Broken Carboys

People;

I have been reading in other spots stories about broken carboys, severed tendons, rehab(not alcohol), etc., and am now scared to death to look at my two glass carboys.

Any tips on handling or preventing breakage? A lot of the stories involve the carboy just sort of shattering without dropping or impact.

Also - any opinions on Better Bottles? I tried to buy one at my LHBS and the dude about sh^t his pants complaining about them. Not a fan I guess.

thanks!

brewhaulers and milk crates seem to be two pretty popular methods of moving carboys with less risk of breakage. It is definitely recomended not to carry a carboy by the handle that can be put around the neck of it. A brew hauler is a system of straps that fit around the carboy and beneath it with a couple of handles on it, and carboys just seem to fit conviently in milk crates.

Better Bottles are great. I have two and I love them. If I buy any more fermenters they will be Better Bottles.

Use milk crates, plastic file folder crates, or brew-haulers to move your glass carboys around.

For me, the trickiest time with my glass carboy is when I am cleaning it at the sink. It's wet, slippery, and sometimes hot. That is when I have to be extra careful.

Remember, if the worst should happen and you drop a glass carboy - Don't reach for it as it falls. Just get out of the way.

blacklab said:

Any tips on handling or preventing breakage? A lot of the stories involve the carboy just sort of shattering without dropping or impact.

Click to expand...

... Don't use glass carboys? Seriously though, I think the best way to carry and store a glass carboy is in a milk crate. They have handles, support the carboy from the bottom, and offer a little bit of protection from bumping it into things

blacklab said:

Also - any opinions on Better Bottles? I tried to buy one at my LHBS and the dude about sh^t his pants complaining about them. Not a fan I guess.

Click to expand...

I think that they rock! They won't shatter, are much lighter, and cost about the same as glass.

My complete thoughts on the glass/plastic debate can be found at the following link. The link also contains a collection of breakage horror stories that I collected over a lunch break from several forums.

http://brewing.lustreking.com/articles/nomoreglass.html

blacklab said:

People;

I have been reading in other spots stories about broken carboys, severed tendons, rehab(not alcohol), etc., and am now scared to death to look at my two glass carboys.

Any tips on handling or preventing breakage? A lot of the stories involve the carboy just sort of shattering without dropping or impact.

Also - any opinions on Better Bottles? I tried to buy one at my LHBS and the dude about sh^t his pants complaining about them. Not a fan I guess.

thanks!

Click to expand...

I dropped one 6.5 gallon carboy while cleaning and it scared the hell out of me. I was lucky and no injury but that is a lot of glass and it is very slippery when it has PBW all over it. Now I am more careful and only pick it up if I have a good grip (no slippery feeling). Avoid using extremely hot water as this may make it shatter by itself. I also only shake it while holding it over a table with padding on top and a plastic sheet over that so water will not soak into the padding. Now it can not break on the floor. I feel way more confident about my safety while cleaning.

Brew-haulers work quite well when carrying carboys, but you can still have some of the issues about handling them in a sink or just setting it down.

Better Bottles are great!


TL

lustreking said:

My complete thoughts on the glass/plastic debate can be found at the following link. The link also contains a collection of breakage horror stories that I collected over a lunch break from several forums.

http://brewing.lustreking.com/articles/nomoreglass.html

Click to expand...

some frightening stories, im a plastic bucket man so no worries for me but if i had a glass carboy in the house it would be on its way to the dump now, go plastic people you know it makes sense. I know buckets ain't that asthetically pleasing but there is no excuse to not get yourself some of the plastic carboys. Safe brewing everyone

FYI when people say "milk crates" they are not talking about the cheap POS things you get at Wal Mart. But the real heavy duty kind.

Consider using plastic buckets for a primary, they work well and they are cheap or free. Cornie kegs make excellent secondaries. Cheap, rugged and you don't have to worry about light. And you can keg by adding co2.

Also consider modifying a cornie keg as a primary. You can put a blow off tube or air lock in a number of places. You'll probably need a blow off tube as they are only 5 gal. but the same can be said of better bottles.

brew hauler for moving full carboys, and a carboy handle for dealing with empties/cleaning, etc.

I think glass carboys are OK. They are durable and can be cleaned with a brush and VERY hot water (so long as they are heated fairly slowly).
I don't use handles, I set them right on concrete all the time.
One thing I've learned,

Keep a roll of paper towels handy before you try to handle a wet glass carboy. Dry carboys are pretty easy to handle, wet ones are SLIPPERY.