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Smelly Pickle Buckets

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:00 am
by Don Ventura
Okay I got some 5G pickel buckets from work a while back and I just realized they have a wicked smell to them. That hard core Kosher Dill pickel smell. They are polypropylene(sp?) food grade palstic buckets, lids and all; but they have been sitting with a hard vinegar solution in them for months. I have sent them through the power washer at the Restaurant about 20 times and no luck. This machine runs a 2 minute intense cycle of hi temp wash, Rinse and sanitize using industrial chemicals from EcoLab.

I'm tyring the old 3oz/g Bleach trick in the garge right now, but I was wondering it its a hopeless cause?

Any thoughts, tips or tricks? Its a Vinegar based odor. Base nuetralization? Scrubbing with metal Pads and resoaking?

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DAMN STANK WINE!!!

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:01 am
by Brett
doubt u will ever get that smell it :( one of the things with plastics

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 12:15 pm
by possum
Don Ventura, It is not hopeless(but it could fail). Give the bleach soak a chance. DO NOT scrub them with a metal scrubber. Putting small scratches in your bucket gives a great place for bacteria and/or wild or undesireable yeast to live and contaminate your wash or beer.

I salvaged some feta chease buckets from my old employer. Took repeated washing, and bleach soaks, untill they didn't smell like a sheep's udders. Make sure you do the soak with the lid off to allow the vinigar odor to gas out.


Good luck

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:34 pm
by grant
I had some pickle buckets a few years back. had everything in then, car parts, nuts bolts, petrol, lots of other things.
the bucket is showing signs of wear, and it still smells like pickles :lol:

i have not tried pickle rum, i wouldnt use for home brew

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:45 pm
by Don Ventura
Yeah I just tried Comet cleanser with a sponge scrubie, Simple green undilluted, and doing another bleach soak now. Looks like I'll be heading over to local brew shop, or Eastbay restaurant supply for some new buckets...

<---- Baka!

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DAMN PICKEL BEER!!!

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:52 pm
by Tater
Might try filling up with water and sitting them where sun can shine on them for a few days with lids off.

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 4:27 pm
by Swag
Don Ventura wrote:Yeah I just tried Comet cleanser with a sponge scrubie, Simple green undilluted, and doing another bleach soak now. Looks like I'll be heading over to local brew shop, or Eastbay restaurant supply for some new buckets...

<---- Baka!

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DAMN PICKEL BEER!!!
Don't use Lysol! I used that to clean out an old whiskey jug and I can't get the lysol smell out now. I have tried everything to get rid of that fragrance. I'll try blasting next.

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 6:13 pm
by grant
pickle buckets usually get recycled and used again as pickle buckets the smell will allways win.

just a thing with buckets, if you mean around a 20L bucket. homebrew shops charge around $15 -$20 here for one, or $6 -$8 for the same thing at hardware shop.

another thing if any aussies, bunnings warehouse, they have "water barrels" exactly the same as fermenting barrels and 1/4 of the price 8)

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 6:28 pm
by Uncle Remus
Geez, the u brew shops around here will give you the 20litre buckets, usually as many as you want, they are glad to get rid of them.

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:07 pm
by Grayson_Stewart
My brew shop gets malt extract in 15 gallon white plastic containers sometimes. I get those as fermenters when available.

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:42 pm
by Don Ventura
Man grayson I would be happy to take those off your hands.

hint hint!

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DAMN WHERES MY PAYPAL!!!

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:18 pm
by Longhairedcountryboy
Hey Don,
I did 12 years in the kitchens. I know thoughs pickle buckets well. I have Chef friends I left behind who could get me and endless supply of the dreaded pickle buckets. You know you will never get that smell out. You could re-use them to store soup and wash them once a week for years (I did) and they still smell the pickles.
I found a good score for free buckets. The local grocery store with a bakery. Iceing buckets. I just go tho the counter and say "you guys got any empty buckets" and I get 2 or 3 every time, and with enough frosting left in them to give my wife an excuse to bake a cake. They are a buttery bitch to clean, but once you get the greasey mess out of them, an overnight mild bleach and dish soap soak takes care of the smell completly. I only ferment in them once or twice and then use new because I have so many now. Check it out next time you are at the store or bakery.

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:43 am
by possum
Sysco also sends fruit salad in white plastic buckets, and they work nice. They are about 4 gal, but don't stink, and usually free.

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:59 am
by Don Ventura
Yeah we use sysco too but dont buy much fruit salad :P TY though possum.
Yeah LHCB I will try that today at the store. I did manage to get one of the newest buckets I got clean. It took a modicum of elbow grease, multi bleach soaks and good luck that when we got the bucket we emptied the pickels out first and not let them sit aournd in it. The other one is a complete waste. Hell I guess I needed a new trash can in the garge anyway.
As for the first bucket, I wont use it though. It was just interesting trying to kill that stank. Pain in the ass yeah but interesting.

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DAMN TY FOR ALL THE GREAT INFO!

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:46 pm
by stillman
The u-make-wine shops around here are happy to either get rid of the buckets or sell them to you for $2 each.

Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:22 pm
by nanosleep
I've had good luck getting the smell out of glass pickle jars. I've never tried plastic ones.