Anyone Have No Chill Cubes With The Bung Drilled Out? Trouble Sealing?

[mje1980]

I just bought a few more 15 litre 17 litre no chill cubes, but the bung holes have been drilled. Does anyone use cubes with the bung drilled out, and does it cause problems??

I must have had older ones, as i never had a problem with the 4 or 5 i had. A few have gone, and i needed to replace them, but could not find any without the bung drilled out. Got annoyed, so i just got some with the bung drilled out. Im thinking food grade silastic would probably fix the problem, if they leak.

 

[Bribie G]

Never had trouble with drilled cubes leaking, but the thing I like about the undrilled ones, as a nochill cube, is that the smooth 'nose' on the inside renders them easy to clean and sanitize. A drilled one would need to have the bung taken out and put back in every time to guarantee sanitised which would be a PITA. If you are going to that trouble, personally I would just fit a tap and transfer wort to fermenter using the tap, with splashing for aeration. Save doing your back in.

 

[mje1980]

Never had trouble with drilled cubes leaking, but the thing I like about the undrilled ones, as a nochill cube, is that the smooth 'nose' on the inside renders them easy to clean and sanitize. A drilled one would need to have the bung taken out and put back in every time to guarantee sanitised which would be a PITA. If you are going to that trouble, personally I would just fit a tap and transfer wort to fermenter using the tap, with splashing for aeration. Save doing your back in.

I hear you bribie, i looked everywhere, but they were all drilled out!!. I havent bought them for a few years, but im sure the last ones i bought weren't drilled. Oh well, no big deal to take the bung out and hit with a hose. Not keen on taps, i don't trust em!!.

On a lighter note, now i can brew!!!

 

[felten]

I drilled my jerry can out, no leaks yet.

 

[amiddler]

I got mine from the big green shed and they were not drilled out.

Drew

 

[steve78]

I have 5 cubes and I drilled them all out and just fit a tap to them in the no-chill, makes it easy to transfer the wort, and never had any issues at all, works a treat actually....., cleaning is no different, if not easier than a fermenter...

 

[Rodolphe01]

Mine are drilled with no dramas.

Now slightly OT, I was considering fitting a tap, but I was worried it might fail with the heat of no-chilling?? I'd hate for it to just pop apart and 1. lose my wort and less importantly 2. end up with 3rd degree burns.

 

[Tyred]

I got an undrilled 20 litre cube from supacheep a couple of years ago. The drilled cube as no leaking issues either.

I've got a tap on one of my cubes. I haven't had any issues with it. If it's properly screwed in then it shouldn't pop out. I imagine you would have to knock it or step on it to make it come out.

 

[rude]

I used 20 litre jerry can types it was my camping water container with the bung drilled out with a stop screwed in.

I liked it because it fitted 25 litres in it but I did have leaking issues with the bung, not all the time but when the jerry has hot wort poured into it the threads get pretty soft.

So I went to the no drilled cube but I have had issues with the lid leaking as I get a bit over zealous when tightening

I have found now to wait awhile then come back & make sure it is still tight as its easy to cross thread when the plastic is hot

 

[King Brown]

Used a new no chill cube a week and a bit ago, went to use it and realised the bung had been drilled. Was a little paranoid it would leak, but just tightened the bung a little with a pair of pliers and had no issues at all.

+1 about fitting a tap, I made quite a mess trying to pour from the filled cube

 

[felten]

There hass been posts on the forums before about taps coming out of boiling hot cubes, but only when they've been knocked out accidentally, you just have to be super extra careful when moving them.

 

[mje1980]

Sweet, no probs then!

I actually had a closer look at my 20 litre cube, and found it also has been drilled out. I have used this for i would say 2 years, and probably 20 batches without even knowing it had been drilled!!.

 

[hsb]

I found People in Plastic, online wholesalers who will sell in small volumes.
e.g; http://www.peopleinplastic.com.au/Product/...be-dg-w-blk-cap

The 20L cubes were around $12 I think and not drilled (although fitted with bung if you want to drill)

I've always been too paranoid to use a tap on a No Chill cube, doesn't seem worth the hassle if you will be aerating it prior to pitching anyway. I get a good glug glug glug going when I tip it all in the fermenter.

If you're fermenting in them then that's a different story...

 

[WarmBeer]

+1 about fitting a tap, I made quite a mess trying to pour from the filled cube

There is a technique to pouring from a cube without getting the messy "splurting" effect.

You want to tip it into your fermenter with the hole at the top, rather than at the bottom.

This seems a little counter intuitive, as you then don't have the handle easily available to hold on to, but it allows you to easily regulate the air going into the cube to replace the wort coming out of the cube. It is the vacuum effect of air "gulping" in to fill the vacuum that causes it to splash about when pouring.

Not sure if this is clear, and should probably take some pics, but it's going to be extra hard to hold the camera in one hand, focus with the other, while pouring wort with my other two hands

 

[King Brown]

There is a technique to pouring from a cube without getting the messy "splurting" effect.

You want to tip it into your fermenter with the hole at the top, rather than at the bottom.

This seems a little counter intuitive, as you then don't have the handle easily available to hold on to, but it allows you to easily regulate the air going into the cube to replace the wort coming out of the cube. It is the vacuum effect of air "gulping" in to fill the vacuum that causes it to splash about when pouring.

Not sure if this is clear, and should probably take some pics, but it's going to be extra hard to hold the camera in one hand, focus with the other, while pouring wort with my other two hands

No this makes perfect sense, even recall doing it myself when I worked in a chemical warehouse a few years ago, must have forgot about it round about the time I started AGing. Certainly what I'll be doing from now on

 

[stm]

Could someone please explain what you mean by having the bung hole drilled out or not drilled out? Thanks.

(May be a stupid question, but I really have no idea what you are talking about. And sorry about the old thread dredge-out but was researching no-chill.)

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Where the bung is fitted there is an aperture which hasn't been drilled out for the use of a tap if required

 

[stm]

Thanks for that. It appears my confusion arose from never even realising (up till now) that "undrilled bung" was even an option.

 

[damoninja]

I imagine you would have to knock it or step on it to make it come out.

My cubes hold 22L, so excess of 22kg. The last thing I want to do is be lugging that about and knock the tap on a door frame to have my tap pop off.

To transfer I sanitise the outside of the cube with some hot water and star san then quickly invert it into my sanitised fermenter and hold. A tap would still be buttload easier, might give it a shot next time.

 

[gemmasteve]

Is there a post that explains the technique in using a cube in a no chill brew? Hope that makes sense. I came across a no chill cubing post but would like more info. Thanks.