Boiling and fermenting in plastic

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TomAdam
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Boiling and fermenting in plastic

Post by TomAdam »

I'm just starting to get the kit together for my first brew, which I'm intending to based on wort made from spraymalt. A friend has offered to give me equipment that was part of one of those just add water and sugar beer kits. I haven't seen it all yet but I know it doesn't include a boiler.

So my first question is what are your opinions on boiling in plastic? I contacted RogerP about his stainless boiler, but at 70L and my absence of any experience brewing it is clearly far too much for me. He recommended I pick up a PP bucket and convert it. Reading up on PP I see it is intrinsically a BPA free plastic and deemed suitable for boiling. However I can't shake a bad feeling about heating anything in a petrochemical based product. I was reading that BPA isn't the only nasty you get in plastics, and there are a whole load of other chemicals that are endocrine disruptors. There is an interesting paper on this here. It gets a bit hard going in places - I'm no scientist.

I think I'm still leaning in the direction of investing in some shiny stuff, for the chemical reason and that it seems that it will hold a reasonable resale value should I want to upgrade it in future.

My second question is around what to use as a fermentation vessel. My friends kit includes a standard plastic bucket with a tap. From what I have read the lids on these buckets don't seal properly and in addition I was advised that having a tap on your bucket can result in you pouring beer all over the floor when you first fill it. Given you are creating a weak solvent in the fermentor I'm not overly liking the plastic aspect here either. Shiny fermenters are way out of my price range, so I'm considering a glass carboy. I have heard some horror stories about these breaking when full, but I guess you just need to be gentle with them. What are you all using?

Any advice on these would be appreciated.
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Jeltz69
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Re: Boiling and fermenting in plastic

Post by Jeltz69 »

Nothing wrong with plastic I did 11 brews in a plastic boiler (electrim) and it was fine. Its still my HLT but I've gone for a steel pot on a gas ring as boiler.

Likewise plastic buckets (food grade) are fine as fermenters but I don't add taps to mine. Just something else to clean and easy to snag on things when moving buckets, plus its all to easy to leave the tap open when filling and getting soggy feet.
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vacant
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Re: Boiling and fermenting in plastic

Post by vacant »

I've been using a 60L bucket like this as a boiler for five years. Since I got it, I haven't fathered any more children. Seriously, I reckon spending one day less in Bristol breathing in diesel exhaust particles would offset a lifetime of brewing in a plastic boiler.

I don't know why you'd want your fermenter airtight. You don't have to buy one with a tap (use a syphon). If you do have a tap then it will be closed when you "first fill it" - reason: prior to filling, your sanitation procedure will include some sloshing about of the bucket, ending with pouring sanitiser through the tap, after which you close it.

The 30L buckets in the link give a decent amount of headspace for a 23L brew length. Wilko's storage boxes are even cheaper - check for ones with the food-safe logo.
When a man is tired of beer, he is tired of life; for there is in beer all that life can afford
Capn Ahab
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Re: Boiling and fermenting in plastic

Post by Capn Ahab »

Nothing wrong with hdpe. It's what pretty much all of us started out on, and plenty of us still use in some capacity (for me it's my hlt).
Eat sh*t or die trying
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I_used_to_brew
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Re: Boiling and fermenting in plastic

Post by I_used_to_brew »

Paul, the very buckets I recommended. HK plastics make them, solid, my 60 litre one has been passed on and is still going strong. Sandy and Mike Palmer still use them.

The only downside to plastic is scratches and staining, that's it.
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steve crawshaw
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Re: Boiling and fermenting in plastic

Post by steve crawshaw »

In my opinion the wilko wine fermenters are just right. £12, so can be disposed of after 6 months or so, airtight, with a bunghole for airlock and aperture is wide enough for a human arm to enter and clean. HDPE. I do think you need an airtight fermenter as i have suffered what i believe are airborne infection and in my cellar I need to keep the fermenter under airlock.
I like to keep a bottle of stimulant handy in case I see a snake, which I also keep handy.
TomAdam
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Re: Boiling and fermenting in plastic

Post by TomAdam »

Thanks everyone, it's really helpful to have your input. I'm going to go for the plastic boiler - might boil it for a bit with just water before attempting a brew to satisfy my paranoia. Any suggestions where I could get a kettle element? The ones in brew shops seem really expensive (£22 on that copper kettle site). When you can buy a kettle for less than £10 this seems absurd.

As for the fermenter, I'm not talking about sealing the bucket entirely - there will be an airlock in the top. I read somewhere that the ones you get with the beer kits are often low quality and have leaky lids increasing the possibility of oxidised or infected beer. I assumed everybody airlocked and sealed their fermenters but since Steve's post I'm thinking I might have got this wrong. My house is a spore heaven - I have quite a serious condensation damp problem. I'm renting so there isn't really anything I can do about it. I'll head up to Wilko's over the next couple of days.
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steve crawshaw
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Re: Boiling and fermenting in plastic

Post by steve crawshaw »

TomAdam wrote: I'll head up to Wilko's over the next couple of days.
you can order online and get it delivered to your local store free. handy if you are near a smaller wilkos which doesn't carry them routinely (eg broadwalk)
cheers
steve
I like to keep a bottle of stimulant handy in case I see a snake, which I also keep handy.
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I_used_to_brew
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Re: Boiling and fermenting in plastic

Post by I_used_to_brew »

You can harvest the elements from most supermarket 'value' cordless kettles, some other homebrew sites will show you what to do. Otherwise ebay is the place to go, or call for Mr Lard http://www.homebrewbuilder.co.uk/

I like these elements http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-275 ... 485ab41dfe

But this will do http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UNIVERSAL-KET ... 27cf569be9
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