Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Ok so im looking to get into doing bigger ferments and wondering can i buy any plastic tub, bucket or bin, throw my wash in there and the alcohol not eat the plastic ?
are the fermenters you buy from the home brew shop different to any other plastic storage container ?

i was out today at the shop and took a few photo's of things i think i would consider using as a fermenter if they where safe (non toxic?) does the fermenting alcohol strip plastic ?


this 130L bin was 30$ from bargain city



think this 100L bin was like 50-60$ from bunnings


another small 30L bin from bunnings 12$ i think


a blue food barrel off of gumtree the ad says "Previous contents powdered food (herbal) ingredients."
Blue Plastic Drum - Lid & Ring 60L - $25 ( or 5 for $100 )

Blue Plastic Drum - Sealed 205L - $30




would any of these be suitable to do a ferment in ? i cant belive i didnt take a side view shot of the first 130L bin from bargain city the inside shot didnt work out that well either im leaning towards these blue barrels off of gumtree does anyone know if theyre ok to use ?

I also have a quetion about whether this siphon pump would be ok to use and whether the plastic on it is safe





Are these glass jars ok to store spirits in i read somewhere around the forums some one saying something about the plastic seal rings on these jars arent safe to the alcohol vapours is this correct ?

***edit first pic is jars with cork*** think i will avoid them cheap kmart ones they look like the cork will fuck up


Heres a closer look at the seals on the glass jars

Just go with the 200l if you have the room, you don't have to fill them up when fermenting, the 60 is a good size for a 40 l charge for a 50l keg
I would question the bargain bins strength if you tried to fill it up

RC Al wrote:Just go with the 200l if you have the room, you don't have to fill them up when fermenting, the 60 is a good size for a 40 l charge for a 50l keg
I would question the bargain bins strength if you tried to fill it up

The blue 205L off gumtree ? yeh for the moment i only plan on filling up 100L but thinking of getting it for the future. i have a turbo 500 just looking for a big enough fermenter to do like 3-4x 25L washs thinking i might also just go the 2 60L and do 1 60L (2 washes) over 2 days and then a few days later do the other 60L over another 2 days

do i need to get tubs with the recycle symbol with a 2 in it i read another thread mentioning that and something about hdpe as well

IIRC: #2 in the triangle = HDPE.

The seal on that swing top jar looks like it might be silicone (translucent), if it is it will be ok, done used the ones with the orange or white rubber seal (opaque).

The big blue barrels are good as fermenters.

Anything that is good for beer will be fine to handle a wash as they are essentially the same thing.
Keep plastic away from your distilled product though.

I use the 60 litre blue tubs as well as a 220 litre olive barrel. Both work well, I also use the swing top jars but I throw the seal away and use folded up kitchen paper and use the lid to hold it down. The siphon is OK too.

I reckon the blue food grade drum is the way to go.
The rest don't look food grade.

:text-+1: on blue drum. I played with siphons hated them :angry-banghead: and got a magnetic pump and pvc or silicone hose. I agree with your thoughts on the cork try and get natural one pice corks avoid the cork made from small pieces stuck together. Seal on the jars either wrap with ptfe plumbers tape or leave them off and just put some paper towel over top. Just keep an eye on level and abv to make sure the angels are not getting on it to heavily :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

thanks heaps guys im deciding to go with 2x60L blue drums as they are the cheapest and i feel most practical thing for me currently having 120L split up across 2 tubs appeals to me as well


Thank you so much for your help i just finished my FIRST EVER own wash (TPW) in my still this arvo, i ran my mates turbo 500 2 weeks ago with a turbo batch in it which is what has bought me to be here today

i took some photos did some cuts in 300ml lots thinking i might make a post about it tonight with a few pics

cheers

Just wondering about the non food grade plastics for fermenting. Has anybody had issues or is there a particular reason for not using it on the ferment? I'm just looking at the 100l wheelie bins in Bunnings, nice size and on wheels. Would just cling wrap it to seal it for a TFFV but don't want to use it if there is can issue with non food grade plastic

200l pickle containers from paramounts browns etc are great. thick enough too so you can get the philmac screw seals to work (drill hole in side and them to make drain port)
I used a few like this for a marine fish tank for years.

I managed to find this on the bins in Bunnings. Not sure it would be food grade but would surely do the job?

Personally I think the current iteration of humanity is going to go the same way as the Romans did, just via plastic instead of lead...
Do what you like to hasten that idea, but I wouldn't use the NFG plastic. Even the FG stuff must react to a 15% acidic wash in some way...