Looking for best place to buy 3-5 gallon buckets with lids

[Greene County]

We are new to making maple syrup. Where is the best place to buy pails and lids. We are looking for 3-5 gallon

[MajorWoodchuck]

Check grocery stores that make cakes. They go through a lot of frosting buckets that are 4 and 6 gallons and are food grade and have nice lids. They clean out easily and don't affect the syrup flavor. My local grocery goes through about 5 per week. You can also get fry oil jugs from just about anywhere. Our local Chinese restaurant goes through 10 of those per week. Little harder to clean but you won't have to use defoamers the first year you use them.

[fisheatingbagel]

Lowes (and probably Home Depot) sell food grade 5 gal buckets and lids.

[Greene County]

Check grocery stores that make cakes. They go through a lot of frosting buckets that are 4 and 6 gallons and are food grade and have nice lids. They clean out easily and don't affect the syrup flavor. My local grocery goes through about 5 per week. You can also get fry oil jugs from just about anywhere. Our local Chinese restaurant goes through 10 of those per week. Little harder to clean but you won't have to use defoamers the first year you use them.

Thank you for the info. I was worried that foods would effect the flavour.

Sorry about your father-in-law

Katherine

[Greene County]

Lowes (and probably Home Depot) sell food grade 5 gal buckets and lids.

Thanks for the info.

[Greene County]

Check grocery stores that make cakes. They go through a lot of frosting buckets that are 4 and 6 gallons and are food grade and have nice lids. They clean out easily and don't affect the syrup flavor. My local grocery goes through about 5 per week. You can also get fry oil jugs from just about anywhere. Our local Chinese restaurant goes through 10 of those per week. Little harder to clean but you won't have to use defoamers the first year you use them.

What do you clean the pails with?

[OrangeAgain]

Tractor Supply food grade - $5.69 for five gallon bucket (https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tractor-supply-co-pail-5-gal?cm_vc=-10005) + $2.39 for lid. I doubt you'll find a lower price anywhere else.

Wherever you buy, check to make sure they are food grade. The non-food grade buckets look just like the food grade buckets.

[kbsmeltzer]

Little late on this but Trader Toms west of Spencer has food grade buckets for $1. The ones I got had honey in them prior. They didn't have lids, but I picked some up from Menards for under $2. $3 a bucket is hard to beat being food grade.

Trader Toms has supplies all the time so hopefully this helps for next year for you!

[David Wayne]

There is a small business about 15 miles from me that cans fruit, berries, and makes jamms jelly and preserves. They buy all the fruit and berries and some of it comes in 4 gallon square buckets. I ask them about selling them and they said sure, 25 cents each with lids! And they are already clean, but they don't have handles. I got all they had at the time, 42 of them. If you have something like that around it is worth checking, I figure they just want to be rid of them without having to pay for a dumpster.

David

[johnallin]

Over here a local family-run donut shop has 5 gal food grade pails with handles and lids.
They normally ask a buck a piece.
This time of year a lot of the maple people are grabbing them up, so you may have to wait a while.
Take a bottle of syrup with you and you may not have to wait at all! Works for me.

[MajorWoodchuck]

What do you clean the pails with?
Sorry, didn't see this question till now. I use dishwashing soap and hot water. The frosting comes out pretty easily and does not leave a flavor. I got a couple pickle buckets and they took two years to lose the vinegar smell. When dumpster diving for buckets I came across occasionally the commercial dishwashing soap buckets. There would usually be a cup or so of soap left I could get out after the lid was removed. This soap had a red component that was very strong cleaner and a blue rinse agent that would neutralize the red when rinsing. I learned to be careful what container I stored the red in as it ate through a clear plastic restaurant drink cup after sitting in it a few days. But plain dishwashing soap would work fine too.