Could you use a Waterbutt as a fermenter?

[Jonc26uk]

Hi

Was just wondering if I could use a waterbutt as a fermenter? B and q offer a 110l for £27 and it is hdpe. Which I believe is what we need to be food grade and safe to use?

[packapoo]

Been using smaller HDPE fermenters for years so can't see why you shouldn't think big.

[Mash]

A single use ex factory juice drum would be better and cheaper.

[Mash]

Not sure it would be food grade either.
Probably much thinner and potentially the wrong shape.

[Icefever]

This question has reared it's head on a number of times over the years on forums, the question of food grade always comes up.
Mango tubes from your local takeaway have been sorted in the past.
My 2 cents on the water butt....no.

[Phantom]

I don't know about the materials those purpose made water-butts use, but there's no end of cheap, food grade drums available on ebay.

I have 3 nice terracotta ones here. With nice screw on, 2 part lids. £9 each (had to drive to pick them up).

If it wasn't for the fact I want them for a condenser water supply, they'd be idea for sorting apples/cider etc or even for a mega sized sugar turbo (they're 225 litre volume and originally had olives in them)..........

Hell, if you have the room/space somewhere, you can use a food grade IBC (intermediate bulk container), there's plenty of those on ebay as well. They hold 1000 litres and I know of some small/start up type breweries that use them for their ferment.....

[Mash]

The blue ones are food grade. Also consider cutting them down.

[Phantom]

The blue ones are food grade. Also consider cutting them down.

No point. If you look around, you can get them in about 4 or 5 different sizes. 225 and 25 litre are most common, but 50 and 100 litres are also available.

A bit like IBC's, a "standards" pallet footprint gives 1000 litre volume and a "Euro" pallet sized one is 660 litres (standards are more common and generally cheaper)........

[Mash]

sorry I was thinking (but not typing) you can get a better shape by cutting down.

Yeast prefer short and shallow (not in extreme) as opposed to tall and thin - and so do a lot of humans. Trugs are rising in populalrity too

[Easydrinker]

I was at the farm shop today,4750 litre HDPE water tanks for sale.
I know what I will be dreaming of tonight..
Aided by the fact that Lidl sugar is now down to 39p a kilo locally.

Robert.