buckets and oxidation

teejay58 · #1 09-19-2010, 08:06 PM

Well, my freezer is packed up to the very top. I can't get 2 more lbs of berries in it. And I picked up another 12 lbs of strawberries today. So... looks like I'm gonna have to do something with my blackberry melomel that's in the bucket. Currently I have only the one bucket and one carboy and i need to rack off the lees and onto fresh blackberries. What do you guys think about racking into a clean carboy, then cleaning and sanitizing the bucket again and putting it back in the bucket? I'm kinda worried about oxygenation now. But not sure how to manage that. It would be most convenient if i could do the secondary in the bucket again because of the ease of getting the berry bag in and out. I'm so mindful of oxygenation that I haven't opened it to get a SG reading. In all likelihood it's done, but i haven't checked. The lid is a PITA because it's so tight. The air lock actually seems to work when the lid is on well. I need a bucket opener... like a can opener or something. Seems like someone should make something like that.

Oh... almost forgot. A friend who works for the city water treatment plant, had some containers in his garage. Apparently, they used to hold potassium permanganate. It's blue and looks like it'll hold about 3-4 gallons. The lid has silicone inside the rim (i think) and it has a locking metal thing that holds it shut. I saw it and it was just screaming to be used for a fermenter. Just need to drill an air lock hole. How do you tell if the plastic is ok for brewing? There is no recycle logo thing on the bottom. If it's ok, I could get an unlimited supply of these things.

akueck · #2 09-19-2010, 09:42 PM

I would not mess with the potassium permanganate. In fact I would stay far away from it. It is a very, very strong oxidizer. Presumably you could clean it out and the container would be ok, but I sure wouldn't want to put stuff you drink in there. The "no recycle" label is on there for a reason.

Fun side note, one of the grad students in my program had a shirt that said "Potassium permanganate is such a strong oxidizer, it will suck the electrons out of your grandmother!" with a funny little science man in a lab coat and a beaker.

Oxidation is not much of a problem while active fermentation is going on. If you're just going to leave the new berries in the mead for a week or so, I would think you'd be ok in the bucket. For longer term, you'd want an impermeable plastic (like a Better Bottle), glass, or steel.

teejay58 · #3 09-19-2010, 09:45 PM

Just wanted to clarify... There is no label at all on the container. I was looking for one of those little triangular things and a number and couldn't find one. Man, that sucks though. Those things sure look like they'd make good fermenters.

youngmeadman · #4 09-20-2010, 12:10 PM

You can get bucket openers. They work like a pry off cap one. It catches the lip, and pries is up. Now where to actually get them, no clue. I have only used them in places I've worked.

Youngmeadman

Tannin Boy · #5 09-21-2010, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youngmeadman

You can get bucket openers. They work like a pry off cap one. It catches the lip, and pries is up. Now where to actually get them, no clue. I have only used them in places I've worked.

Youngmeadman

Hope This Helps...

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/catal...l+tool&x=0&y=0

TB