underwaterdan

Recipes 

Is there a reason we use the bucket as a primary and not the glass carboy?

BrewInATL

Recipes 

I can sum it all up for you

You can't see through a bucket, glass might cut you and plastic might scratch (possibly harboring bacteria).

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Yooper

Recipes 

I use a bucket, because I'm a weakling and find it hard to carry a carboy full of beer. I also find the buckets easier to clean. Many brewers, though, use a 6.5 gallon carboy.

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Broken Leg Brewery
Giving beer a leg to stand on since 2006

Memorex88

Recipes 

A bucket is much easier to clean after the fermentation.

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If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you!

llazy_llama

Recipes 

Buckets are also generally cheaper than carboys.

Edited: Oh, and if you have friends that don't know anything about homebrewing, you can serve them some of your brew, then tell them "I made that in a paint bucket." Just make sure you wait until after they say they like it.

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timstr

Recipes 

I started with the bucket...now I am using glass. Dont ask me why but seems a bit more satisfying to actual watch the process unfold -- must be the frustrated chemist in me. And of course, scratched plastic, residual flavors/smells, etc. are also good reasons to use glass.

As far as carrying a glass carboy, I just bought this handy strap that fits around the carboy from my local shop...works nice.

underwaterdan

Recipes 

From what I read, the key is to have a 6.5 gallon carboy, as a 5 gallon might cause you some problems

ArcaneXor

Recipes 

I use a 6 gallon Better Bottle as my primary, and many people do the same. It's a matter of preference.

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The Fiesty(sic) Goat Brewery est. 2007 & Clusterfuggle Experimental Ales est. 2009
Planned: Fat Man Brown Porter (Pro-Am #2), WLP 351 Hefeweizen, WLP 860 Munich Helles
Primary: Centennial Falcon IPA (Pro-Am #1), sLambic I
Secondary: Flanders Red
Kegged:Himmel un Ääd Kölsch #8, Farmhouse Session Saison Pilot Batch, Chocolate Milk Stout, Pale Ale, Chili Smoked Porter, Berliner Weisse w/ Brett #3

Yooper

Recipes 

Yeah, but it still weighs alot! 5.25 gallons of beer weighs 44 pounds, and an empty carboy probably weighs about 5-8 pounds. Together, that's 50 pounds! I weigh maybe 135 pounds and I rack on my kitchen island. It's much easier to lift a plastic bucket with a big handle than a breakable carboy, even with a strap!

I have no desire to watch fermentation- so I'm ok there. I do use all glass for my wines, mostly so I can see how deep the lees are and when it needs to be racked!

I've never had an infection from plastic, and I've made well over 250 batches. I'm sure that can be a concern, but good sanitation can cover that.

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Broken Leg Brewery
Giving beer a leg to stand on since 2006

cuinrearview

Recipes 

I have one plastic and one glass (6.5 gal.) carboy. I usually use the plastic if I'm planning on using only one because it's simpler to fill and clean. That being said I only have one in primary now and opted for the glass because I want to keep an eye out for a need for blowoff with the yeast that I've never used before (WLP400). There IS a lot of entertainment value in watching the violence of a healthy fermentation through the glass . When I get a third primary it will most likely be another bucket.

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Looking forward to brewing some beer