Carboy Cradle

Backstory: Last December I had a carboy on one of those wedges to put it on an angle while racking. Well, the cat bumped the table, which created enough of a wave inside the carboy that it rolled off of the table before I could catch it. It shattered and made a huge mess. Luckily it was almost finished (and I only got a few small cuts cleaning up the shards of glass), but I didn't want to lose another carboy like that. So I had the idea to make a "cradle" for a carboy from some scrap lumber.

Fast forward to this summer and I decided I wanted a few more cradles and thought why not share my idea? It's world great for me, so far! So, here is my write-up...

The Cutting of Wood
First, I squared the section of 1/2 plywood I had laying around and cut 3 12"x13" rectangles; these are the bases. Next, I cut 3 9" lengths of 2x3 for the support posts. Then, I cut 6 3" sections of 2x3 for the "feet" that keep the carboy on an angle. I cut a 30 degree wedge from each of the 9" and the 3" sections of 2x3. The wedges you buy at the LHBS or online are about a 35-40 degree angle, but I wanted to keep this simpler for my sawing. I saved the excesses cut from the foot wedges to use as the end-caps on the cross-brace. Lastly, I cut 3 12" sections from a 1x3 board as the cross-braces. On to the drilling and screwing!

Having Fun with a Drill
I used two different screw lengths, both stainless steel sheet metal screws since that's what I had on hand. I used 10x1" for the narrower ends and 10x1 1/2 for the wider ones.

First, I predrilled all of my holes. I marked out the foot wedges first, 3" from the edge along one of the 12" sides. The holes I drilled at 3/4" and 1 3/4" from the edge. Then I drilled the holes for the cross-brace'a post dead center on the opposite 12" side, again the holes were 3/4" and 1 3/4" from the edge. Since I was using sheet metal screws I decided I needed to manually countersink the holes by using a larger bit for 3/16 an inch deep on the bottom of the base. after drilling each set of holes, I'd switch bits for the countersinks.
Next I drilled the holes in the cross-braces for the end-cap wedges. Again, the holes for the wedges were 3/4" and 1 3/4 from the edges.

Next, in the center of the cross-brace, I drilled two holes a third of the way from each side.
Then, I held the cross-brace to the post along the angled section, roughly in the middle, and predrilled those holes, as well. It is VERY important to make sure that these screws are completely countersunk as a GLASS carboy will rest against here. Glass against metal plus a sudden bump could equal a broken carboy. (I actually went back after the original was assembled and unscrewed the cross-brace and made the countersunk holes a bit deeper, more like 1/4", because there was an audible "clink"of metal on glass when I tested it with an empty carboy. You've been warned.)

Lastly I clamped the foot wedges to the base and predrilled their holes and repeated this for the post. Finally comes the assembly!

It All Comes Together
First, I screwed the foot wedges and the post to the base. The post got two 1 1/2" screws, while the foot wedges got a 1 1/2" screw in the back (closest to the edge) and a 1" screw in the front. Next, I screwed the cross-brace to the post. In retrospect, it may have been easier to fasten the end-caps to the cross-brace first as it was a PITA to do so when it was already attached to the post. Either way: once everything is screwed together you're ready to go! Just make sure your screws are properly countersunk. I also went a bit overboard and glued everything together, but that's just me. These are currently holding a 5 or 6 gallon carboy in my basement brewery, getting ready for reracks this weekend. I put a carboy on about a week in advance, so the sediment has a chance to settle into the lowest part to minimize loses due to racking. Hope someone else finds this design useful! Give me any feedback regarding the design or ask any questions you want, I'll try to answer them! and remember, RDWHAHB!

Sorry about the multiple posts; I hate writing complicated things on my phone... :-/ I kept hitting the reply button when I'd try to scroll up or edit a word.

This looks awesome, do you have pics of any carboys being cradled?

Great idea and that cradle looks awesome! Nicely done.

Thanks! And yeah, I'll take a pic when I get home from work tonight.

We all know that the cat knew exactly what it was doing when it bumped the table. But that's a great idea.

GrizzAndFish said:

This looks awesome, do you have pics of any carboys being cradled?

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+1, as I am kegging and bottling at the moment I can see the value of one of these, great idea, I see one in my future.

Here's a shot of one. I'll try to get some better pics this weekend when I'm racking.

Yes, I know, way too much headspace in that carboy, it's a Welches concord for topping up, just racked and cold-crashed after adding sparkalloid, it's been less than a week with that much room. Racking to a 3 gal and a smaller jug on Sat.

That's a really cool solution.

2 observations.
I would put something soft on the bottom plank where the carboy rests. There's a lot of pressure on that bottom edge the way it is. A piece of resilient (shipping) foam or even a few layers of thick soft fabric.
Wherever the carboy contacts the cradle, double check that the heads are well countersunk. Same reasoning.

You made 4 of them, are you planning to ferment in them, tipped?

That's a great idea, about the padding. And I've tripled checked my screws are countersunk, like I said, on my original I hadn't sunk the cross-brace screws deep enough, and heard a "clink", so I went back and made them a tad deeper.

And no, I'm not planning on fermenting in them tipped; it's amazing how, even if you only leave an inch or so is space from the bung, that expands when's it's tipped...plus, the liquid *almost* touches the bottom of the bung when tipped, as well. I move them onto the cradles about a week before I rack. I'm not as careful as I'd normally be about stirring up the lees, because if they stir a bit, they'll settle in the lowest point, usually. I actually also have them in rectangular milk crates as an added precaution against the cats "bumping" them. I'll take better pcs this weekend.

I think a solid support for securely inclining a 3 or 5 or 6 gallon carboy is a great idea. That said, I am someone who tends to see the cup half empty rather than it being half full so in light of that here's my initial thought. When I make wine I fill the carboy to the neck and so I am someone who would not immediately place a carboy in the cradle you designed when I start racking because at the angle of inclination provided much wine would flow out the carboy. But manhandling the carboy onto the rack closer to the middle or the end of racking would - I think - agitate any sediment or lees so I am unlikely to use it then either. If there was a way to simply and smoothly change the angle of inclination from 90 degrees to - what? about 45 degrees? then I think you would be on to a winner because I would be happy to place the carboy standing straight up on the rig and then would be able to increase the inclination (by turning a crank?) as more of the wine was being emptied from this source carboy into the target.

Actually, by leaving about an inch or so of space below the bung, even when tipped at this angle it doesn't reach the bung. I typically set them up a week or so in advance of racking to give any lees stirred up by moving them a chance to settle back down. I'll take a better pic before I rack to show this.

hmmmmm . . . wife brought this thing home from a yard sale a 3 or 4 years ago. I had no idea what to do with it, so it's been sitting in the basement.

Something like that is what Bernard was talking about. Ideally, that would be an awesome way to go, I just couldn't do the moving parts with what I have on hand and my DIY skills

Turn the square to a rectangle and add a brace on the opposite side of the upright away from the carboy, sets up the brace in compression. That's a fair amount of weight pulling the upright away from the base.

What a great idea. I highly recommend you also reinforce the upright there and padding. That glass carboy could be hosed if it cannot handle the downward pressure on a point where I've seen a few fail.
Also, why two threads on it? Are you selling them?

I would move them to the cradle when more than half empty so the sediment is even across the bottom of the carboy. If you leave them tilted for a week all the sediment will be in the low part making it more difficult to siphon without sucking up the sediment.

I had built something similar to hold my bottling bucket to get the last few ounces through the spigot. It wasn't as sturdy as your yours. Quit using it for safety. I going to try your design. Will need to adapt the front support to provide more clearance for the bottling wand. I'll also extend the base rearward for hold down screws or a clamp.

Well, my first thought to accommodate a bottling bucket would be to increase the height of the foot wedges and to place another block in front of the wedges for the bucket to rest on. You'd also have to increase the height of the cross-brace post, as well. Rough drawing but somewhat like this.

You'd need to know how much clearance you'll need for the bottling spigot & wand, but it seems doable. There should be enough room between the wedges to use a clamp there and at the front to keep it steady.

That looks awesome!

[threads merged - please only make one thread in the future]

RegarRenill said:

Well, my first thought to accommodate a bottling bucket would be to increase the height of the foot wedges and to place another block in front of the wedges for the bucket to rest on. You'd also have to increase the height of the cross-brace post, as well. Rough drawing but somewhat like this.View attachment 223301

You'd need to know how much clearance you'll need for the bottling spigot & wand, but it seems doable. There should be enough room between the wedges to use a clamp there and at the front to keep it steady.

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I'll post when I build it. The cradle will need a double post at the front and a "V or U" shaped cut out for the wand. The wand will always be almost parallel to the front of the bucket. The tilted bucket will be weight forward so a longer base rearward will be needed to hold the back of the cradle down.

Hello said:

What a great idea. I highly recommend you also reinforce the upright there and padding. That glass carboy could be hosed if it cannot handle the downward pressure on a point where I've seen a few fail.
Also, why two threads on it? Are you selling them?

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I originally posted in the DIY forum cause that's where it belongs , lol. But I posted a link to the topic in both the wine and the mead forums, since not everyone watches the DIY forum diligently.

No, I'm not selling them, although I wouldn't be averse to making people some for the material+shipping+a few bucks for my time; I'd send them unassembled, you'd just have to screw it together. I mostly posted this, though, cause I thought it was a safer DIY alternative to those wedges at the LHBS and online.

EDIT: redacted, I see a mod merged the threads from the wine forum and the mead forum to the original topic in the DIY forum. Sry if I had too many threads about the same topic in 3 different subforums.

From input from here, I'm seeing what some of you have mentioned about the weight on the post. I'll look into adding a bracket on the inside and a longer one around the back for added support and post pics when that's done.

I'm wondering if you could use this only not invert your carboy obviously? This is for those who aren't handy or don't want to build the cradle.

http://www.banggood.com/Bottle-Water-Invert-Rack-With-A-Spout-And-A-Stick-p-945624.html

Yeah, that looks like it would work, too.

AnOldUR said:

hmmmmm . . . wife brought this thing home from a yard sale a 3 or 4 years ago. I had no idea what to do with it, so it's been sitting in the basement.

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Since you don't know what to do with it I'll be down in the morning!

More ideas in my head

I would have built a coffin for the cat instead.

Riggs1 said:

I would have built a coffin for the cat instead.

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Lol, I only lost about a quart of my mead, it was the loss of a $40+ carboy that had me steamed. It had been the first time that carboy had been used.

ChefRex said:

Since you don't know what to do with it I'll be down in the morning!

More ideas in my head

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Where in NJ are you located?

AnOldUR said:

Where in NJ are you located?

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Woodbridge

Just starting my reracks.

I had them in the crates because I knew they were going sit for awhile until I had a chance to rack and didn't want any accidents, lol. I'll post more pics when I'm done racking and set up for next weekend.

ChefRex said:

Woodbridge

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That's a pretty good drive to Stockton, but if you're ever going to be in the Flemington area let me know. I wouldn't mind seeing the cradle find a good home.

AnOldUR said:

That's a pretty good drive to Stockton, but if you're ever going to be in the Flemington area let me know. I wouldn't mind seeing the cradle find a good home.

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Thanks for the offer, I'll keep it in mind.
I can't imagine getting a full carboy in it would be very practical or safe.

ChefRex said:

Thanks for the offer, I'll keep it in mind.
I can't imagine getting a full carboy in it would be very practical or safe.

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Yeah. Just something to keep in the back of your head. When I first got it, I had a 5 gallon carboy of Apfelwein in it and it was stable enough.