Rubber stopper problem

Brewer's Friend 728
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.
StrangeDog

StrangeDog

Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Location
Chicago
So I'm in the process of brewing my second batch of beer... and racked it to a secondary fermeter for the first time. Everything is going smoothly until now...

My rubber stopper keeps sliding up out of the carboy I'm trying to put it in. I don't want to push it too far in so that I can't get it out or push it directly into the beer but don't quite know what to do...

I'm thinking the problem is just that inner lip of the carboy or the stopper is a little wet so it's sliding rather than getting the necessary friction needed to hold it in place.. Is that the case? Should I just let it dry a bit and try again?

Any other advice?
 
StrangeDog said:
So I'm in the process of brewing my second batch of beer... and racked it to a secondary fermeter for the first time. Everything is going smoothly until now...

My rubber stopper keeps sliding up out of the carboy I'm trying to put it in. I don't want to push it too far in so that I can't get it out or push it directly into the beer but don't quite know what to do...

I'm thinking the problem is just that inner lip of the carboy or the stopper is a little wet so it's sliding rather than getting the necessary friction needed to hold it in place.. Is that the case? Should I just let it dry a bit and try again?

Any other advice?
Click to expand...

Get a piece of paper towel and dry the stopper and the carboy neck hole... bingo, no more slippage.
 
I had the same problem- with the glass and BB carboys. I think this problem is exacerbated by those who have the carboy neck and/or stopper wet down with Star San, which is pretty slippery. I started just using a clean paper towel to dry them off, then seating the stopper. Worked OK. For some reason, in the last few months they've stopped doing that....
 
+1 on drying the stopper and carboy neck, it took me a trip to the LHBS to figure that one out...
 
+2

I had the same problem with my current batch. After racking it and putting the stopper in, I started cleaning stuff up. When I looked back at the carboy I thought... huh... that thing was down in there further. I used a paper towel as well. I thought a clean paper towel would be the most sanitized thing to use for drying the stopper and neck.
 
I use Alcohol Pads/Swabs to wipe the inside of the neck and the rubber stopper - keeps everything sanitary and once the alcohol evaporates it's all bone dry...
 
I got so sick of this problem that on carboys/BB's i never use stoppers anymore. I switched to these red rubber musting caps and they give a great seal while being easy to put on/remove. There are floppy ones and more rigid ones, for the BB you need the floppy one. Sorry I know this doesn't help you now but I'm surprised I haven't seen a bunch of people using these because they rock:

Musting%20cap.jpg
 
+1 on the musting caps. I like them so much better than the rubber stoppers. They do cost more, but are so easy to use. (very old thread, but I'm sure others still have this problem)
 
I just bought one of those caps for my 6.5 gallon carboy after I realized the 5 gallon cap is not a fit. I spent way too long trying to get my stopper to stay on my last beer.
 
I used to use stoppers, now I only use them for my secondary. If you go to the hardware store or the LHBS you can get like 1 inch tubing and it fits snugly inside the carboy opening. Then put the other end in a blowoff jug, and never worry about blowoffs again!

20120603_185209.jpg
 

Similar threads

L
Unique "shaken baby" mead issue
Replies
5
Views
356
MightyMosin
MightyMosin
F
Ultrabarrier tubing won't stay on Blichmann beer gun
Replies
6
Views
257
Fixerman
F
PokerDad
Headspace in secondary fermentation (PET carboy)
Replies
13
Views
2K
VikeMan
VikeMan
J
Airlock/Stopper for Long Term Aging
Replies
14
Views
2K
mendelec
M
A
Problems Keeping O2 out of NEIPA (I think)
Replies
13
Views
596
Dog House Brew
Dog House Brew
CornyKegs 300

Latest posts

Back
Top