Smashed the carboy

I was lucky my wife and I didn't get hurt. Took an hour to get all the glass up.

What does a guy who knows nothing at all need to know about ordering a 5 gal better bottle?

I know nothing other than it has to be safer.

For primary, if you are doing 5 gallon batches, get the 6 or 6.5 gallon ( I don't remember which size it comes in) better bottle. I got mine at the lhbs.

Glad no one was hurt!

Thanks. What else do I need to know?

The ported bottle can be handy, but many folks I've talked to who have them don't think they're worth how much they cost.

Make sure you have the right carboy cap or stopper to fit in it.

Get some oxyclean to wash it out with. Much easier and you don't have to worry about scratching. Just add a scoop of oxyclean, fill with hot water and rinse a few hours later. You don't want to use a brush in a better bottle.

What size port? What side stopper and airlock should I order?

Can I use bleach?

Special brand of port since I cant get a hand in there?

What happened?

Some of my carboys are 15 years old. I've NEVER broken one.

I only ever carry empty ones. Once I go to fill it it goes into a milk crate. I never transport one without it.

Yeah, how'd you manage to break it? I hear people complaining about how unsafe glass is all the time, but I have never had an issue.

I got done washing it and rinsing it, and I picked it up and it squirted out of my hands.

It bounced once and exploded, glass went everywhere including on us. I don't wear glasses but I didn't get any in my eye, some hit my cheek.

What kind of stopper do I need? Can I use a bubbler airlock? Can I clean with bleach water?

Wow, I'm glad no one was seriously hurt.

one of a friend of mine's got its bottom peeled off. filled with ~1 gal boiling water to sanitize. set on concrete. cracked about the circumference.

get the bigger one as Pappers suggested above. If you get real tough crap caked on you can put a wash cloth in it and a lot of water and swish it around.

I did a bounce test with one while cleaning it for a new batch today and it came out ok. Damn thing got pretty slippery.

I can't remember what size stopper this one is but the LHBS where I bought the BB knew exactly which one to use. Works perfectly with a 3 piece airlock.



The washcloth trick works really well for getting that last bit of stuck-on krausen film off. I usually soak with an occasional shake for about an hour, stuff in a clean gym sock, drain it most of the way and then rock the BB on its side so that the rag will wipe the stubborn areas.

Glad no one was hurt. I've just started using Better Bottles and really like them so far. Here's the stopper you'll want:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/universal-bung-medium-fits-better-bottles.html

Or, you can use a carboy cap

http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/3-5-6-gall-carboy-cap-orange.html

Thanks guys

Glad your safe.. You can get 2 buckets for the price of one BB. Add a bottle spigot.

When your ready to transfer to keg a 3/8 ID hose over spigot to a 3/8 Barb-1/4 MFL and into the keg via the liquid out connection. :rockin:

For cleaning I'd definitely go with the oxyclean or a generic knockoff instead of bleach. For sanitizing you can use bleach but I think star-san is better.

I use the 6 gal unported as my primaries.

I use fermcap s, and I ferment just under 5.5 gal in the 6 gal better bottle with NO BLOW OFF!!

i like the orange carboy caps for my better bottles, the browns will work if you soak them in hot water before fitting on. airlocks are the same as for normal. again no brushes on the inside since it will scratch, i use the warm oxyclean soak and a loose washrag swirled around inside.



the reason the carboy cracked around the base was a thermal shock combined with just enough of a jarring when set on the concrete to crack along the thermal break. my mom used to make glasses from wine bottles using a similar process.

I use the plastic buckets for fermenting, BBs for secondary. The BBs are great. Rinse immediately after use, maybe a little detergent and a thorough rinse, and they come clean. If not, some PBW is the cure. The two glass 5 gal. carboys that came with my original kit are now only used for long-term secondaries...and will probably go eventually.

You should never pour boiling water into an empty glass vessel, unless it is borosilicate (pyrex, etc).

Empty glass carboy breaking = dangerous.
Filled glass carboy breaking = even more dangerous. Lots of mass behind that broken glass adds more force, which can push the broken glass even harder... Glad nobody was hurt. If the beer gods "will" that a carboy be broken in transit, be glad they called upon an empty one, not a full one...

I was always happy with my non-ported better bottles until last week, when I found myself wishing I had put one of my sour beers into a ported one so I could take a small sample without busting the pellicle. Not sure what you typically brew, just food for thought.

I broke a carboy this summer, but I wasn't as lucky as you.

If you still have a glass carboy, you may want to try what I found. Plasti Dip won't prevent it from breaking, but it should help minimize injuries and clean up time. See my link above to learn more.

I always use a 1 piece airlock on my better bottle.
The three piece will suck back into the bottle when you move it.
As homebrewer 99 said, the milkcrate is your friend

I've have both, the 5 and 6.5 gallon BB carboys and LOVE them. I get mine through Austin Home Brew because of their flat rate shipping. I've been slowly trying to replace my fermenting buckets (had a lid leak and don't want to deal with buckets anymore), so every time I place a grain order I purchase a new BB.

They have a drop-down menu for the right stopper and airlock.

Wow, some Chinese dude digs up an old thread to post spam, and people start replying again...

homebeerbrewer said:

Wow, some Chinese dude digs up an old thread to post spam, and people start replying again...

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Which was the spam? I don't see it.

I guess it was deleted...

I'm glad you're ok. I broke a 5 gallon (thankfully empty) this summer and ended up with 19 stitches. 8 in my flayed ass finger and another 11 across two of my toes. I walked into my LHBS about 5 days later ready to brew again and ended up buying another 5 gallon to replace it and a 6.5 for my new primary. I told my story to my guy there and he looked me dead in the eye and asked "Were you drinking and brewing?" My reply was obviously yes and he continued his stare and said "Believe me you'll never break another one, nor will you brew with anything more than about 1-2 beers in you, now will you?"









I haven't even had a close call since and the carboy in a milk crate thing does a good job of protecting them. I'm just extremely glad I didn't cut any tendons like in some horror stories. And oddly enough, mine swung like a pendulum on my carboy handle and smashed into the side of the tub when I was emptying it. It slipped from my other hand holding the bottom as I was tilting it. I didn't full on drop it.

WTF did you do? Did you clean it up with just your hands?

fc36 said:

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Did the Dr. ask about you purse?

PartyBible said:

Did the Dr. ask about you purse?

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That's my girlfriend's purse, who was nice enough to come pick me up at the ER after my brewing buddy bailed on me after dropping me off there. No, I didn't pick any of the glass up until I got back home and I used gloves to do all of that. Like I said, I had the carboy tipped with my left hand holding the bottom and what with all the water and PBW on the glass, it slipped from my left hand and swung like a pendulum on the handle and hit the side of the tub. I tried to save it and ended up cutting up my left ring finger and then the glass fell on my toes and cut them up. It was summertime, so I just happened to be wearing sandals and it only cut up my skin on the first two toes of my left foot. Anyways, it was not fun and I'm just lucky it didn't cut too deep.

For a second there I thought they sewed your toes together.

Cheezy, you are one tactful dude. I'd never use a bucket, but that's me. Better bottles FTW.

cheezydemon3 said:

Buckets **** heads!!

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I have used glass for many years and have never broken or came close to breaking one. It's all about respect for what product you are using and on this forum. Buckets and Better Bottles are not the solution to everything. Just because my car has airbags I don't drive around recklessly running into things.

Since my little carboy incident, I've gone to Sanke kegs. Virtually indestructible, no light gets in, I can use CO2 pressure to transfer, and the best part, steam sanitization.

Nuff said...

Glass aside, BB's and carboys are a PITA to clean.

Rip open a bucket, hose it out, sanitize, nuff said.

If you are still needing to "see" fermentation, knock yourself out.

mariojr said:

I have used glass for many years and have never broken or came close to breaking one. It's all about respect for what product you are using and on this forum. Buckets and Better Bottles are not the solution to everything. Just because my car has airbags I don't drive around recklessly running into things.

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+1

Glass Carboy + Handle + Care

Sizz said:

+1

Glass Carboy + Handle + Care+ Still PITA to dry hop in or clean

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fixed

cheezydemon3 said:

Glass aside, BB's and carboys are a PITA to clean.

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No matter how many times you say this it won't make it true.

Soak in oxyclean for a few days in the sun and everything melts away. I like how glass smells new after every clean, unlike plastic.

passedpawn said:

No matter how many times you say this it won't make it true.

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............OK Harry Potter.

Since my wand is in the shop and I must wash with water and stuff, you are funny.

Bucket = BIG OPENING

Carboy/bb = tiny opening.

Also my little cleaning fairies are in the shop.

I will agree that glas cleans up better and prettier.

I hate to drink out of plastic, so I agree, but the breakable (especially sh!tty if filled with beer) and the PITA (unless your hands are MUCH smaller than mine) to clean make it a no brainer.