Brewbucket question

Hey guys,
Looking for input from anyone who has as a brewtech brewbucket and how you like them. I really want to get a unitank but I’m not certain I can justify the cost at this point. I could buy 2 buckets and still be less than half the cost and up and running. The other option might be their chronical
Just looking for a new fermenter that I can pressure transfer from because I’m tired of the glass carboy ordeal and really dont like the plastic buckets anymore.

I love my 8.5 gallon stainless fermenter that NB had a sale on ($99 in December).

The Brewbucket is probably a little better made. Mine doesn’t have a conical bottom but surprisingly enough they placed the port in a perfect spot and I get almost no trub anyway.

1 Like

I’ve 2 Anvil buckets… ( yes I didn’t go to a very nice conical) I’ve adapted them to use CO2 to push out into the kegs… 5 PSI’s is max… But it’s not O2… I’m content… They clean up nice… Have a racking arm… Very similar to what our host has the soivernge bucket…
Sneezles61
Edit: our host didn’t have their SS buckers or I would’ve opted for them…

Stainless is sooooo much easier to clean than plastic and easier to deal with than glass.

1 Like

Are they about the same dimensions of a 6 gallon bucket? Curious of it would fit in my chest freezer

I fit my two in one… Put a collar on it… Controller… I made a false bottom so it’s one level… No hump… I almost wish I had an up right… I did make rack with caster wheels on it so I can push it into the brew room… Get it set up… roll it back by the tap room… Plug it in…
Sneezles61

I really want to make a glycol chiller so I dont have use my serving keezer

Didn’t Matt show a build on here somewhere? Cooler, AC unit… Pump for recirc…
Sneezles61

So what about the spike brewing flex fermenters? Anyone have one?

Looks great.

I think anytime you are going to buy a pre made, stainless vessel of any sort… Where it was manufactured specifically for beer brewing… It’s gonna work out just fine. The price is where I always get deterred. Me personally, I would design and build one myself. Start with a kettle of some sort, buy a SS funnel if one even exists that size, weld it all together with a butterfly valve at the bottom. Weld the lid on, add ports as needed. If welding isn’t your cup of tea, cold weld works well for these applications if you are keeping it on the outside.

It probably wouldn’t save me a ton of money, and definitely wouldn’t be as nice. But itd save me maybe 30% and it would be fun

Yeh I’m definitely not set up for tig welding and I like the way the other ones look. You think that cold weld would be sanitary?

I have a mig welder that gets the job done. It gets a little hot and I’ve certainly left some black spots in the past, but it’s functional even if ugly.

JB weld is not technically FDA approved but once it is cured and hardened, it’s definitely food safe and non toxic and shouldn’t leave any flavors at all. It’s rated for super high heats and extremely difficult to remove. Even still, whenever I use it on an application, I still only use it on exteriors just to be safe. I’ve never had any issues before when using it on some of my brew gear.

Again, the professional ones are much nicer, prettier, and overall no doubt are they better. But most times I go for functional, useful, and I love to build and design stuff. If it saves me $30-40+ at the same time, even better.

No way in hell would I cob nobble some rudimentary vessel for fermenting… Way too many hiding spots for unwanted bugs…
Sneezles61

1 Like

Thank you for chiming in. I was thinking the same thing.

Meh I’d give it a shot before knocking it. Too much fun

Dumping pickled brew… MEH…
Sneezles61

I’ll drink it. Just pitched a sour yeast on purpose

One of the big pluses of these stainless steel fermentation buckets, regardless of brand, is that they have a bigger diameter and a flat bottom compared to carboys. I find the trub is spread out more and makes a thinner layer on the bottom making it a lot easier to rack off of them. This is probably why you’re not getting much trub. I highly recommend the stainless steel buckets.

3 Likes

Yeh I like that idea. The next question is whether or not a dump valve would be worth the extra cost. It would be nice to harvest yeast but I currently just pour slurry from my carboy into mason jars and it’s not the end of the world. I typically by new yeast for every brew anyway but the option might be nice. I’m leaning towards the spike flex system