

[Rocky]

Sammy, post a picture if you can. Mine have a plastic nut on the inside with a rubber gasket and a rubber gasket against the outside of the fermenter. It is good only to "hand tighten" the nut meaning do not over-tighten for example with a wrench. That can cause the gasket to deform and defeat it purpose. I also keep a goodly supply of fresh gaskets (available from George) and change them if they harden or develop a "memory." One note, do not soak the gaskets in k-meta. That can destroy them. I just spray and rinse them.

 

[Arne]

The only thing wrong with spigots on buckets is that they sometimes fail to turn themselves off before the grape juice gets high enough to run out all over your brand new oak floors.

Not that this has ever happened to me...

Doc, don't suppose you had time for a pic. before cleanup started did you? That would be a great thing to have when I start preaching about having your primary in a tub, pan, or big garbage bag. Did you manage to keep the oak from staining or does it add to the character of the floor? Arne.

 

[Sammyk]

I will post a photo when he brings it on Saturday with my White Coastal. He is coming to see the new wine cellar that will not be finished this week as promised.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Doc, don't suppose you had time for a pic. before cleanup started did you? That would be a great thing to have when I start preaching about having your primary in a tub, pan, or big garbage bag. Did you manage to keep the oak from staining or does it add to the character of the floor? Arne.

I had newspaper on the floor, so it was easy to pick up the mess before any staining happened. I was more pi$$ed that I wasted good wine.