Buying new widgets - any reviews?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

NOVA Brewer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2006
Messages
87
Reaction score
0
Location
Skippack, PA
Well, with my second brew almost completely done, I've got a desire to buy a few little odds'n'ends to make my brewing life easier. Could y'all answer some questions I have about this equipment?

orangecarboycap.jpg

Are these really as cool as they sound? Throw one on top of your carboy, plug one hole with your airlock, and you're good to go. When ready to rack, thread your racking cane into one hole, and blow(?) in the other to start a siphon. Does it work that easily?

carboyhandleR.jpg

I have glass carboys for my primary and secondary, brew in my kitchen and ferment in an upstairs closet. I would really like an easy way to carry them around, empty and full. Will these handles help?

brewhaulerthumb.jpg

Or should I go for one of these nylon carrying harnesses?

bottletree.jpg

Bottle dryer. I'm thinking I won't ever get my money's worth out of this, but I'd love to hear from anyone who swears by it.

That's about it for now. I'm pleased with all of my other basic equipment. I'm particularly fond of my beer thief, which is a convenience and not a neccessity, but I like it so much I'm considering these other little gadgets to make life easier.
 
I can give you my opinion on two things...

As far as I know a carboy cap really does work (for siphoning)... but I have never used one, instead I bought an auto-siphon. Best $9 I ever spent. I figured it will work better for when I use buckets insted of carboys.

The carboy handle. I have one on my glass 6.5 gal carboy. It's great for when it is empty, but full I dont trust it so what I do when it is full is I use the handle to tip the carboy so I can lift from the bottom, then "bear hug" the carboy.

Hope this helps!
 
The carboy cap works great for siphoning. I leave it on one of my racking canes all the time.

Like Timekiller, I have one carboy handle out of my 4 carboys because I don't trust it full and they're too expensive for all they do, IMO.

I love the bottle tree. I spray some starsan in a bottle through the spray nozzle you put on top of the tree, hang it upside down on the tree to dry for a 1/2 hour or so, then bottle. So easy!
 
One other gadget I don't know if you have or not is a bottling wand. Makes bottling much more enjoyable.
 
brewhead said:
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
3010.jpg

Agree. I have an auto siphon and I use it alot. But the thing I like about the carboy cap method is that you can leave it unattended while doing other tasks without worried about the racking cane slipping and picking up a bunch of unwanted trub.
 
sullifan said:
Brewhead-

Why not the carboy carrier?

Sully

Yes, that's my question. You guys have sold me on the caps, so they're going in my shopping cart. But like I said, I lug my full carboy downstairs when I need to rack to secondary, or bottle, etc. The carboy hauler looked like a good way to hold the thing steady and not kick up the trub into suspension again.

By the way brewhead, it's good to see someone from the Upstate. I went to school in Greenville. :)
 
I disagree with Brewhead- get the carboy carriers. Twelve bucks apiece at Northern Brewer and well worth it. The carboy handles are fine with an empty carboy, but not trustworthy with a full one.

And yes, the carboy caps are that easy.

If you have a dishwasher, use that for a drying rack instead of buying a bottle treee. If you don't then the tree might not be a bad purchase. Cheers
 
I swear to god, I never thought of using the carboy cap to siphon. I have an auto syphon, but I only use these bad boys because I use blow offs and got extremely tired of pushing stoppers through the carboys.

These things are great!

As for the other items, never used any of them. My carboy carrying device also serves as my homebrew drinking enablers.
 
the carriers are flawed imo because when you have a hold of one of the handles at the sink getting ready to dump out the unneeded trub - they will allow the carboy to slide out of control - vs - a handle that you have you grip on.

that's just my opinion peeps. ymmv
 
orangecarboycap.jpg

I don't have any of these but I'm thinking about getting some strictly to replace rubber bungs. They seem like they would be far superior for attaching air locks.
carboyhandleR.jpg

I've heard plenty of warnings about carring full carboys with this handle. The glass in the neck of the carboy has to support the total weight and it will stress it and possibly break.
brewhaulerthumb.jpg

This looks like a better idea to me.
 
brewhead said:
the carriers are flawed imo because when you have a hold of one of the handles at the sink getting ready to dump out the unneeded trub - they will allow the carboy to slide out of control - vs - a handle that you have you grip on.

that's just my opinion peeps. ymmv

But surely you can remove the straps before you empty/clean the carboy? I figured they were easy on/easy off. If not, then I totally see your point.
 
NOVA Brewer said:
But surely you can remove the straps before you empty/clean the carboy? I figured they were easy on/easy off. If not, then I totally see your point.

NOVA,

I'm going to get one of those carboy carriers. I'm not worried about what Brewhead said, as I don't plan on using it for anything other than lugging around full carboys to put them in their fermentation spots. Too many times I've almost dropped a full carboy on my way down the stairs.

As was said, those carboy neck handles are great, for handling EMPTY carboys, but the neck of the carboy and those neck handles are not supposed to be used for full carboys.:mug:
 
brewhead said:
the carriers are flawed imo because when you have a hold of one of the handles at the sink getting ready to dump out the unneeded trub - they will allow the carboy to slide out of control - vs - a handle that you have you grip on.

that's just my opinion peeps. ymmv

So get both. They're cheap enough. Then both scenarios are covered.:)
 
I use the orange carboy handle for my Better Bottle, but not use it for the glass carboy due to the neck stress issue. I'd get the carrier AND the handle if you use glass.

I have used C02 and the orange cap here:
orangecarboycap.jpg

to start a siphon. Very effective IMHO.

FYI:
ANYTIME you lift a Better Bottle with airlock attached, keep in mind it will create a vacuum and suck in your airlock liquid unless you pop off the other white plug prior to lifting.
 
I use the carboy caps and I like them alot. The orange ones fit the 3 and 5 gallon carboys but you have to use the brown ones on the 6.5g. I also use the brew haulers for moving full carboys. I don't use handles.
 
Spring clamp to hold the cane
light carboys, Better Bottle ( graduate as you break the carboys)
Two five gallon buckets, clean, hold enough bottles upsidedown to bottle a batch
 
Back
Top