Equipment breakage rant.

Ever have a batch where you break everything? Last night wasn't very fun but I did end up with 5 gallons of fermentable beer...so that is nice.

I broke the rigged up bulk head out of my cooler. The mini-keg bung warped the plastic on the cooler and now won't snap into place.

My siphon starter snapped in half when I was shaking iodophor solution off of it.

My input line to my chiller came off mid chill and sprayed water all over the garage. (Not to mention that immersion chillers suck in the summer, even with a pre-chiller.)

The 3oz of whole hops stopped up my siphon over and over....

I will not be brewing again until I impove my setup. I need to convert my chiller to a counterflow, get a real bulkhead and ball valve, put a tap in the bottom of my kettle and get a hop screen.

I always wondered why people fussed over their equipment so much, and now on my 8th batch I am realizing how nice it would be to impove it!

Seems like every batch I brew, I run into a problem, get pissed, and upgrade. Then that upgrade requires more upgrades.....etc, etc.

For example, I started using the Hop Stopper, which is great, but it really requires a counterflow chiller. So I got a good CFC, but it really needs a pump to work right.

One of these days, I'll get it all straightened out.

Sounds like a hard time ! If you name this brew, might I suggest Murpy's (law) Lager,stout,etc.? That'd be fitting.

The good thing about things happening like that is learning from it, upgrading, and finally getting in a rhythm.

Yo Brother Nate! You in Portland? I'd love to do an All-Grain together if you live close by. I'm on the north side, in St. Johns. Let me know.

I just had a vintage 1 gallon demi-john break on me when I was making a starter. I guess the glass was too cold when I poured the warm wort into it, and the neck cracked in half. At least it didn't shatter all over the place. Almost cut me though! That was LAME!!!

Don't know if it'll make you feel better but I've had similar problems this week.

Monday: Beer in secondary stopped bubbling left 24hours just to make sure before taking hydrometer reading.
Tuesday: Got hydrometer out dropped and broke trial jar.
Wednesday: Wife picked up new trial jar from HBS whilst she was out.
Thursday: Try again. Shook water off Hydrometer after sterilising and rinsing snapped Hydrometer. (sound familiar) Phoned homebrew shop for new hydrometer.
Friday: New hydrometer arrived, carefully took reading below1:010, bottled beer without further incident.

Roger.

Last time I made a batch I broke my racking cane while trying to remove the tubing. This lead to a nasty cut on my thumb, hence the name Wounded Thumb Wheat.

When I was getting ready to bottle Wounded Thumb, I was cleaning out my bottling bucket and broke the spigot that opens and closes the valve. I now have to use pliers to twist it opened or close it up.

You should call your beer Catastrophe Ale. Sounds like your brewing experience was worse than mine.

Anyone else ever notice that trips to the HBS for supplies end up being about 40% ingredients and 60% equipment? I put down $70 yesterday buying a secondary carboy (plastic), fermentation lock, racking cane, and star sans. And when I got home, I realized I couldn't find my bottle clip from my last racking cane and I can't remember if I removed it or not prior to tossing the cane. At some point, I would like to get some good equipment do I don't have to re-buy plastic crap.

oregonNate said:

...The 3oz of whole hops stopped up my siphon over and over....

I will not be brewing again until I impove my setup. I need to convert my chiller to a counterflow, get a real bulkhead and ball valve, put a tap in the bottom of my kettle and get a hop screen...

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You can homemake your own couterflow chiller, there are plans all over the web on this. I can recommend the Weld-B-Gone bulkhead fitting, about $20 delivered. You can get one with a ball valve on it as well, or pick up a ball valve at Home Depot. As for the hop screen, click the link below:

www.ihomebrewsolutions.com

If you are interested in a stainless steel valve, you can get these at the link above as well.

Prosit!

Ed_Savage said:

Yo Brother Nate! You in Portland? I'd love to do an All-Grain together if you live close by. I'm on the north side, in St. Johns. Let me know.

I just had a vintage 1 gallon demi-john break on me when I was making a starter. I guess the glass was too cold when I poured the warm wort into it, and the neck cracked in half. At least it didn't shatter all over the place. Almost cut me though! That was LAME!!!

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Hey, my name is a bit of a joke as I'm from Oregon, WI. I would love to move to Portland though, loved it out there last time I visited.

Thanks for the sympathy and suggestions. I'll definitly have some fun constructing some new equipment this fall.

I think broken glass carboy's has to be the worst homebrewing accident...hope and pray that never happens to me. Looking back, my little malfunctions were just annoyances. But after midnight and a long brew day, things always seem a bit worse than they really are.

oregonNate said:

Hey, my name is a bit of a joke as I'm from Oregon, WI. I would love to move to Portland though, loved it out there last time I visited.

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lol, funny! now i feel like a big dope!! yeah I love it here, but it has it's ups and downs like any other city. the beer scene is out of this world. i'd move out to the country in a heartbeat though.

well I would like to add to this.....I just shattered my secondary....freaked the baby out so he is crying for 2 strait hours now and I am still pissed....BAH&*%$)@$#&*$*()@#&$*(#@&$*(@#&$*(@#&$(*#@^%^!#@&%$^!*(#&$)!#@&$!*#$!*#&$*!!!!!!!!!!!


well off to the LHBS in the AM to get a new one

robmee said:

well I would like to add to this.....I just shattered my secondary...

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Oooh, that does blow! Have not had the displeasure of experiencing that and hope I never do. I feel for ya!

welll I killed my hydrometer tonight and that piece of crap 6.5 carboy (can you tell it is pissing me off) will not hold a universal bung to save it's life and the damn air lock keeps dumping sanitizer solution into the beer (another pos well tried 4 different ones, so it has to be the carboy some how. BAH I am PISSED, well sorry for this.....3 days and nothing no krausen....yeast cake but nothing else, not airlock nothing, one more day an it is dumped....there goes $40 BUCK OF SUPPLIES.....BAH!!!!

You may need a larger size rubber stopper. Do you know what size it is?

robmee said:

the damn air lock keeps dumping sanitizer solution into the beer (another pos well tried 4 different ones, so it has to be the carboy some how

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Everyone seems to use sanitiser in their airlocks. Why? There doesn't seems any need for it. I just use water that's been boiled, and that way it doesn't really matter if some gets into the fermenter...

Well.. I'll insert another shameless plug for starsan here...

I've never noticed sanitizer getting into the beer but I use starsan so if it does make it into the beer somehow I'm not concerned in the least.. it won't affect flavor.

You probably could get by with just water but I think a good no rinse sanitizer would be a safer bet. Even if the water was sanitized or sterile at one point don't you think the microbes would find there way in? The airlock isn't air tight after all. Now, if some microbe rich water were sucked into the beer you probably wouldn't have any problems as the yeast already have a foot hold but it's better safe than sorry.

I have heard of some placing everclear or some other ultra strong spirits into the airlock. 151 anyone?

edit: robmee.. I'd say the yeast is dead. Promptly repitch some rehydrated dry yeast as a last resort. I've had nothing but good experiences with danstar nottingham dry yeast.

It was, so I went to the LHBS and got some more WL british yeast, repitched and was off and running in 12 hours, so it is working away right now.

I brewed last night and didn't break a single piece of EQ!!!

Unfortunately, the toilet flusher broke last night so it wasn't a perfect night.

Cheesefood said:

I brewed last night and didn't break a single piece of EQ!!!

Unfortunately, the toilet flusher broke last night so it wasn't a perfect night.

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You brew in the bathroom? Kinda makes sense, brew it in the same place it eventually ends up.