Big Mouth Bubblers are dangerously thin

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bja said:
So, just because you broke one, that means that everyone else will too?
Click to expand...

I was one of the biggest proponents of these things (see thread pages 1-13) until mine broke and I had to eat crow (see page 14). Unfortunately the glass is just super dang thin (see page 16 for photos).

Because I broke one of course doesn't mean everyone else will - but these aren't exactly isolated incidents; lots of folks in this thread have had these break even while simply moving the carboy while it's in their hands. To each their own - if they want to keep using these things, great for you. But people should be aware that these things are no thicker than the depth of a small quarter.

I bought one, liked it...bought three more.....one broke, I tried to send them all back to NB and they just gave me all my money back without even a return. That should also hint at the quality of these things when the distributor doesn't even want to put them back into inventory.
 
bondra76 said:
I was one of the biggest proponents of these things (see thread pages 1-13) until mine broke and I had to eat crow (see page 14). Unfortunately the glass is just super dang thing (see page 16 for photos).

Because I broke one of course doesn't mean everyone else will - but these aren't exactly isolated incidents; lots of folks in this thread have had these break even while simply moving the carboy while it's in their hands. To each their own - if they want to keep using these things, great for you. But people should be aware that these things are no thicker than the depth of a small quarter.

I bought one, liked it...bought three more.....one broke, I tried to send them all back to NB and they just gave me all my money back without even a return. That should also hint at the quality of these things when the distributor doesn't even want to put them back into inventory.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about Bubblers or carboys? Most carboys don't have the issues that the Bubblers do.
 
Mexican/Chinese carboys are probably fine, if you're careful, but in general the Italian ones are stronger/thicker/sturdier/superior. It seems they're all better/safer than BMB's, however. If ranking by likelihood of injuring you, I think it goes like this:

Least Likely To Injure You
  • Italian carboys
  • Mexican/Chinese carboys
  • Rabid feral dog
  • Big Mouth Bubblers
Most Likely To Injure You
 
bondra76 said:
But people should be aware that these things are no thicker than the depth of a small quarter.
Click to expand...

Not even, the glass was measured to be thinner than the thickness of a dime. Perhaps the new revision is near the thickness of a quarter, but at only 17% thicker it's probably now the same thickness as a dime :D


Rev.
 
Somebody's gotta bite the bullet here and buy one of the new versions and test it out. Who needs another fermentor?
 
I might buy one later and wrap it with clear duck tape to give me some protection in case it does crack.

Or maybe we should just email Northern Brewer and tell them to smash one on video to show us how much thicker the new ones are.
 
LandoLincoln said:
Or maybe we should just email Northern Brewer and tell them to smash one on video to show us how much thicker the new ones are.
Click to expand...

ha I like your thinking there.

I still wouldn't buy one of the new versions though. My other complaint about these things is that the lid is just made out of this crap plastic material with a flimsy paper-like gasket. They really need to re-design the lid as well.

I've just decided to go with my regular good old Italian made carboys instead of the BMB. I was all excited about the product but it's just another case of getting duped by someone making a crappy new homebrew product thats low quality and high margin. There seems to be a lot of those going around lately.
 
Link to Facebook post if you'd like to share to help other homebrewers become aware of the dangers:

https://www.facebook.com/jbpiv/posts/10204136174432245

-------------
*Warning this post contains gory details and pictures*

Please read this, I am hoping my experience can prevent future accidents and injuries. I am writing this in hopes others can see it (since both sites filter and remove stories like mine on this product)

In February 2014, I purchased a Glass Big Mouth Bubbler 6.5 Gallon Carboy from Midwest Supplies Home Beer and Wine Making who is also owned by Northern Brewer. I used it once without issue, great.

On March 7th, I was finishing up a brew day that was in preparation for our wedding in June, so this was a trial run. I grabbed my Big Mouth Bubbler Carboy, and sprayed some Star San sanitizer in it, and filled it up with some water (Roughly a gallon to maybe 1.5, not exact) and as I always have done with other glass carboys (non Big Mouth) I picked it up to move the sanitizer around to get everything covered. As i flipped it over, and went to pour it out, i watched as if it was in slow motion the glass spider and it shatter in my hands. I immediately had a nice chunk taken out of my right wrist and blood was gushing out (i took one look at my wrist and that was all i needed to see inside me and knew it was bad). I yelled and thank god my fiance was home at the time as i did not have my cellphone on me (or i can honestly say i probably would not be here writing this). She rushed me to the ER at Lehigh Valley Hospital which is no more than 5-10 minutes from our home with towels clenched on my open wrist (which judging by her car, did very little). We got in the ER and the staff stabilized me and they prepared me for surgery. That night they tied off my lacerated artery. Then on Sunday I had a second surgery to repair my two severed tendons and three nerves. On Monday I was released from the hospital with pain medicine and a nice splint. All and all I had 19 stitches exterior and roughly 12 on the inside, the doctors at Lehigh Valley were amazing. We are still unsure if I will ever get full feeling back in my hand and movement in my thumb. Perfect timing for a wedding, right?

At first I thought it was clumsiness, but today I was forwarded a link to a thread on HomeBrewTalk.com (a home brewing website that I frequently go on) in which there are countless stories of people who had less severe incidents but also people who had similar experiences to mine). The common theme was both companies who make this particular carboy make an effort to remove reviews and stories such as mine from their site. This morning I wrote a review as warning to other home brewers on their website which was submitted "for moderation." I am sure my review will never make it to their sites (which give "raving" reviews for the product). But I hope enough people in the #homebrew and #craftbeer communities see my story and pass it along as a word of warning. These things are extremely dangerous!

image.jpg
 
Jbpiv said:
Please read this, I am hoping my experience can prevent future accidents and injuries.
Click to expand...

My God, I am still astonished no one has sued yet. The product is supposed to withstand simple homebrewing procedures such as being sanitized, filled, and cleaned and so many people have suffered life lasting injuries.

I hope you regain full use of your hand and feeling though I know the chances are slim.


Rev.
 
Jbpiv - You need to sue. Seriously. Northern Brewer is well aware that this product is dangerous and defective, and still actively filters out negative reviews. You have suffered a serious injury with possible permanent nerve damage. Consult a lawyer to see if they're liable for damages. The only way to get NB to stop knowingly selling dangerous products is for legal action. I'm very sorry for your injury and I wish you the best in your recovery.
 
I escaped unscathed when one of mine broke while scrubbing it with a brush but I was amazed at how thin the glass really was...it's not a matter of if but when these suckers are going to break if you happen to own one imho.
 
WillyTango said:
I escaped unscathed when one of mine broke while scrubbing it with a brush but I was amazed at how thin the glass really was...it's not a matter of if but when these suckers are going to break if you happen to own one imho.
Click to expand...

Was yours version 1.0 or 2.0? We all know that the original version is awful.
 
Jbpiv said:
Link to Facebook post if you'd like to share to help other homebrewers become aware of the dangers:



https://www.facebook.com/jbpiv/posts/10204136174432245



-------------

*Warning this post contains gory details and pictures*



Please read this, I am hoping my experience can prevent future accidents and injuries. I am writing this in hopes others can see it (since both sites filter and remove stories like mine on this product)



In February 2014, I purchased a Glass Big Mouth Bubbler 6.5 Gallon Carboy from Midwest Supplies Home Beer and Wine Making who is also owned by Northern Brewer. I used it once without issue, great.



On March 7th, I was finishing up a brew day that was in preparation for our wedding in June, so this was a trial run. I grabbed my Big Mouth Bubbler Carboy, and sprayed some Star San sanitizer in it, and filled it up with some water (Roughly a gallon to maybe 1.5, not exact) and as I always have done with other glass carboys (non Big Mouth) I picked it up to move the sanitizer around to get everything covered. As i flipped it over, and went to pour it out, i watched as if it was in slow motion the glass spider and it shatter in my hands. I immediately had a nice chunk taken out of my right wrist and blood was gushing out (i took one look at my wrist and that was all i needed to see inside me and knew it was bad). I yelled and thank god my fiance was home at the time as i did not have my cellphone on me (or i can honestly say i probably would not be here writing this). She rushed me to the ER at Lehigh Valley Hospital which is no more than 5-10 minutes from our home with towels clenched on my open wrist (which judging by her car, did very little). We got in the ER and the staff stabilized me and they prepared me for surgery. That night they tied off my lacerated artery. Then on Sunday I had a second surgery to repair my two severed tendons and three nerves. On Monday I was released from the hospital with pain medicine and a nice splint. All and all I had 19 stitches exterior and roughly 12 on the inside, the doctors at Lehigh Valley were amazing. We are still unsure if I will ever get full feeling back in my hand and movement in my thumb. Perfect timing for a wedding, right?



At first I thought it was clumsiness, but today I was forwarded a link to a thread on HomeBrewTalk.com (a home brewing website that I frequently go on) in which there are countless stories of people who had less severe incidents but also people who had similar experiences to mine). The common theme was both companies who make this particular carboy make an effort to remove reviews and stories such as mine from their site. This morning I wrote a review as warning to other home brewers on their website which was submitted "for moderation." I am sure my review will never make it to their sites (which give "raving" reviews for the product). But I hope enough people in the #homebrew and #craftbeer communities see my story and pass it along as a word of warning. These things are extremely dangerous!
Click to expand...


My run-in with the BMB is almost identical with the exception of that I suffered a huge cut to my finger. I also contacted Midwest who do nothing but say "sorry". They have a policy not to post negative product reviews.
 
I think this is a perfect reason to buy Carboy Covers if you don't want to go plastic. I just got mine and they look great.
 
BuffaloJohn said:
I think this is a perfect reason to buy Carboy Covers if you don't want to go plastic. I just got mine and they look great.
Click to expand...

This. Anything to make carrying carboys safer, and those covers have robust handles.

Another option is to use plastic milk crates. Not the flimsy ones you find in the household goods aisles in stores, but the heavy duty crates, just like the ones you used to swipe from behind grocery stores. ;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I don't think there's any point in spending good money on a cover for the V1 glass. From all appearances it's not a matter of if you'll end up with a bag of shards 'n' beer (mmmm! ;)) it's a matter of whether it happens on the next batch.

Seriously, you know some buyer over in China spotted these in a store and without even thinking about holding 40+ pounds of beer had a couple of container-loads shipped to the midwest. And the rest is a gruesome history.

What were they used for originally? I'm guessing grain...

or potato chips...

Cheers!
 
penguinwing13 said:
My run-in with the BMB is almost identical with the exception of that I suffered a huge cut to my finger. I also contacted Midwest who do nothing but say "sorry". They have a policy not to post negative product reviews.
Click to expand...

And with that I'll never buy anything from them again. What's the point of product reviews if one culls the negatives?
 
watermelon83 said:
And with that I'll never buy anything from them again. What's the point of product reviews if one culls the negatives?
Click to expand...

I'm baffled why anyone still buys anything from this company.


  • Their poor security practices compromised customers' credit card numbers, exposing them to hackers
  • They vehemently denied that such a data breach occurred, despite vast numbers of Midwest customers alerting them to fraudulent activity on their credit cards
  • Months later, they finally admitted they had indeed suffered a breach, and that everyone should get new credit cards
  • They sell an extremely dangerous product like the glass Big Mouth Bubbler, which has been documented to have caused severe injuries in multiple users, and refused to apologize or stop selling the product. How have they not been sued???
  • They censor any negative reviews on their website, creating the illusion that every product they sell is universally positively reviewed

Any one of those reasons should be enough to choose a better, more ethical shop to patronize, and yet people keep buying from them. Why? Is it that this information has not been adequately publicized? Do people simply not care? Do their prices undercut the competition appreciably?

For the love of God, people, STOP SHOPPING FROM THESE GUYS.
 
day_trippr said:
I don't think there's any point in spending good money on a cover for the V1 glass. From all appearances it's not a matter of if you'll end up with a bag of shards 'n' beer (mmmm! ;)) it's a matter of whether it happens on the next batch.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Point taken, but from a safety standpoint, I have already made the mistake of investing in the BMB. To keep using it, the added $20 seems like the smart thing to do. Perhaps I should scrap it.

kombat said:
I'm baffled why anyone still buys anything from this company.


Any one of those reasons should be enough to choose a better, more ethical shop to patronize, and yet people keep buying from them. Why? Is it that this information has not been adequately publicized? Do people simply not care? Do their prices undercut the competition appreciably?

For the love of God, people, STOP SHOPPING FROM THESE GUYS.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I will no longer purchase from them!
 
Wow, this is absolutely ridiculous. Truly despicable that they've continued to sell a product that has clearly been proven to be unsafe (and now, unfortunately, has cause severe injury to one or more of their customers). The very definition of unethical business practices. I certainly won't be purchasing anything from Northern Brewer from here on out.
 
Darwin18 said:
Jbpiv - You need to sue. Seriously. Northern Brewer is well aware that this product is dangerous and defective, and still actively filters out negative reviews.
Click to expand...

I just went and looked and sure enough on the V1 they still have up on the site as Out of Stock there's not one single review with a mention of injury, *not one*!! As a matter of fact, the reviews for Evo2 also make not one mention about injury with use of the V1 in referencing the now thicker glass. This can prove in a court they actively hid knowledge of the danger of the product!

I put up a 3 star review of my Barley Crusher months ago and they never posted it up - I'm assuming because I warned the roller knurls wear out quickly (under ~700lbs of grain through it for me). When I emailed they said literally to the affect, "Oh gee, not sure why that didn't go up. Maybe because it was too long and wordy, I'll see if I can get it posted" and it never did post yet other reviews of mine are far longer. However, a 5 star review of their aeration wand I posted months later went live and I even reviewed an email from someone at Northern's review team thanking me for my "helpful" review and saying reviews like mine are especially helpful (I mentioned tightening the inner pin).

I'm really not liking their shady practice of only posting glowing reviews and not posting any review which points out a real product flaw. I guess that's why we occasionally see the one-off 3 star review, when someone still compliments the item. Lameness, pure lameness.


Rev.
 
I just did a search on Amazon and noticed Midwest sells the plastic BMB there, but not the glass one. Since Amazon generally doesn't filter reviews, I find that interesting. Note that there are over 700 Midwest items sold through Amazon. But the glass BMB? Nope. Perhaps Midwest doesn't want to subject itself to bad reviews for this dubious item via Amazon?
 
kombat said:
I'm baffled why anyone still buys anything from this company.


  • Their poor security practices compromised customers' credit card numbers, exposing them to hackers
  • They vehemently denied that such a data breach occurred, despite vast numbers of Midwest customers alerting them to fraudulent activity on their credit cards
  • Months later, they finally admitted they had indeed suffered a breach, and that everyone should get new credit cards
  • They sell an extremely dangerous product like the glass Big Mouth Bubbler, which has been documented to have caused severe injuries in multiple users, and refused to apologize or stop selling the product. How have they not been sued???
  • They censor any negative reviews on their website, creating the illusion that every product they sell is universally positively reviewed

Any one of those reasons should be enough to choose a better, more ethical shop to patronize, and yet people keep buying from them. Why? Is it that this information has not been adequately publicized? Do people simply not care? Do their prices undercut the competition appreciably?

For the love of God, people, STOP SHOPPING FROM THESE GUYS.
Click to expand...

What Kombat said.........That dude with the HUGE chunck taken out of his wrist literally almost died over normal use of that product..........
Think about that a minute or two, let it sink in.
HE

ALMOST
DIED...........
THE
COMPANY
THAT
SOLD
HIM
A
DEFECTIVE
PRODUCT
KNOWINGLY
ALMOST
KILLED
HIM

Think about that a minute or two, let it sink in.
Dude needs to sue and apply for disability.
Let uncle Sam sue his ass for making him disabled as well.
 
To play Devil's Advocate for a second...

How many homebrew retail websites have you seen negative reviews on?

I've looked around Rebel Brewer but I can't seem to find anything under four stars. They might be there, but I couldn't find any.
Midwest Brewing? I don't think so.
Austin Homebrew?
Adventures in Homebrewing?
Brewhardware has a 2-star review for their Locline tool, so Bobby's probably playing it straight.

I'm just saying let's not jump down Northern Brewer's throat because they're not posting negative reviews.

Selling a really thin wall glass fermentor is a different story.
 
LandoLincoln said:
I'm just saying let's not jump down Northern Brewer's throat because they're not posting negative reviews.
Click to expand...

That alone would make ME not want to do business with them.
HOWEVER, they have given reason enough to do just that AND encourage others to do the same.
1-hiding bad reviews
2-security breach of their customers credit cards/personal info
3-denying # 2 for months
4-continuing to sell glass BMB AFTER knowing that they were hospitalising comsumers
5-allmost killing above poster with his wrist ripped off.

IMHO while they do `without hesitation` offer to replace a beer kit you may have lost due to a BMB malfunction (props to them for that) but they cannot replace the time spent making it, nor can they give `feeling back` to damaged fingers, or in the case above if said SWMBO wasn't around to take dude to the ER, bring somebody back to life.
They CONTINUE to sell this product in FULL KNOWING that it is defective AND is sending paying customers to the hospital with PERMANENT injuries.

IMHO this is deplorable business practice and NOBODY should be `rewarding` their ill behavior by giving them your business dollars.
We the consumer can correct this flaw by boycotting them and driving them out of business.Buy your gear/grain/products elsewhere where they don't intentionally pawn a known defective product to you.
 
LandoLincoln said:
I'm just saying let's not jump down Northern Brewer's throat because they're not posting negative reviews.
Click to expand...

I disagree. When I spend my personal time writing up a review to help my fellow home brewers shopping for a particular item and see it never posted because it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns it really annoys me. NB sells the Monster Mill as well, so why give such a crap that I gave the barley crusher 3 stars?? I want my personal time back if they're not going to use my review and that is something they can't give me back. I can completely understand inappropriate reviews but none of mine are inappropriate. To add to this, it makes my own personal shopping experience more involved since I can't trust their reviews and have to spend more time Googling for the whole truth.


Rev.
 

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