I was thinking of these for fermenting buckets.
Anyone know how to identify food grade plastic?
What was in them?
Not a clue, the people selling them dont know either. They are in a pile of surplus.
The lids seal air tight though,so some kind of liquid.
Found this info.
<2>HDPE (high density polyethylene) is used in milk, juice and water containers in order to take advantage of its excellent protective barrier properties. Its chemical resistance properties also make it well suited for items such as containers for household chemicals and detergents. Most five gallon food buckets are made from HDPE. Examples: Milk bottles, shopping bags
Guess I should still worry what might have been in them?
I would. We use HDPE for all kinds of different products. Often we can smell the residue (mostly perfumes) in the plastic a week after dumping the product out. To me that means that something could leach out. It might be ok but for my beer “might be” wouldn’t be good enough.
-sorry
No smell in them at all. I know that does not mean nothing is there.
Do you think the perfume was in residue on the surface or was perhaps in the plastic?
HDPE is supposed to be completely without porosity. Wish there was a way to test them, they look really cool, sturdy and they have those cool handles.
It was definitely in the plastic.
I’ve never been able to say that I’ve had noticeable contamination of something that I’ve put into a bucket that had a different product in it, but I know that the boss doesn’t blink at throwing away old ones to keep from having problems.
I don’t know how to tell if they are food grade or not.
Here’s the symbol chart for food grade plastics. Hope this helps.
They are high density polyethylene.
I think the plastic is fine, but I’d still worry about the previous contents. However, it was bad there “should” be some labels on them.
They sure look like some nice buckets. I’d research them as much as I could.
One thing to consider is that not all HDPE plastic is food grade.
It depends on whether it is labeled “food safe”.
Would it be possible to let RO water sit in them for a few weeks, then have the water tested, to see what changed? This might give you some idea if it’ll kill ya or not.
I’d be willing to risk it. Are they free?
Yeah. That makes sense. Should only cost about $500. Way cheaper than new buckets… errr, wait… 
What would you have them tested for? As the owner of a lab I can tell you that it would not take long to run up an expensive analysis bill if you don’t know where to begin, analysis-wise.
They are great looking containers, but without knowing what was in them previously, it would be pretty risky to use them for holding anything that will be consumed.
Suppose I could get them to see if they can find out what was in them.
Nate,they are $6. per piece. They are at Joesph Fazzio’s in Glassboro NJ. Maybe an hour south of you I think?
There are other ones too that are 10 and 20 gallons. They are clearly labeled “food grade” with the same HDPE/2.
The problem with the ones above for most are that they are only 4 gallons. I was thinking of using them for small batch fermenting.
Damn, Im bummed now.
Dude, snap up the 10 gallon buckets if they are labeled “food grade”. If you do 5-6 gallon batches you’ll never have to worry about a blowout or need a blow off tube.
Testing? Well, a start would be to split a batch in glass and one of the mystery buckets and send both samples in for analysis. I guess you’d be looking for something “extra” in the plastic fermented.
Does foodgrade plastic mean made fresh or recycled from plastic that hasn’t previously held anything toxic? This would be my main concern.
I’d give them a pass. Unknown provenance = unknown risk. Not acceptable for my beer or my health.
But that’s me. 
It’s your call, but I wouldn’t risk it unless I was certain what was in them before. I’ve run accross blue barrels that look remarkably like those, are food grade, and have been used to hold fertilizers.
I’d check out local restaurants if you’re after cheap buckets. They generally know what’s been in them, and I have some great buckets from the local falafel place that used to hold tahini.
Dude, he runs his own welding business. Cappo farts money. It’s really no object to him, I’m sure. ;D
In that case he could fabricate his own fermenters. Heck, he could fabricate an entire brewery - grain silos and all!
Hey, a fart with a lump in it!
More like bleeds money, or maybe hemorrhage is a better description. :
Buckets are not problem. I can get them for free.These just look so cool and they are stackable.