Perfect reason to use a carboy over plastic bucket

I went to push the freakin air lock into the plastic lid/gasket. The gasket pushed through the lid, fell into the wort, and sank to the bottom!!!!

I made like the blackest freakin chocolate stout evar, so there was no way I would find it. I had to put like 10 layers of tape over the hole, then poked the airlock through. Next time i'll use a 6.5gallon carboy with a rubber stopper.

Careful what you wish for. Each piece of equipment has its advantages and problems...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10897

Simple solution: Put the airlock on BEFORE you put the lid on the bucket. Problem solved.

im trying to justify getting a carboy over here.... stick with me!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

sirsloop said:

im trying to justify getting a carboy over here.... stick with me!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

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By all means then.
Yes, by purchasing a carboy you will drastically reduce the liklihood of a plastic lid/gasket ending up in your wort.

Carboy purchases stimulate the economy and are a key componant of our comprehensive war on terror.

olllllo said:

Carboy purchases stimulate the economy and are a key componant of our comprehensive war on terror.

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Yes, since oil products are needed to produce plastic, you're reducing our dependence on foreign oil, too.

LOL... thats what im talkin about...

But since carboys are always breaking, don't they aggravate the landfill problem?

david_42 said:

But since carboys are always breaking, don't they aggravate the landfill problem?

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Nope. They're glass. What is glass made from?

Most glass is a mixture of silica obtained from beds of fine sand or from pulverized sandstone; an alkali to lower the melting point, usually a form of soda or, for finer glass, potash; lime as a stabilizer; and cullet (waste glass) to assist in melting the mixture. The properties of glass are varied by adding other substances, commonly in the form of oxides, e.g., lead, for brilliance and weight; boron, for thermal and electrical resistance; barium, to increase the refractive index, as in optical glass; cerium, to absorb infrared rays; metallic oxides, to impart color; and manganese, for decolorizing.

Everything is found naturally in the earth. So...in a way, glass is ashes to ashes. Or sand, to chunky sand.

My terror assessment is not too far from reality or Homeland Security's version of it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13822662/

[Homeland Security]...the department’s database of vulnerable critical infrastructure and key resources included the Old MacDonald's Petting Zoo in Huntsville, Ala., a bourbon festival, a bean festival and the Kangaroo Conservation Center in Dawsonville, Ga.

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david_42 said:

But since carboys are always breaking, don't they aggravate the landfill problem?

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The glass will eventually degrade back into the sand from whence it was made.. The plastic bucket will still be a plastic bucket 50,000 years from now, so carboys are not only better for the economy, reducing dependance on foriegn oil but they are more ecologically friendly than plastic.

Do double the good works- you need two carboys: one 6 1/2 gallon for primary and one 5 gallon for secondary.

(Or break down and buy another grommet for the bucket at 30 cents each. That's what I did. When one falls in, put the other one in the airlock first and then put the grommet and airlock on the bucket. I speak from experience).

sirsloop said:

I went to push the freakin air lock into the plastic lid/gasket. The gasket pushed through the lid, fell into the wort, and sank to the bottom!!!!

I made like the blackest freakin chocolate stout evar, so there was no way I would find it. I had to put like 10 layers of tape over the hole, then poked the airlock through. Next time i'll use a 6.5gallon carboy with a rubber stopper.

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I've pushed the stopper into a carboy as well. Talk about a pain to get out!

budbo said:

The glass will eventually degrade back into the sand from whence it was made.. The plastic bucket will still be a plastic bucket 50,000 years from now, so carboys are not only better for the economy, reducing dependance on foriegn oil but they are more ecologically friendly than plastic.

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Doesn't this mean that plastic buckets are the ONLY option for some serious long term batch aging of beer?

Fatabbot said:

Yes, since oil products are needed to produce plastic, you're reducing our dependence on foreign oil, too.

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What do you think is likely being burned to cause the heat to make the glass?

bikebryan said:

What do you think is likely being burned to cause the heat to make the glass?

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plastic fermentation buckets?

Another reason to use carboys is you can't get cool scars from plastic like this member of the carboy club:

Walker-san said:

Doesn't this mean that plastic buckets are the ONLY option for some serious long term batch aging of beer?

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Wow dude- can I have some of your 50,000-Year Aged brew?

ok... instead of going carboy I just got a 7.9gallon plastic primary. I should be able to do 5.5 gallon batches now without risking exploding, heh heh. Carboys are kinda a PITFA and way expensive. With this thing I should be able to use an from day one without issues, and use my old 6.5 gallon primary as my new secondary.

the 7.9 gallon primary was 20 bucks with lid from thegrape.net

I've always used carboys myself, but this past weekend while brewing at a friends house i used his plastic bucket, and I found it to have huge advantages. First they are so much easier to clean, second they dont break, third they are easier to transport. Carboys of course have their own advantages, but im thinking about buying a bucket. as far as airlocks go, with a carboy you can get away with putting a piece of saran wrap over the opening and using a rubber band around the neck of the carboy. I know its just as easy to use an airlock but thats kind of a cool little MacGayver trick i learned.

if the grommet falls through, you can just make a blow off tube that fits into the hole. i actually took out the grommet specifically for this purpose.

I must have the wrong OD tube cause the blowoff tube I hooked up after the air lock exploded off was too small

why not just buy the plastic carboys???
its funny you sat it ended up in the bottom of the bucket the is my very first experiance with brewing the rubber gasket ended up in the bottom of the bucket. but I washed and sanitized and went in after it.
JJ

I would really like to start homebrewing and have all the equipment to do so. I am moving into an apartment though and was wondering if there is any reason I shouldn't or couldn't homebrew.

Welcome to the forum and no, there is no reason whatsoever that living in an apartment should keep you from brewing your own beer.

Ask as many questions as occur to you as you get started and all the great, and helpful people here will be ready to lend a hand.

John