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porcupine73 · 10-05-2012, 08:05 PM

Hm I bought quite a few glass carboys for brewing before seeing the threads about doing primary fermenting in kegs. The price per capacity is comparable but the kegs seem like they are much safer. I'm getting paranoid about a cracking carboy slicing my arms off eventually.

The second thing I realized is that the gallon glass jugs are actually a lower cost per unit capacity except that yes you do need a lot more airlocks, but handling a 1 gallon glass jug seems safer than wielding those 6.5g big boys.

m_c_zero · 10-05-2012, 08:27 PM

I wonder if there is a product you could use to laminate the glass to make it shatterproof?

On a side note, I've got 4 6.5 gallon glass carboys from the 1970's that were used primarily for mead and they're still kicking ass and taking names.

porcupine73 · 10-05-2012, 08:40 PM

I've seen people put hardware cloth around them and then duct tape but I'd rather avoid something like that because I usually spill sweet stuff down the sides at some point, then that will be underneath the duct tape. I think I just need to have a safety plan for safe handling. It's just the risk I know is there, like what if this broke while I'm carrying it? Right now it would be at my bare feet, hands and arms, so I think maybe just wearing boots, and maybe textile motorcycle pants and jacket and some type of glove would be sufficient. It's mostly when it's full I'm nervous now.

**BBL_Brewer** · 10-05-2012, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porcupine73

I've seen people put hardware cloth around them and then duct tape but I'd rather avoid something like that because I usually spill sweet stuff down the sides at some point, then that will be underneath the duct tape. I think I just need to have a safety plan for safe handling. It's just the risk I know is there, like what if this broke while I'm carrying it? Right now it would be at my bare feet, hands and arms, so I think maybe just wearing boots, and maybe textile motorcycle pants and jacket and some type of glove would be sufficient. It's mostly when it's full I'm nervous now.

Be careful with the gloves. If you go overboard here you might lose grip and drop one because of all the safety gear you're wearing.

Hopper5000 · 10-05-2012, 09:00 PM

I broke a carboy when cleaning after the 1st time I used it... lame... I spend the extra money on the top handle and the brew hauler straps the second time and haven't had a problem since...

**neosapien** · 10-05-2012, 09:08 PM

milk crates for the win

**landshark** · 10-06-2012, 04:38 AM

You could probably Plasti-Dip a carboy. But you can no longer see in it.

Buckets work pretty good, and as mentioned, milk crates. You could also always put them up for trade for a Better Bottle or Corny. Not sure I'd ferment in kegs. Buckets are nice though. Kegs just seem too expensive.

**jsguitar** · 10-06-2012, 04:43 AM

Milk crates are great. Get the real ones and not the flimsy ones you usually see in the stores. I asked a restaurant for a couple that they had out back and they agreed. The plastic is really thick on those.

DeafSmith · 10-06-2012, 05:14 AM

Always use a milk crate or BrewHauler for full carboys. Never use a carboy handle on anything other than an empty carboy. Never hold a full or partly full carboy and turn it sideways to empty it when cleaning - always siphon out the cleaning solution. When rinsing, you can lay the carboy on its side, use a small amount of rinse water and roll it to rinse, keeping your hands on top of the carboy. A carboy handle can be useful here when dumping out the rinse water.

I suspect that many of the "spontaneous" failures are due to micro-cracks in soft glass (cheap) carboys, perhaps accelerated by caustic cleaning solutions. Here's an interesting article on cleaning from Better Bottle:

http://www.better-bottle.com/pdf/WashingSanitizingStudy.pdf

See the section titled "An Important Warning".

porcupine73 · 10-06-2012, 01:28 PM

Thanks for the tips. Wow DeafSmith that's a very interesting article you linked. It's very detailed. I didn't notice if they had any suggestions for what to use to clean glass carboys? Do you think they suggest the Seventh Generation Free and Clear detergent for that? That would be perfect since I already happen to have a container of it. I am or was using Carlson Straight A, I didn't realize that is actually classified as caustic, it contains percarbonates, silicates, and something else. Know I know why my fingers feel soapy when it touches my skin, I'm guessing is saponifying my skin.