Glass carboy with hole on top

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I like it. I've only drilled glass a few times and it was a real PITA

brewingmeister said:

Because plastics don't belong in brewing.

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What are your racking canes, tubing, airlocks, and seals made from??

Here is a quick stand I put together with rolling casters. I only put ~ 1 gallon of water in the carboy for now, mainly because I need to find some fittings to close up one of those nipples and other misc stuff. For now:

Looks like a disaster in the making. Please post pics when it does.

'Bithead' WOW so negative! Positive comments or constructive criticism are much more to my, and I'm sure everyone's, liking!

Perhaps you didn't take the time to read the entire thread. I have brewed with this inverted glass carboy 3 times about 10 years ago. The wooden frame is a VAST structural improvement over the chinzy plastic wire jobby I used before. I will replace the bungee chord with something a little more stout soon.

Johnnyhitch1 said:

What are your racking canes, tubing, airlocks, and seals made from??

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Well err uhh

standard stuff

I have a glass carboy with a hole in it as well. It's not being used for brewing because there's some basil in it at the moment.

Johnnyhitch1 said:

What are your racking canes, tubing, airlocks, and seals made from??

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stainless, and silicone. only plastic/rubber I use are non contact items like airlocks and bungs.

MaverickBrew said:

You are entitled to express an opinion, even if you are wrong. Not everyone can afford the 500$ conical, or the 50$ glass carboy. For the majority of the home brewers this is just a hobby. I take this as serious as the rest and will say there is nothing wrong with a better bottle. I could be just as wrong as you...

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I really appreciate you telling me I am entitled to an opinion directly followed by your opinion that I'm wrong.

ryan_george said:

Keep in mind that polymeric (rubber/plastic) hoses are used in all breweries.

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well not all. my brewery consists of stainless, silicone or glass. I can't be responsible for everyone else.

I like it. One question, How do you plan on temp control?
I'm surprised it took 21 posts till someone told you it's going to kill you

bahed said:

'Bithead' WOW so negative! Positive comments or constructive criticism are much more to my, and I'm sure everyone's, liking!

Perhaps you didn't take the time to read the entire thread. I have brewed with this inverted glass carboy 3 times about 10 years ago. The wooden frame is a VAST structural improvement over the chinzy plastic wire jobby I used before. I will replace the bungee chord with something a little more stout soon.

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Just calling it like I see it. What's with the name calling though.

Name calling...?

He called him "Bithead".

Cheers!

Yeah I know, how rude!

this is an awesome idea. not for me only because i don't have the room but very interested to see how this turns out.

wow brilliant! Thanks for posting! This is great! I want to try this with a betterbottle. But I'm also wondering what I would do about temp control. Right now I stick the carboys in a giant bucket of cold water. I'd have to make a stand small enough so that it could fit in the bucket. Definitely doable though...

This also makes me wonder why they don't make plastic/glass conicals?

JeffD1 said:

This also makes me wonder why they don't make plastic/glass conicals?

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Plastic conicals aren't hard to find..

JeffD1 said:

This also makes me wonder why they don't make plastic/glass conicals?

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Or even stainless steel!!!

Truly scary ****! Cant wait to see if it holds up. I have thought about doing my better bottle the same way. Let us know how it turns out!!!

Would love to see the result of this.

The negativity in this thread is making us all seem like we're all afraid of brewing unless it's some fancy expensive gear. Personally I think it's really cool. Well done, bahed, and I hope it ends up working the way you intended.

Make with the brewing! I've two carboys, a drill and rewards cards to spend at Ace.

I swapped out fittings and now have a turn off valve. I want to start fermenter but I am being held up by a welder that has my 1/2 bbl BK.. soon!

and there is no reason to fear this... even my wife's kitty isn't afraid of the inverted carboy throne!

There was a DIY thread I saw in HBT the other day where a guy took a 6.5 gal glass carboy with a threaded neck. He modified the screw on top with an attached 1.5 in tri-clover fitting. This may be a more sturdy approach. The guy was making a CO2 forced transfer cap for his carboys...search the DIY forum for something like that. Hopefully it helps.

After thinking about it more, you could even add a yeast catcher fitting to this thing if you had some sort of standard fitting on the bottom (top).

If you do use the orange cap, try adding a large hose clamp w butterfly adjustment.

The new fittings on the bottom are hard to see, but it is a 1-1/4" turn off valve attached to the carboy with a Fernco-like (2-1/4" x 1-1/4" reducing) coupling with band clamps. The valve buts right up against the glass inside the coupling.

The ID of the fittings is 3/4" with the addition of the elbow (the elbow takes it down from an 1" ID). I started kinda remembering that when I used to use it, the openings on that orange cap were a bit small for trub removal.... Trial and error is expected, but hopefully the memory kicks in, even 10 years later, and I can do a little less trial and error!

TIPA - I'll look for that thread - thanks!

Cool idea. I hope it works out for you. If not, the stand could be used as a porta john.

bahed said:

I swapped out fittings and now have a turn off valve. I want to start fermenter but I am being held up by a welder that has my 1/2 bbl BK.. soon!

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Bahed you are the man! I love your stand on wheels! You have inspired me and I am going to have to build one now! I love the wheels on that baby for sure. Roll it to the closet then roll it to the kitchen for bottling day. Very cool.

brewingmeister said:

Because plastics don't belong in brewing.

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Just curious, but does the drain valve and fittings not fall under this? I like the idea, just thought that was contradictory.

Truly curious so, consider me subscribed!

bahed said:

I thought I would give it a shot. It was a bit nerve racking for the 10 minute cut time.... but I am jazzed now. I have yet to make a stand for it, but I hope to employ it to ferment 5-gallon batches and be able to rack off trub and hopefully harvest and re-use the yeast. Here are some pix:

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What you are attempting is like a commercial product called the fermentap. It is widely reviled and ridiculed as ineffective becasue the shoulders of a carboy aren't steep enough to drop the yeast. While I admire your ingenuity, I think you'll find the same thing.

Denny said:

What you are attempting is like a commercial product called the fermentap. It is widely reviled and ridiculed as ineffective becasue the shoulders of a carboy aren't steep enough to drop the yeast. While I admire your ingenuity, I think you'll find the same thing.

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I agree. Though it is interesting and I applaud the DIY aspect, if carboys were good at Doing the job of conicals, everyone would convert their $25 BB into plastic conicals.

Actually, I wonder why people don't make PETE Carboys with enough angle to use as a conical. Would be a great seller since you could use them the regular way, or turn them upside down. Seems like they could come with a screw-on neck and everything.

I wonder if you could heat up the top of a better bottle, and pull it into a mold to straighten the sides to make a conical?

n240sxguy said:

I wonder if you could heat up the top of a better bottle, and pull it into a mold to straighten the sides to make a conical?

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And that would be easier than just buying a plastic conical of the same size? C'mon guys, I admire the creativity and "can do" spirit, but you have to be realistic!

Denny said:

And that would be easier than just buying a plastic conical of the same size? C'mon guys, I admire the creativity and "can do" spirit, but you have to be realistic!

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I have a 15 gallon plastic conical. I'm not gonna mess with any of this stuff. Just coming up with ideas. I jumped past 5 gallon batches as soon as I could. If I have to potentially get hassled about a brew day, I'm gonna make as much as I can on that brew day. And nobody's any wiser for it.