How many Carboys do you own?

I'm on my 7th batch of beer and I need to transfer this gigantic 12% barleywine to secondary. Problem is, my three carboys are in use so I need to buy another.

It has me thinking, I haven't even started brewing with Brett or other wild bacteria yet (which can occupy a carboy for a year or more) so, I'm curious how many carboys do you guys have and for someone with a 4-kegerator system and brewing wild-beers, how many should I get?

Also, what's the best price + shipping you've seen them for? My LHBS sells them for $50 for 5 gallons and I think that's pretty high.

(all from the LHBS)

1 - 6.5 gallon glass - 47$
1 - 5 gallon glass - 42$
1 - ale pale - 15$ !!! woot!
1 - 6 gallon BB (that won't break) - priceless... nah but it was a present, I think they payed 24$

All of them. I never rent my carboys.

(2) Glass, (2) BB's.

I've got three buckets and four five gallon carboys. I bought one carboy from the LHBS used for $20, and got the other three from some dude on craigslist for $50. It has allowed me to get a pipeline going and bulk age at the same time.

I have three 1 - 6.5 gal and 2 - 5 gal

I have 7. Three are 5G for secondaries, lagering, or bugs. Then I have 4 bigger ones for primaries. I have 4 taps, I keep the pipeline consistently flowing. Lately I have not kept more than 4 full, but I've not been doing lagers or bugs so my beers have been ready much quicker.

If you keep an eye on Amazon, every now and then, you can find glass carboys (23L/~6gal), on sale for $30 with free shipping. This seems to be rare, but I've seen it a couple times, and been lucky enough to get a couple at this price. It all depends on how long you can wait, and whether or not you want glass. I currently have 4 of these glass carboys and 7 or 8 buckets in my arsenal.

3 6 gallon BB
1 5 gallon BB

thinking about getting more and I have only finished 1 batch...lol. I have 3 fermenting now, soon to be a 4th.

http://labelpeelers.com/better-bottle-plain-6-gallon-carboy-p-2672.html has the best price for better bottles that I saw, and I searched hi and low

2 15-gallon DJ's
2 8-gallon DJ's
2 6.5-gallon
3 6-gallon
6 5-gallon
2 3-gallon

might be 1 or 2 hiding somewhere aging something that I forgot about.

2 six gallon Better Bottles, 1 five gallon Better Bottle, 1 Ale Pail, 2, 3 gallon water bottles. And I have a few five gallon buckets that I could use. I have had 3 going at one time. I haven't done anything really big yet.

NO GLASS FOR ME! Too heavy and too dangerous!

1 6 gallon BB
1 5 gallon BB
1 3 gallon BB

I'm keeping a close eye on CL for another 6 gallon at least, and considering another 3 gallon also.

:edit: picked up a 3 gallon glass carboy yesterday off CL. It's currently holding my latest 2.5gal BIAB experiment.

I found 6 gal carboys at local save-on for $19.99 so I own 4 of them. I also got 2 - 5 gal and 3 - 3 gal carboys from craiglist for $8-10 each. Also have about 8 - 1 gal for mead, wine and starters.

2 glass carboys, 2 buckets, & 1 BB.

I broke 1 carboy & only cut my pinkie. No stitches. Cleaning was a breeze since it was outside. I've had another carboy slip out of it's handle & land in the grass without breaking.

I've since gone plastic Better Bottle & love it. I've seen too many horror stories. I will never buy another glass carboy.

I have 4 BB - two 6 gallon and two 5 gallon

3 6.5 gal glass carboys
1 5 gal glass (for extended aging, there is an oud bruin in it right now)

2 buckets

2 - 3 gallons
3 - 5 gallons
3 - 6 gallons
2 - 5 gal buckets
3 - 6 gal. buckets

3 - 5 gal.
1 - 6 gal.
2 - 6.5 gal.

Have used them all at one time or another, mead and wine can be time consuming.

All glass. I like glass, I'm adventurous like that.

$50 is high, but shipping is killer on those things from "cheaper" places.

I'd seriously recommend the Brew Hauler for carrying carboys. Glass is slippery when wet.

25- 5 gallon (Mostly for wine)
2- 3 gallon
2- 3 gallon (Plastic)
1 15 gallon Demi-John

And yes, Brew Haulers are great!

i have 10. i bought one from my LHBR with a starter pack. then just cruised craigslist until something came up, found 2 people selling all there equipment 2 blocks away from eachother lol. now i have more equipment then i need.. all in perfect hardly used condition..they were basically free because i got a stand corker and a bottle tree along with them.. i paid about 100 dollars for all!!

also up here in Canada we have SAVE-ON-FOODS.. like a SAFEWAY.. anyway they have a brewing section and often put the stuff on sale. they sell carboys for 15$... same ones we get at the LHBS for 30.. the ones made in Italy.. can also get coopers kits for 11.99!! i find it crazy people actually pay 50$ for a carboy!! usually we pay twice as much as you Americans..

1 bucket
1 carboy

I have quite a few as well...
3 - 6 gallon BB (ported)
1 - 6 gallon BB (non-ported)
2 - 6.5 gallon glass carboys
2 - 5 gallon glass carboys
and I use 3 half BBL kegs to ferment my 10.5 gallon batches in...

4 - 6.5gal
2 - 5gal
1 - 3gal
2 - buckets

I have a 5 gallon carboy, a 3 gallon carboy, a 5 gallon better bottle and 6 one gallon jugs. I will need a couple more better bottles in a few months as I am ready to upgrade my sours operation.

2 - 6.5 gallon buckets (always primary in these)
2 - 5 gallon glass carboys
1 - 6 gallon glass carboy

Seems about right for me, but I could possibly use one more 5 gallon carboy. We mostly brew beer, but do 1-2 batches of wine/yr too.

20 or so.

5 glass carboys between 5-6.5 gallons

Every one of them was given to me by friends and family who tried brewing or winemaking and gave up. Gotta love hand-me-down equipment. Soooo...I guess I wouldn't be the person who could tell you how much to spend on them

4-15 gallon plastic Barrels (For 10 gallon Batches)
1-8 Gallon Bucket
2-6.5 Ale Pales
1-6.5 Glass
5-5 Glass
1-5 Plastic
1-3 Plastc

The Plastics are the newer plastic water jugs, type 2 plastic. They work for secondary on lagers or quick turn around ciders. The Ale Pales are getting old and are going to be replaced with some more of the 8-gallon buckets.

2 6.5 gal
2 6gal
4 5gal
thats 8, both 6gal from amazon (where they were $30 each with free shipping) rest from CL

I've got somewhere between 12-15 carboys, but it's been so long since I've used them that I don't recall.

(5) 6g Better Bottles
(2) 5g glass that will be given away / traded as soon as I bottle my sour brown.

Only two 5 gallon buckets since that's capacity of the little chest freezer.

I only have one carboy BB and feel horribly inadequate compared to those who have more carboys.

MisterTipsy said:

I only have one carboy BB and feel horribly inadequate compared to those who have more carboys.

Click to expand...

It ain't the number that counts, it's how you use 'em. (err...it.)

I still feel like I need more carboys now.

Fermenters:

5 - 30L Kegs, just a hair bigger than a 1/4 BBL keg
2 - 6G Carboy
1 - 5G Carboy

I also have two 15.5G kegs I could use to ferment in. I tried it once, and it was just too much weight to move around. I also have two 10G Corny kegs that I can ferment in, but haven't used yet. I will try to get them to hold pressure, and if I can't then I'll use them as fermenters maybe.

5. All glass.

6.5g, 6g, 5g, 4.75g x2.

I'm wishing i'd held out for a 5.5g instead of the 5, and i haven't even used it yet as a secondary.

The 4.75g (18L) carboys were found at a yard sale for $5/ea. One of them is full of apfelwein. they really, truly, seriously do not hold 5 gallons. Not in any way as you'd be comfortable using anyway. Depending on how accurate my reference jug really is, 5g in those is either half way up the neck or a couple tablespoons spilled on the floor.

8-10 carboys and 10 buckets.

Two 5G Car Boys. I'm probably going to get a 6G here soon.

2-15gal demi John
5-6gal buckets
5-5gal Better Bottle
3-5gal Glass
2-3gal glass