I brew one gallon batches and more often than not, fermentation inside my one gallon carboy will blow over the top and into my airlock. I would like to find a two gallon carboy but I have had no luck finding one. I did find this on Great Fermentations.
Another thread stated that there really is no difference between using a carboy vs. a bucket. It’s simply a matter of equipment preference.
Is there anything I should be mindful of when using a bucket?
From a quality of vessel standpoint, both can be used to make good beer. I have used both over 20 years and find myself using buckets now exclusively. I prefer the larger opening when I want to cram 2lbs of coconut / walnuts into stout that just hit terminal gravity, generally find them easier to clean, and they take up less room in my garage when stacked.
I retire them if they get too banged up on the inside (too many scratches). It’s a judgment call, but they aren’t terribly expensive.
Just a matter of preference. Just don’t panic if you get little or no airlock activity when using the bucket. Bucket lids are notorious for not sealing well. It won’t affect the final product but, if you’re used to watching bubbles, you may be disappointed.
I prefer buckets over carboys for fermenting, just make sure not to use anything remotely abrasive to clean it with.
All buckets are not created equal. Before you buy look at the underside of the lid and make sure it has an O-ring in the groove where it seals. If it doesn’t I would look elsewhere. Also make sure that the lid and the bucket are made by the same company, because they are not interchangable between manufacturers.
I have used buckets made by Plastican and Nampac with good results. If I don’t get a good seal then 90% of the time it’s the grommet where the airlock goes.
I once had that happen and I had no idea if the fermentation had even gone off or not. The first time that had happened as I hadn’t used that bucket in a while and maybe the seal was bad. So I took a gravity reading and confirmed fermentation had happened and it was one of the best batches ever. I had people drinking it that didn’t even like beer. LOL.
I’ve tried both the 1.2 gallon jars and 2 gallon buckets. have no aversion to either. Having said that, I haven’t used an airlock in years. Blowoff is my preferred method for everything. Just get the proper size hose to fit the rubber grommet for the airlock.
I agree with jverduin - the microscopic surface scratches inside of a bucket will become a breeding ground for all the bad stuff we want to avoid in our beer. Good sound sanitation measures are a must. I used a bucket for a couple years and while I never had any sealing issues, I did have a pellicle issue in three batches. Now I use glass exclusively.
Due to lack of space in our 8 gallon conical FV, we augmented the brewery with a 4 gallon stainless steel pot. There is a nice Amber Czech Lager fermenting right now, about 2.5 gallons.
A good quality 304 Stainless pot will work just fine. Easy to clean. And, just keep the lid on it during the ferment. No need for an air lock, or blow off tube.
A 4 gallon fermenter was ordered from Blichmann Engineering to augment our brewing capacity, but it will not ship until next week.
…just be really careful with that glass. I’ve seen too many photos of severe injury as a result of a broken carboy. I suggest a stainless FV. The only drawback with a stainless FV is you can’t see the magic.
Yet I’ve used plastic for nearly 20 years and haven’t had that happen. Just another data point.
I imagine if a plastic or wood spoon or paddle is used to do any stirring in a plastic bucket you’ll be OK. But when a metal spoon or paddle hits that plastic while stirring, I imagine a scratch could result.
I personally don’t do much (aka any) stirring in my FV but I am just trying to imagine how a bucket could get scratched.
Not that much stirring is required in a FV. Although I have used a metal spoon in them and managed to avoid the dreaded infection inducing scratches.
I use plastic conicals exclusively, even if I was willing to pay for SS there’s no way I’m packing a stainless fermenter full of 7 gallons of wort down the stairs. I have a hard time believing that nasty organisms can find scratches to hide in that sanitizer can’t get to.
That’s what I always say!
That’s great advise, thank you. I have also seen pictures and read stories about brewers who have used those carboy “carrying handles” (for lack of a better name) and the neck of the carboy breaks off and total catastrophe follows.
Actually, at 62 years old, I’m still able to lug my 6 gallon glass carboy filled with 5 gallons of beer from my brewery to my fermentation chamber and back again for bottling. It’s freek’n heavy, but I manage…at least for now. 
Regarding stainless, I have shied away from stainless because I like to see what’s happening inside. Maybe it’s my OC, but does anyone else enjoy viewing the fermentation process? That’s the magic unfolding, IMHO.
I thought it was cool to watch fermentation for maybe the first 50 batches or so. For the last 20 years I haven’t worried about it.
NEVER pick up a glass carboy by the a neck handle. You are lifting about 45 lbs (beer plus glass) when they are full and the carboy neck is not designed to support that much weight. Pick it up by supporting the bottom with one hand and the neck with the other and lift carefully.
Also (and I have said this before on this forum) if you are doing a transfer by pushing the beer from the carboy to the keg using CO2, please be very careful not to over pressurize the carboy. This is extremely dangerous. If you are using CO2, no more than 2.5 PSI on the carboy, it will take you a little longer, but it is way safer. Glass carboys are not pressure vessels. I had a friend in a local brew club that was rushed to the hospital to get his back stitched up after a carboy exploded while he was transferring a beer and the shrapnel from the explosion nailed him.
I generally do the primary in glass. I tend to use it as a cheat to know when fermentation is likely done. A quick look at the carboy and I can see what’s still moving in the bottle. If anything is in motion it isn’t done. When I start to see the clearing begin I know fermentation is finished and I can start planning to keg it (usually that’s still 4-5 days before I actually get it kegged). I never lift a carboy by the neck. Two hands on the bottom of the bottle or it doesn’t get moved.
I also use buckets when I’ve got 3 or more in the pipeline at once since I’ve only got 2 6.5 gallon glass carboys.
Paul
Gave up long ago in watching fermentation in clear vessels - I covered them to avoid sunlight anyway. Now I use stainless whenever possible, with some limited use, long term, “no move” aging in glass (stored at the height from which racking can happen. I watch my Tilt, but even that is rarely more than once daily. My beers finish soon enough and I schedule my beers so that I have a couple beers going at a time - this Virus lock down is slowly backing things up though, so I may selectively cull some of those beers that were slow movers before this shelter in place directive started. I might as well be ready with easy drinker styles when the gatherings happen again on the other side of this tragedy.