[glitterbug]

I'd give them a pass.  Unknown provenance = unknown risk.  Not acceptable for my beer or my health.

But that's me. 

I am in the (slow) process of converting all my plastic equipment to stainless steel. It is safe, durable, and easy to clean. The only downside is the cost 

This is my plan as well.  Plastic has it's advantages but I would like to go all SS in the future.

I have heard of people using "milk cans" for fermentation vessels. They are ss, have handles and come in a variety of sizes. If you have any dairy farms near, you may want to see if they have any old ones for sale.

[Steve]

Get a 5 gallon pickle bucket from a deli and brew something Bavarian in it utilizing the existing intrinsic pickle qualities.  Afterward dunk a pretzel in it... use the pickley beer to braise a pork roast... drink it with warm potato salad... the uses are endless.

[Steve]

Not a plastics engineer, but have looked into this.  The werber virtual bullet site has good informatiion.  Even virgin HDPE would not be food grade if it had been processed wrong.   The wrong die release compound would make it not food grade.  Exposure to other things in the production process, like lead,  would make it not food grade.

If the container has a NSF in a cirlcle logo, it is food grade, as long as the stuff in it was not toxic.
http://www.nsf.org/business/about_NSF/nsf_marks.asp

I don't see that NSF laminated "foil" mark on any of my supposed food grade buckets. There is NRC - .075 and LIN PAC (each letter is circled and PAC is below the LIN) stamped on the bottom of the Ale Pail.  Ropak is the manufacturer of the bucket

[Mikey]

A bleach solution and then a day in the sun will get rid of pickle smell.

[Steve]

I don't see that NSF laminated "foil" mark on any of my supposed food grade buckets. There is NRC - .075 and LIN PAC (each letter is circled and PAC is below the LIN) stamped on the bottom of the Ale Pail.  Ropak is the manufacturer of the bucket

I googled ROPAK and LIN PAC is the division. in the food service section i found the 6 gal. 75 mil bucket which is my Ale Pail.  http://www.linpac.com/en/Products/Rigid-plastic-containers/6-Gallon-or-227-L-Round-Container--75-mil-Wall-Thickness--/?Family=Food+service&SubFamily=Round+Packaging There's not much about "food grade" in the description. Only in the menu to the left.

[hopfenundmalz]

Not a plastics engineer, but have looked into this.  The werber virtual bullet site has good informatiion.  Even virgin HDPE would not be food grade if it had been processed wrong.   The wrong die release compound would make it not food grade.  Exposure to other things in the production process, like lead,  would make it not food grade.

If the container has a NSF in a cirlcle logo, it is food grade, as long as the stuff in it was not toxic.
http://www.nsf.org/business/about_NSF/nsf_marks.asp

I don't see that NSF laminated "foil" mark on any of my supposed food grade buckets. There is NRC - .075 and LIN PAC (each letter is circled and PAC is below the LIN) stamped on the bottom of the Ale Pail.  Ropak is the manufacturer of the bucket

The NSF is a certification that it is food grade, if it has that, it is good.  Can be food grade without, like most containers.  My wording was not clear.


The NRC may be for National Research Council since Ropak is from Canada.

[punatic]

Buckets are not problem. I can get them for free.These just look so cool and they are stackable.

So are caskets...

Caskets are free?   

The stackable kind are.

[rabid_dingo]

You never mentioned that they were used...Are we sure that they were used. Could be unused surplus. Dry grain storage, maybe?

EDIT: Damn, missed two pages worth...Ne'er mind.

[capozzoli]

The people working the yard didnt have the history on this surplus item but I am sure the management does. I will ask them to pull the documentation. They are usually pretty good at recording history of stuff.

Very likely that they are unused surplus, much stuff there is, but I guess that would be the question and for sure a matter of trust. They look unused. Brand new in fact, not a scratch. Still doesn't mean that they were not used as job site toilets somwhere along the way.