Using 5 gallon water jug for wine?

[Ericphotoart]

I'm curious if anyone used a plastic 5 gallon water jug, like Poland Spring or a purified water. I believe it should be made of food grade plastic so it should be safe for wine too. I'm not sure if I can use it for fermentation but if you need to rack wine and use it just temporarily?

 

[Jim Welch]

I'm curious if anyone used a plastic 5 gallon water jug, like Poland Spring or a purified water. I believe it should be made of food grade plastic so it should be safe for wine too. I'm not sure if I can use it for fermentation but if you need to rack wine and use it just temporarily?

Yes they can be used, they are PET plastic. I have numerous ported Better Bottles (which are essentially the same thing as a water bottle) that I use for secondary fermentation. I aim to transfer the wine into them around 1.010 SG. Let them sit in there for a month then transfer either to glass carboys or into stainless kegs.
You could use them for primary but would need to leave a lot of headroom. I do not do that but primary in open top bucket type containers, specifically in 10 gallon Rubbermaid Brute.
If you do use them care must be taken when cleaning, water over about 125 F or so warps them badly and care must be taken not to scratch the inside surface.

 

[winemaker81]

I'm curious if anyone used a plastic 5 gallon water jug, like Poland Spring or a purified water. I believe it should be made of food grade plastic so it should be safe for wine too. I'm not sure if I can use it for fermentation but if you need to rack wine and use it just temporarily?

Most food grade plastics can be used in the short term for wine, e.g., Rubbermaid Brute trashcans (purchased for the purpose, NOT used!) are great fermenters.

Two issues with longer term storage are acid and O2. Not all plastics can handle the acidic nature of wine, and some allow O2 ingress. As @Jim Welch said, look for PET plastic.

 

[hounddawg]

years ago i even bulk aged in them up to 2 years,
Richard

 

[Scooter68]

As winemaker said, many plastic containers are purpose made. That means for food stuffs they are safe for what comes in them, however other foodstuffs with an acidic nature or other qualities might affect the plastic and in worst case could leech out chemicals from the container material. That means its a good idea to find any coding or labeling on the container. if you see "PET" thats a good sign. Just beware of super cheap or thin wall containers.

 

[Ericphotoart]

Thanks. I have a clean water container and 3 different wines occupy my carboys so I will use the water container for aging.

 

[BigDaveK]

I wondered the same thing. If you're lucky it might have one of these symbols.


PET 2,4 and 5 are considered safe and can be reused. I believe most food grade buckets are PET 2.
My plastic carboys just say PET with the recycling triangle.

BUT THEN I also have have some older water jugs that say PET (no number) and ALSO either say "only for water" or "don't reuse".

 

[Raptor99]

These symbols identify the type of plastic. To be food safe, the dyes and other chemicals used also need to be food safe. So it is best to use "Food Safe" containers designed to be used for food. Read the bottom part of this article as to why not all HDPE plastic containers are safe for food: Food grade plastic: How do you tell which plastics are safe for storing food and drinks? Here is a good explanation of how to identify Food Grade buckets and containers: How to Identify Food Grade Buckets. If it does not have the food-safe symbol then it might not be safe for use for food. Here is the symbol:

 

[Dwerth]

These symbols identify the type of plastic. To be food safe, the dyes and other chemicals used also need to be food safe. So it is best to use "Food Safe" containers designed to be used for food. Read the bottom part of this article as to why not all HDPE plastic containers are safe for food: Food grade plastic: How do you tell which plastics are safe for storing food and drinks? Here is a good explanation of how to identify Food Grade buckets and containers: How to Identify Food Grade Buckets. If it does not have the food-safe symbol then it might not be safe for use for food. Here is the symbol:
View attachment 84886

That is good information, thank you greatly.

Dwerth

 

[BigDaveK]

I like the icon with the goblet and fork but none of my plastic has it. Maybe it's recent, as in the last 3 or 4 years.

I found another graphic...ooh, with colors!

 

[Raptor99]

These numbers refer to the type of plastic. Types 2, 4, and 5 are safe in and of themselves. But they might not be safe if the manufacturer uses non-food safe dyes or release agents to make the items. So you might have two different buckets made from the same type of plastic, and one is food safe and the other is not.

Items that are designed to be safe for food are usually marked "food safe" in some way, either with the icon or the words "Food Safe" or equivalent. You are also probably okay using containers that were previously used to ship food (e.g. frosting buckets from a doughnut shop) or drinking water. Containers that are not marked Food Safe might be safe as well, but they might not be.