Ferm Bucket

[Tom]

Hi Tepe,
I have two of the 7.8 L buckets and a 10 L fermenter. I was just thinking "a stitch in time saves nine" type of thing. I don't see how it could hurt. From what I read on this subject, the cracking takes place at the juncture of the side and bottom. That is probably due to the cycle and cooling time in the moldingprocessand the design itself. Reinforcing this seems to make sense.

Doing that will not do anything if the bucket decides to crack. If you are worried, buy another. Better yet if you can get some of the wine juice buckets they will work.
Tom

 

[Rocky]

I just went down and looked at one of my buckets. (Incidentally, they are 7.8 and 10 GALLONS, not liters) It is High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) which has good tensile strength, but not necessarily good shear strength. I also noted on the outside wall of the bucket near the bottom on the outside of the bucket and where the molded bottom meets the side, there is a slight groove all the way around the bucket indicating a potential weakness. This is probably caused by a combination of the design and the cooling cycle of the molding process. The weight of the liquid in the bucket, over repeated cycles of wine making, could cause a shear problem in the bottom. The design would have been improved with either supporting ribs molded into the bottom or a bottom like my 10 gallon fermenter, which is one continuous piece.