Using A 15l Cube As A Fermenter

[OzBeer_MD]

Has anyone ever used a 15L cube as a fermenter for small batches? Currently I can only fit one 25L pail into my small chest freezer/fermentation chest but there is room for 2 x Fresh Wort Kit style cubes on the compressor hump. They have a standard threaded outlet a the bottom and could have a hole drilled into the lid for an airlock. Could be 'interesting' to clean though as the bottom has all the bumps etc. at 2 bucks each you could justify throwing out afterwards if they didn't clean up.

Thoughts?

Cheers

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Cleaning is a bit of a pain, but if you have a pressure washer, that helps or soak them in sodium percarbonate overnight and they come out clean.

I use them as a primary for my small-batch meads, then into glass for secondary/bulk aging. They're good if they work for you.

I wouldn't bother with drilling the lid - cling film and a rubber band is plenty good enough.

 

[OzBeer_MD]

Pressure washer 'check'
Cling film 'check' (airlock might not fit in the chest anyway) Do you put a pin hole in the film?
might need a big funnel to load the wort in.

Thanks for the quick response.

Cheers,

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Pinhole: Nope. Physics is your friend...

Funnel: Mangled 2Litre PET Bottle?

 

[Bribie G]

Sodium Percarbonate is the active ingredient in Napisan at 30% If you can get your hands on the pure stuff, it can eat the bum out of a dead rhinoceros. I bought some in a bulk buy about 4 months ago and it's so strong I reckon the 10K I bought will see me out of this Planet.

Another hint when cleaning cubes is to pour a cup of raw rice in with the perc. and shake vigorously for a few minutes, it will sand blast it from the inside.

 

[manticle]

Has anyone ever used a 15L cube as a fermenter for small batches? Currently I can only fit one 25L pail into my small chest freezer/fermentation chest but there is room for 2 x Fresh Wort Kit style cubes on the compressor hump. They have a standard threaded outlet a the bottom and could have a hole drilled into the lid for an airlock. Could be 'interesting' to clean though as the bottom has all the bumps etc. at 2 bucks each you could justify throwing out afterwards if they didn't clean up.

Thoughts?

Cheers

Ive used a 20 litre cube as a fermenter. I can't imagine there's much difference. I put glad wrap and a rubber band around the opening and screwed the cap on about half way.


Worked fine - easy enough to clean - just needs a good soak in hot water and sodium percarb.

 

[LetsMakeBeer]

Old thread, just wondering if anyone know where would be a good place to pick up 20-25L water cubes near Hornsby? Appreciate any help you can provide!

 

[Stouter]

Give any local cleaning product and chemical suppliers a try. The type of place that supplies bulk to professional cleaners. That's where I sourced mine from, brand new, clean, and cheaper and stronger than the blue Bunnings models.

 

[mattyh77]

I find the bunnings ones ok

 

[Stouter]

Might be my process and filling them at such a high temperature, but the two times I tried using the blue Bunnings ones, the thread on the lids stripped.

 

[Coalminer]

The blue Bunnings HDPE cubes definitely soften a bit more than white HDPE cubes when filled with +90C liquid
I have both and the blue ones even smell differently when very hot so lo longer use them for no chill cubes

 

[LetsMakeBeer]

Thanks guys, I got one of the blue ones from bunnings and it works great. I fill it with about 2-5L of cold water before pouring the extracts or fresh wort kits in (haven't graduated to all grain yet).
So far that seems to stop any of the hot liquid smells + softening issues, although I do have to shake it a bit (before the final top up of water) to make sure everything dissolves ok.