Newbie Carboy question

Systems, Gear, & DIY
1

So my first Brew day is this Tuesday, and I’m really excited.  This forum has been super helpful in giving tips to get my equipment and processes ready.  However, I had a question about 5 gal. brewing w/ Carboys.  I have a fermenting bucket to brew my first batch, however I don’t think I’ll be able to wait 4 wks to start another, so I’ve been looking at some carboys on craigslist.  There are a bunch of 5 gal. carboys available at a good price, however is that going to be large enough for fermenting my wort, or am I going to run out of room?  Obviously a 6 gal. would be better, but there aren’t any available right now.

Any help is appreciated, thank you very much.

-Keith

2

A five gallon carboy is too small to ferment a standard size five gallon batch, but you can transfer your beer from a bucket to a five gallon carboy after a couple weeks if you need the bucket for a fresh batch of wort.
On the other hand, buckets are cheaper and sturdier than carboys.

3

I would use buckets for almost every non-aged style of beer.  Or get the Speidels - they are great!

4

Thanks for the tips guys.  I’d love another bucket, I just can’t find any cheaper than the carboys.  I’ll keep looking for a 6 gal.

5

Dude…here ya go. These are all I use, except for long term secondary :

EDIT  -  The other thing I love about these buckets is that you can make a 5.5 gallon batch and have plenty of headspace, even for really vigorous yeast strains like WY3068, 3787, etc.

6

+1 on the Speidel 30L. Love it.

7

+1 on the 7 gallon buckets.  Here’s a source about half the cost of others:

If you are close to Port Angeles, WA, I have about 20 of these you can have for free.

8

Assuming proper pitch rate, aeration and an average gravity you should only need to be in primary 2 weeks or so.

9

Thanks for all the help guys.  Looks like ordering another bucket is the way to go for me.

10

Thanks for the offer, however I’m on the other end of the country.