Careful with Glass Carboys

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.
Why do these posts seem to come up every couple of days now? Is someone trying to sell better bottles or something?

I've used both carboys and buckets effectively. I've always been extremely careful when handling carboys, though accidents can happen no matter how careful you are. I like glass, and have never had an issue. It's the reason we drink nice beer and wine out of glass instead of plastic. Even without getting into anything scientific, it does just -seem- cleaner and more pure. Sometimes I feel like people are being disparaged for using glass carboys, which isn't cool in my opinion. The OP does seem to just be a reminder though, nothing wrong with that,
 
Why do these posts seem to come up every couple of days now? Is someone trying to sell better bottles or something?

I've used both carboys and buckets effectively. I've always been extremely careful when handling carboys, though accidents can happen no matter how careful you are. I like glass, and have never had an issue. It's the reason we drink nice beer and wine out of glass instead of plastic. Even without getting into anything scientific, it does just -seem- cleaner and more pure. Sometimes I feel like people are being disparaged for using glass carboys, which isn't cool in my opinion. The OP does seem to just be a reminder though, nothing wrong with that,

sooooo, what are you saying?
 
I think he trying to say someone here associated with brewing materials and trying to push products. Be honest i dont care if that is happening i need all kinds of stuff! I love new toys :) Just found out about bottle rinser things I NEED ONE! Hell i buy everything if i had enough money. I want to have 20 fermenters going by summer time! :) I just need bottles where i dont have to pay shipping WHOOO got way offtopic there huh?
 
Ok. Been brewing a couple of weeks. Wife bought me 4 glass carboys. I added another bucket this weekend. Was the wife secretly trying to kill me?

Seen the better bottles at the LHBS. I hate plastic. Hate it.

My other hobby is wood working. I have tools in my basement that can take your arm off or your head, if you're not careful.

A reminder to always take your time, be careful and know what you're doing is always appreciated.

I will stick with glass.
 
I never move my glass carboys without carrying them in a sturdy milkcrate.

Heavy
Slippery
Bulky
Fragile
Razor sharp when broken

^ These are a recipe for disaster if you are not careful.
 
Im a fan of glass...but being that I have had to replace everything thats glass in my brewing equipment (bull in the china closet)...I went and traded my 5 gal glass carboy for a 6 gal better bottle at my LHBS ..I'd rather brew in plastic than take the chance.
 
I cracked a glass carboy a month ago. I literally bumped on the counter as I was cleaning the carboy. I was being careful but s#!t happens. I bought another glass carboy. The reason for buying another glass carboy is because I read where PBW reacts with better bottles and creates pits in the plastic. Does anyone use better bottles and PBW? If so, any reactions between the two? Im still not sold on better bottles because I really don't understand how to clean them without scratching them. Anyone want to chime in on this?
 
I cracked a glass carboy a month ago. I literally bumped on the counter as I was cleaning the carboy. I was being careful but s#!t happens. I bought another glass carboy. The reason for buying another glass carboy is because I read where PBW reacts with better bottles and creates pits in the plastic. Does anyone use better bottles and PBW? If so, any reactions between the two? Im still not sold on better bottles because I really don't understand how to clean them without scratching them. Anyone want to chime in on this?


i think the whole scratch in the plastic thing is way overblown. there are people on these boards who are using 5-10 yr old buckets with no problems and others who will throw out a new bucket because of a scratch. what you won't find is anyone who has gotten an infection that could be traced to a scratch! PBW did not pit my better bottles after a 24hr soak.
 
eastoak said:
i think the whole scratch in the plastic thing is way overblown. there are people on these boards who are using 5-10 yr old buckets with no problems and others who will throw out a new bucket because of a scratch. what you won't find is anyone who has gotten an infection that could be traced to a scratch! PBW did not pit my better bottles after a 24hr soak.

Nice to know there isn't a reaction. Do you use a carboy brush on the better bottles or do you just do a 24 hour soak in PBW?
 
I never did understand the whole "plastic scratches" thing either. A scratch is still penetrated by a good sanitizer soak like Star San....it will be just as sanitary as a non-scratched vessel. If bacteria can find its way into a scratch so will sanitizer.
 
Up until a few months ago I was still using my original plastic bucket from my starter kit 7 years ago. I was never hard on it nor was I gentle, I just would wash it with a scrub brush after. It did smell like beer but I never had any flavor transferred to the next batch. I also never had a single infection in 7 years. Recently I got a glass carboy and a better bottle. I honestly hate the carboy and am only going to use it for long secondaries. It is heavy and very slippery. As for the better bottle, I love it. PBW in it for 30-60 minutes gets everything loose, no scrubbing needed and after 5 batches I don't notice any pitting. Plus that is how the company recommends cleaning them so I would have to believe it is fine.

My point is, use what you are comfortable but don't buy into the hype either way. Glass can be very safe if you are very careful and use a carboy hauler or milk crate. But there is also nothing wrong with plastic and the whole scratch thing is way overplayed too often.
 
Seems like one of the main reasons for carboys breaking, aside from obvious things like dropping them or bumping them is "spontaneously" breaking during cleaning. I think think this may be a combination of hot cleaning solution or rinse water in a cool carboy combined with people holding a full or half full carboy while emptying it or swirling the liquid to rinse it. The weight of the liquid in the horizontal or upended carboy, possibly combined with thermal stress from hot cleaning solution or rinse water causes it to break with no warning.

The way I handle my glass carboy is to always support it in a milk crate or BrewHauler when it has any appreciable amount of liquid in it. I always empty the liquid by siphoning it out (except for the very last quart or two). I soak the carboy in an OxiClean solution to clean it, then siphon that out, spray the inside with a hose with the carboy lying on its side, never putting in more than a couple of quarts, roll the carboy back and forth to rinse, then upend it to drain, being very careful not to bump it. Repeat as many times as needed. I think that only putting in a small amount of water and rolling the carboy back and forth reduces thermal stress and the small weight of the liquid inside certainly reduces mechanical stress when I upend the carboy to drain it. And of course I make sure that neither the carboy nor my hands are slippery when I grab hold of it.
 
The way I handle my glass carboy is to always support it in a milk crate or BrewHauler when it has any appreciable amount of liquid in it. I always empty the liquid by siphoning it out (except for the very last quart or two). I soak the carboy in an OxiClean solution to clean it, then siphon that out, spray the inside with a hose with the carboy lying on its side, never putting in more than a couple of quarts, roll the carboy back and forth to rinse, then upend it to drain, being very careful not to bump it.

I think this is a good system. If followed perfectly and never disrupted by random and unforeseen events, and provided you don't get a defective carboy, a handling regimen like this will probably reduce the chances of being maimed by giant glass shards.

However, I have a better system: use buckets and wash/store/handle them however the %*#^ you want, and have zero risk of being maimed by giant glass shards or losing beer due to breakage. ADDED BONUS: the opening is 120 times larger in area (yes I did calculate it)
 
I'd prefer to use glass across the board, however, I know myself. I'm NOT careful, I have a few beers when I brew, and I'm a small enough guy that handling full glass carboys is a sketchy proposition. So for me personally, I skip glass except in the case of secondaries. Best way to prevent disaster.

But glass has plenty of advantages. It's easy to see why for some people it's the way to go.

As other have said, use what works for you. There is no "right" way to do it.
 
I normally ferment in Better Bottles, but I do occasionally use my one glass carboy for longer term aging. Oh, one other safety precaution I forgot to mention above, I never drink while brewing (until the yeast is pitched) or while doing anything with my glass carboy.
 
Nice to know there isn't a reaction. Do you use a carboy brush on the better bottles or do you just do a 24 hour soak in PBW?

i use a brush to get the krausen ring off even though a soak would do it just as well because i don't want to waste water if i don't have to.
 
I had infections that were traced back to my bucket. I'll never use a plastic bucket after 30 batches after that experience. Micro scratches do occurs. Wasted 5 batches replacing everything. Finally I dumped the bucket and I ran clean for the first time in 5 batches.
 
My take on this whole thread is that everyone has great ideas. Me, I have 2 glass carboys that are a pain to clean. I dropped one into the sink when cleaning it once. It only fell about 3 inches & has no visible damage. It's been through a bunch of batches since then. Im much more careful now, though.

Of course, I'm also much more careful when I drive ever since I crashed into a tree. I double check all of my floppy disks before I format them. I wash my glass after it comes out of the dishwasher just to be sure its clean. I carry lysol wipes & wash all public door knobs before I touch them. The list could go forever. I think its silly to argue over which *should* be used, but its not silly to explain why you as an individual chose one over the other.

I see pros and cons with each item. What I haven't found yet is a clear bucket.

Who is going to film a "dangerous jobs" now? Glass carboys, boiling wort, explosive fermentations...... ;)
 
Grinder12000 said:
I had infections that were traced back to my bucket. I'll never use a plastic bucket after 30 batches after that experience. Micro scratches do occurs. Wasted 5 batches replacing everything. Finally I dumped the bucket and I ran clean for the first time in 5 batches.

Are you saying you switched to glass?

Anyone have scratched glass? Carboy cleaner related damage?
 
I gotta say, if you didn't know a huge 6.5 gal GLASS bottle could cause damage when it broke, and to be EXTREMELY careful with it, then you should stay locked in a padded room. And I don't buy the 'spontaneous breaking' scare tactic either. Maybe 1 in a 1000 break for no reason, but I'm pretty sure the 'victim' of such an occurrence did something really stupid to cause that to happen. IMO.
 
I had a plastic fermenter come with my original equipment kit from MoreBeer, but I had trouble transferring to secondary, and it warped the crap out of it, to the point of there being white creases all over it, so I am scared to use it again. That leaves me 3 6.5 glass carboys (bought used at a going out business sale at a winemaking shop for $10/ea). I was kind of scared to use glass for a primary for my second beer (brewed Sunday), but so far, so good. I will obtain some milk crates ASAP,though.
 
It's not only the clumsy that can be hurt by glass carboys. I've used glass carboys exclusively for over 15 years, for both primary and secondary fermentation. I brew about 20 batches per year. That's 300 batches X 2 = 600 times I've handled, sanitized, and rinsed a carboy. I have always been careful and never had an issue until last weekend. While lifting the carboy to pour a small amount of rinse water into the sink (one hand on the neck and one hand under the bottom, just like always), the bottom fell out of the carboy without warning. There was nothing I could do to prevent the broken glass from doing significant damage to my hand. I have 2 other carboys which I'll continue to use, but I'll be switching to plastic for primary. Now I just need to decide between plastic bucket and plastic carboy.
 
Do you guys use the carboy straps? The handles make it a lot easier
 
Back
Top