9 gal tuff-tank vessel

[Teamsterjohn]

Has anyone ever used this 9 gal tuff-tank vessel? You guys say that making wine w/skins in a 7.9 bucket will work, or be very close.

 

[rawlus]

haven't used a tuff-tank, but i use a 10 gallon rubbermaid brute as a primary. thing to check for is that it is NSF and food-grate rated. (not all are). it should be stamped on the bottom of the container or you can find specs for it online.
the rubbermaid brutes, only the gray, white and yellow brutes are rated food safe. the black, red, and blue are not.

 

[rawlus]

strike my earlier post - i looked up tuff tank and indeed they are used as fermentation vessels. i thought tuff tank was a brute knock-off, now i see it is the square fermenter, similar to what i've seen at pet supply companies for storing pet foods.
http://www.eckraus.com/TT220.html

 

[Teamsterjohn]

If I can find a rubbermaid brute, do lids come with it, or I can get away with a damp cloth or cheesecloth for the hole time fermenting?

 

[rawlus]

gravity fit lids are made for it and typically sold separately... which is suitable for primary fermentation, beyond that you will need to rack to carboy and be under airlock.

 

[Teamsterjohn]

Thanks rawlus, just ordered the rubbermaid brute w/lid 10 gallon size #2610 White and the gray one is food safe.

 

[deboard]

Just curious, where is a good place to find these suitable rubbermade brute cans?

 

[Runningwolf]

Home Depot.

 

[Wade E]

Even Wlamart has them in certain areas.

 

[deboard]

Thanks, I'm looking for a 8-10 gallon primary to replace my bucket, I just want to be sure it's food safe. I have checked wal-mart locally, but I couldn't find any food safe ones in the size I want. I will have to check out home depot next.

 

[arcticsid]

I asked about Brute cans a while ago, and Smurfe said the gray ones are food grade.

A buddy of mine just offered me three of containers similar to what Jonn has. 10 gals each! They were from survival food and have the screw top lids. Yeah. Another wine making freebie for the books!

Troy

 

[bruno]

I have a 9-gal tuf-tank, it performs well.

 

[Teamsterjohn]

I ordered my rubbermaid from the bettymlls company. I also had them check with rubbermaid to make sure that it was food safe, and the white and gray ones are.

 

[exodus]

I ordered a couple of the 9-gal tuff-tanks from Ekcraus recently. At first I really liked them, until I realized the top rim of the tank is a separate piece that is snapped on to the base. This creates a thin, deep (about 1") crevice inside all the way around the opening that is impossible to clean let alone sanitize. When you dump anything out of the tank it gets trapped way up inside this crevice. In my opinion this is a very poor design feature to an otherwise nice tank.

 

[TheTooth]

I'm thinking about buying one (or two) of the Brute cans, but I have a question for those who use them:

Did you have to do anything special to them before first use? I'm just wondering if there is a release agent on the plastic or some such thing that would need to be eliminated before pouring in your must.

 

[rawlus]

i did not detect any troublesome release agent. i cleaned well with PBW and went on with it. i got mine from a restaurant supply that stocks them specifically for Outback Steakhouse chains in new england, he had to check with the sales rep who does outback to see if it would be okay for me to take a few. they probably make salad or store peeled potatoes in it for all i know. lol. but the plastic wasn't any differently treated that your average fermenting bucket.

 

[TheTooth]

i did not detect any troublesome release agent. i cleaned well with PBW and went on with it. i got mine from a restaurant supply that stocks them specifically for Outback Steakhouse chains in new england, he had to check with the sales rep who does outback to see if it would be okay for me to take a few. they probably make salad or store peeled potatoes in it for all i know. lol. but the plastic wasn't any differently treated that your average fermenting bucket.

Awesome... thanks. I just wanted to be sure before I tried using one.

 

[Teamsterjohn]

Well, today my 10 gallon rubbermaid Brute came. So I drilled a hole in the lid, added a rubber O-ring washed and sanitized it, and had to fill my 6 gallon primary up and dump the water in to mark off where the 6 gallons will be. Dumped that and added a gallon of water with some k-meta in it. Did I forgeet anything?

 

[arcticsid]

I would be sure to make sure the rest of the inside above the mark you made is sanitized too. Spalsh your solution around in it or dip it and let it run down the sides etc. Wait you probably have running water. Just fill it all the way up and let it stand for 10 mins or so. You probably already know to use about 2 TBLS of kmeta per gallon for sanitizing.

 

[Teamsterjohn]

O yes, I learned that from you guys on here. I also left the k-meta in there with the lid on.