Patching a Better Bottle

So, this is a first for me. I had two BBs soaking with hot (110-120°) water and Oxyclean in preparation for a brewday this morning that got derailed anyway due to my wife coming down with a doozy of a stomach bug. But I digress.

As I was in the basement early this morning swapping out some laundry, I noticed that the floor around the BBs was quite wet. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that one of the BBs developed several splits(!) that were leaking pretty significantly. Doesn't look like impact damage, but that raises a point. Not sure how the splits would have developed, or if others have reported this kind of failure with their BBs. Would I be able to salvage this BB with perhaps some JB Weld? I'd hate having to retire this BB that has served me well if I don't have to.

Bugger.

i've tried using jb weld and a "patch" made from a water bottle, but the first batch i put in the carboy got infected. it's probably not worth it.

i plan on eventually putting that carboy to use as a hopper for a grain mill.

Yeah, I have a feeling that I'll not be using this one as a fermentation vessel any longer. I suppose it'll make a good grain storage bin or waste pail.

I had the same thing happen recently - a pretty significant fracture/crack in the bottom of one of my Better Bottles. They are great overall, but a lot more fragile than many people assume. I've been a lot more careful about handling them when full since that incident.

I'd suggest contacting the store you bought it from and the company that manufactures the things to see if they can do anything for you.

Definitely contact the manufacturer of Better Bottles and explain what happened. They might have some insight on this issue.

I'd suggest contacting the store you bought it from and the company that manufactures the things to see if they can do anything for you.

Click to expand...

Worth a shot, for sure.

McKBrew said:

Definitely contact the manufacturer of Better Bottles and explain what happened. They might have some insight on this issue.

Click to expand...

Yeah I agree...they are still relatively new to the marketplace..so they might like to know if they are beginning to have structural flaws or bad factory runs developing...Especially since they are starting to make them for may spring water companies now as well...

They may even be grateful for the info...

Oh, what were you storing in it? I'm wondering if starsan left a long time in a plastic one is a bad idea....(I have have had it in my 6 gallon one for a few weeks, so now you got me worried...

Revvy said:

Yeah I agree...they are still relatively new to the marketplace..so they might like to know if they are beginning to have structural flaws or bad factory runs developing...Especially since they are starting to make them for may spring water companies now as well...

They may even be grateful for the info...

Oh, what were you storing in it? I'm wondering if starsan left a long time in a plastic one is a bad idea....(I have have had it in my 6 gallon one for a few weeks, so now you got me worried...

Click to expand...

Yeah, I've fired them off an email to see if they have insights; frankly, I'm not looking for a freebie rather just letting them know. Perhaps its a structural flaw, who knows? I'm not abusive with my equipment by any means and I think I fall under 'normal use' parameters.

They were stored empty, so I'll admit- I'll befuddled.

flyangler18 said:

Yeah, I've fired them off an email to see if they have insights; frankly, I'm not looking for a freebie rather just letting them know. Perhaps its a structural flaw, who knows? I'm not abusive with my equipment by any means and I think I fall under 'normal use' parameters.

They were stored empty, so I'll admit- I'll befuddled.

Click to expand...

Yeah I was more thinking letting them know rather than a freebie (though that would be nice too) I really want these things to be perfect myself....Since I'm such a proponent of them...if there are issues with them, I want their engineers to know about it to improve on them...

Plus like I said, I'm a little worried about mine too....(oh crap suddenly I'm not rdwhahbing...

Revvy said:

Yeah I was more thinking letting them know rather than a freebie (though that would be nice too) I really want these things to be perfect myself....Since I'm such a proponent of them...if there are issues with them, I want their engineers to know about it to improve on them...

Plus like I said, I'm a little worried about mine too....(oh crap suddenly I'm not rdwhahbing...

Click to expand...

Knock off the worrying.

I'm most definitely a BB fan and I most certainly want to see them succeed!

Yeah. This is weird. I wonder how common this problem. You have me a bit concerned, because I like to fill up my BB with water and dump to ensure I clean them out well. In hindsight this is probably a bad idea, because of the pressure.

I accidentally left a solution of Starsan in one of my 5gal BB for about 2.5 months and it had no issues. So I would think that you guys are fine. It might be isolated. See what the response is from the company. They've responded to me in the past so I assume they'll give some kind of answer.

Just received an email in response from Better Bottle; pay particular attention to the highlighted areas.

Jason:

Every once in a blue moon a carboy develops a crack on the bottom. Nearly
all the time, it is because the user was rolling the carboy on its bottom
edge while it was full. The creates a tremendous amount of flexing in the
bottom panel.

We will help you out with a replacement. Give me your address and confirm
that the damaged carboy is a 6 gallon plain carboy. Also, would you do us a
favor and cut off a chunk of the bottom that shows the production date dial
and a cracked area. Mail it to my attention and the PO box shown below. Do
you recall if you rolled your carboy on its edge a lot?

Regards,

Walter

Click to expand...

flyangler18 said:

Just received an email in response from Better Bottle; pay particular attention to the highlighted areas.

Click to expand...

So didja roll?? DIdja Didja?

I'm sure I have, usually as part of aeration, tipped it to one side of the bottom and shook, rolled using that as a pivot point.

I don't do it anymore since I have an aeration wand.

It's probably a good justifiacation for using a milk crate to move it.

Sounds cool that he wants to replace it...and prolly wants the btch run info on the bottom in case others report a similar flaw and he can see if it's in a certain batch.

Pretty cool!!

So didja roll?? DIdja Didja?

I'm sure I have, usually as part of aeration, tipped it to one side of the bottom and shook, rolled using that as a pivot point.

I dond't do it anymore since I have an aeration wand.

Click to expand...

I'm sure I've rolled to aerate in the same way you describe; but I haven't done that in months since I now aerate using a Venturi tube.

flyangler18 said:

I'm sure I've rolled to aerate in the same way you describe; but I haven't done that in months since I now aerate using a Venturi tube.

Click to expand...

You may wanna make a thread in this section saying "don't roll your Better Bottle" with your story and the email...so it will catch peoples attention now that you have an answer...it's sumptin all of us who use them should be aware of.

Revvy said:

You may wanna make a thread in this section saying "don't roll your Better Bottle" with your story and the email...so it will catch peoples attention now that you have an answer...it's sumptin all of us who use them should be aware of.

Click to expand...

There you go reading my mind again....

flyangler18 said:

There you go reading my mind again....

Click to expand...

Great minds my friend, great monds!!!!

Proof again that Better Bottle cares about their customers. And I'll have to remember not to aerate that way anymore.

I've had the same BBs for about 1.5 years now and have always aerated with a tennis ball underneath in the recessed bubble. No cracks yet.

menschmaschine said:

I've had the same BBs for about 1.5 years now and have always aerated with a tennis ball underneath in the recessed bubble. No cracks yet.

Click to expand...

I do the same thing. I also fill mine with water and then drain after the Oxyclean (I use Sun cleaner) has done it's thing, and I noticed that if I just lay it on it's side and let it burble out, the bottom moves in and out with every gulp of air that it takes. I didn't think this was a good thing so now I've started tilting it just far enough so that a smooth flow of water comes out without any of the "gulping" of air. I think this might avoid any problems with the bottom cracking.

Don't roll, but it's OK to knock it off a counter.

I'm cashing in a BB for a Barley Crusher mill hopper tomorrow...in fact It was my original from my very first homebrew kit.....I scrubbed it with a brush ( a big no-no!) several times before I figured out the conventional wisdom....It's done well, but I'm sure my days are numbered, plus I scored an awesome table for a rolling mill station. Pics to follow

menschmaschine said:

I've had the same BBs for about 1.5 years now and have always aerated with a tennis ball underneath in the recessed bubble. No cracks yet.

Click to expand...

What a freaking great Idea!!!

Man that should be a sticky somewhere.

Revvy said:

What a freaking great Idea!!!

Man that should be a sticky somewhere.

Click to expand...

I think I got that idea from their website, but I'm not sure if they took the tennis ball part off. Perhaps they've had people crack them that way too (as long as you're careful, it shouldn't cause problems). Here's a quote from brew365.com that quotes the Better Bottle website ("Washing" section):

For faster results, put a few cups hot wash solution into a carboy, add a face cloth, and vigorously slosh the solution and cloth. Better-Bottle carboys are light, so sloshing the carboy in your hands will not be difficult; however, rocking the carboy back and forth on its side or rocking it on a tennis ball placed under its punt requires even less effort.

Click to expand...

And here's apparently the same quote from the current Better Bottle web site (tennis ball removed):

For faster results or more stubborn debris, fill a carboy about 1/4 full with hot wash solution, add a face cloth, and vigorously slosh the solution and cloth. Better-Bottle carboys are light, so sloshing the carboy in your hands will not be difficult; however, rocking the carboy back and forth on its side requires even less effort. Place the carboy on a cloth or towel and make short back and forth rolls to slosh the contents vigorously.

Click to expand...