Blow off for Better Bottle

Right now I am using a siphon hose for blow off on my 6 gal BB carboy and I'd like to get something larger. I was told that the diameter of a the BB carboy is different than the glass carboy so just using a large hose as seen in the beginner books will not work. The BB site says they have special stoppers (BetterBottle (Better-Bottle) Fermentation Products – BetterBottle PET Carboys make ideal fermenters for home winemaking and home brewing) which can be used for blow off but the one place I found that sells it wants $22, which seems a bit much for a stopper.

Any ideas on blow off hoses for the BB carboy?

Try water bottle cap, with the rubber hole for the water dispenser.

I forget the actual number size for the BB stopper but I drilled the one I have to fit with the 1.25 inch tube that works my glass carboy. A little later I just made one with PVC tubing that was easier to clean than the tubing.

I use one of the drilled stoppers like this one here:
Small Universal Carboy Bung- Drilled :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies
This link is for a small one, but the medium ones fit a BB perfectly.

I then got a 1/2" ID vinyl tube from the hardware store, and pressed it over the ridge around the hole, and filled the entire stopper up with hot glue. It's cheap and works great.

Vinyl tubing comes in some pretty large sizes, I'm sure you can find some that will fit at HD or Lowe's, if not, Ace usually has what they don't.

+1 on the universal stopper listed above. It will fit.

I jammed a 1/2" vinyl hose onto an orange carboy cap. Works a treat.



-Joe

I have a stopper like the one in the link and that has the small siphon tubing (I forget the diameter) working for blow off. The problem is I can't clean the tubing and it's really not large enough to take all the foam.

I have debated going to Home Depot or Lowe's to get tubing that would fit over the outside mouth of the bottle, but I'm not sure how to spot which is food safe so I scared myself out of it.

I like the idea of going PVC (and BB recommends something like this here BetterBottle (Better-Bottle) Fermentation Products – BetterBottle PET Carboys make ideal fermenters for home winemaking and home brewing) but I again wasn't sure about being food safe (especially if you seal the PVC). I also wasn't sure if it would be any easier to clean if you get elbow joints like in the picture. But I guess if you don't seal the PVC parts it's easy to clean.

The problem is I can't clean the tubing and it's really not large enough to take all the foam.

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I put a 1/2" tube OVER the hole, not into it. That leaves plenty of room for the foam, and is easy to clean by just soaking in some oxiclean overnight.

The problem with the orange carboy caps is that they dont fit a BB very well, and you have to rig some plastic wrap and rubber bands like in the pic above. Not a big deal, but not perfect either.

Has anyone had great experiences using the racking adapter for your BB? Is it really worth getting the ported BB? Also, do you just use your siphon hose attached to racking adapter to rack to secondary?

Im sure the adapter is nice to have, but it looks like a lot of trouble to clean, and for that price i'd rather spend the money on another better bottle.

Ported isn't worth it, IMO.

All I've ever used is the BBs themselves. A #10 stopper fits.

SumnerH said:

Ported isn't worth it, IMO.

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I think they are great but they are pricey.