Trying to solve the carboy problem

homebeerbrewer said:

Toyota's are pretty indestructible as they are. I've tried cartwheeling one down the side of a mountain once. If it wasn't for the radiator being pushed into the firewall, I think I could have drove it back up.

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what model yota was this? an mr2?

BUT! the bed is the crappiest part on the truck. lol

mordantly said:

what model yota was this? an mr2?

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Hilux (pickup) most likely 79-83

mordantly said:

what model yota was this? an mr2?

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It was a '92 Xtra Cab 4X4 pickup. When the tow truck guy dragged it back up, I was able to open both doors without any trouble. Only two windows broke, the windshield and the right rear quarter window. The windshield broke when it finally laid down to barrel roll, and the rear quarter window broke when I came to rest at the tree that stopped me from landing in the river at the bottom.

BTW, seat belts save lives. Trust me.

So, once all your carboys are Plasti-dipped, how are you gonna see inside them when cleaning to ensure all the nastiness is gone?

homebeerbrewer said:

BTW, seat belts save lives. Trust me.

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I too know first hand.


do you really need to see inside? if you ferment in there, a good soak should break up the ring. or a dental mirror?

Sea said:

So, once all your carboys are Plasti-dipped, how are you gonna see inside them when cleaning to ensure all the nastiness is gone?

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I used the clear Plasti Dip. It isn't as clear as the glass, but you still can see any "nastiness" inside. I'll have to take a pic and post it.

Sorry to jump on this old thread...I have 4 glass carboys left and when they die, I'm switching to BB's. In the mean time, I've covered my carboys with vinyl (not paper) stickers I've collected over the years. They are plastic and don't come off with a good washing and I feel a bit safer knowing I have at least some protection. Of course I've left plenty of space to view for cleanliness and what is fermenting inside. My $0.02.

woodstone said:

Sorry to jump on this old thread...I have 4 glass carboys left and when they die, I'm switching to BB's. In the mean time, I've covered my carboys with vinyl (not paper) stickers I've collected over the years. They are plastic and don't come off with a good washing and I feel a bit safer knowing I have at least some protection. Of course I've left plenty of space to view for cleanliness and what is fermenting inside. My $0.02.

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Perhaps something like clear adhesive shelf liner, it would at least contain the glass.

A roll of clear packing tape can be had for next to nothing. That's what I would use if I had glass carboys. Visibility remains, and you get to keep your blood on the inside.

masonsjax said:

A roll of clear packing tape can be had for next to nothing. That's what I would use if I had glass carboys. Visibility remains, and you get to keep your blood on the inside.

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I don't know if something like that would stand up to repeated washing though, that's kind of why I was going with the clear dip in my original idea.

I have never washed the outside of a carboy personally. I keep a tee shirt on them at all times, and just I wipe the small drips from the neck if needed. To clean, I soak the inside with oxiclean. I can't imagine ever needing to scrub the outside hard enough to go through multiple layers of packing tape. The clear dip is pretty cool, but I would think that would peel from glass long before tape would. Just my thoughts. Anything that increases safety is a win in my book.

masonsjax said:

I have never washed the outside of a carboy personally. I keep a tee shirt on them at all times, and just I wipe the small drips from the neck if needed. To clean, I soak the inside with oxiclean. I can't imagine ever needing to scrub the outside hard enough to go through multiple layers of packing tape. The clear dip is pretty cool, but I would think that would peel from glass long before tape would. Just my thoughts. Anything that increases safety is a win in my book.

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That is a good point, I guess the outside never gets totally wet and if it does it's not for long. Maybe I will try the packing tape idea and test it out, that would be cheaper and easier than the plasti-dip

Here's my crack at making my glass carboy safer - wrapped it up with clear duct tape and left a small 1" strip so I could ensure it was clean inside - it can be seen on the shelf in this shot:

BSBrewer said:

Here's my crack at making my glass carboy safer - wrapped it up with clear duct tape and left a small 1" strip so I could ensure it was clean inside - it can be seen on the shelf in this shot:

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Very Nice, how has it been holding up to being washed?

BSBrewer said:

Here's my crack at making my glass carboy safer - wrapped it up with clear duct tape and left a small 1" strip so I could ensure it was clean inside - it can be seen on the shelf in this shot:

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On topic, Is an inch enough to tell if it is clean?

Going off-topic: A-Phi-O brother?

That would make an enormous difference and look a sigt better than my duct tape and metal screening. Cost more tho'.

This just struck me as funny from Revvy:

" When I used to make bamboo flutes...."

Interesting how many hobbies one has and can share with the group. I thought I had a ton (too many), but I have never made a Bamboo flute.

I did a test of that truck bed liner a while ago on a wine glass. Dropped it four times which turned the glass inside into sand- the bed liner held its shape perfectly. I would paint this on all my carboys but it's about $30 per quart. I've been transitioning to fermenting in cornies instead. They cost about the same as carboys, helluva lot cheaper than SS conicals...

TIFWIW (thats my contribution to all the inane acronyms on this site.)

Reading these horror stories about broken glass is making me scared to touch my carboys now. I already use milk crates to carry them around full, but I do have 1 sitting nude on the concrete floor in my basement for a long term fermentation (coldest spot in the house for a summer oktoberfest lager). I usually clean them by filling them with hot (yep, straight hot) water from the faucet and bleach, and let it sit for a day or so in the utility sink. I've also sprayed them out with the Jet Bottle Washer but I'm sensing that may not be wise. On the topic of protecting them, They sell this temporary carpet protection at home depot/lowes (http://www.lowes.com/pd_16201-1671-CS2450_4294934329_4294937087?productId=3014867) that is pretty durable and very sticky on one side. We put it down on carpet when we paint and when we're taking down a large wall mirror we apply it to the whole thing so that if the glass breaks, it all stays together. I figure you could cut a 2'x2' square for the bottom of the carboy and then wrap it around the carboy a couple times, even repeat the bottom piece and give it a few more wraps. That would at least hold it all together if it breaks, silly as it would look. Both of my carboys are hosting fermentation at the moment but I'm thinking about doing this when I clean them out again. Working in construction, I cannot afford to be injured and unable to work.

TheBroonery, that may work too, but from my testing with the sacrificial carboy, Plasti-Dip is what I use. Of course, they are rarely used now that I ferment in Sanke kegs.

One thing that I recommend is, DON"T use hot water. The thermal stresses alone on the glass when filling could be enough to break it. If you're near it when it breaks, you could be injured, and God forbid, if it breaks when you're handling it, you'll be in the same boat I was... am. (Still have no feeling in my index finger, but the middle finger and thumb are slowly getting feeling.)

When your beer is done fermenting, use luke warm water and Oxy-Clean or PBW, and let it soak overnight. You can use the bleach for sanitizing, but I'd use a low concentration. 1 tbs per gallon of water is what I used to use.

I guess I've been lucky. The thermostat on my electric water heater is set at 120, and I use and old rubber washing machine supply hose with 1 end cut off as a hose off the utility sink faucet. I can certainly see hot water fracturing a cold carboy, so I guess when I've done it in the past the steam from the water heats the glass up quick enough or the ambient temperature in the room has been close enough to the water temp to not make a difference. I've heard stories of the idiots who pour hot wort into a glass carboy, even one who put it in a snow bank to cool! I've always known the glass could be a little precarious, but after hearing some first hand accounts I'll be giving the glass carboy a little more respect.

In your carboy incident, how did the bottom fall off? I gather you were pouring water out of it, and the suction in the bottom of it was so strong that it broke the glass? Was it scratched or anything before?

I'm not really sure how it broke. I washed it with warm water, not hot, and as I was turning the carboy over to dump the water out, it just broke. I don't think there was much suction on it, since I was just getting it to the point where the water started coming out. I didn't see any cracks or anything in the glass, but I guess it was possible that there was a hairline fracture that I couldn't see. With the Plasti-Dip on them, I won't be able to see any cracks, but I have confidence that if one should break in the future, I won't be spending the afternoon in the hospital. Then again, I've only used one of the carboys once since my incident, so my chances of breaking another one has been reduced quite a bit.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but after reading this I'm slightly terrified of using my brand new 6.5 gal carboy. So, I'm taking the tape approach and found Scotch extreme packing tape.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AFKV0S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

It has cross threaded fibers and is resistant to moisture. Also has 150 lb per inch tensile strength. Doesn't look that clear, but seems like it should do the trick. Carry on.

Okay, here's how it turned out. Not pretty, but hopefully it should minimize the potential for injury if the glass ever happens to break.

I think it looks pretty cool.

Ferro...

Really nice work...just be wary. I did the same thing to one of mine and after a few washes moisture got between the tape and the glass and foul smelling mold started to grow.

^^ That could be a problem.


I should take a picture of my carboys that I Plasti-Dipped. It's worked well so far, but it does start to peel at the edge.

Also, I solved my carboy problem by fermenting in Sanke kegs. There are too many pros to list, but the only cons I found are that you can't see the yeast activity, and they are heavy.

Thanks for the heads up about the mold; I'll try to minimize the chance for water leaking under the tape.

The more I think about it, the more I believe I may have created an additional potential for breakage by restricting the carboy's ability to expand in response to higher temperatures. This tape is incredibly strong, so I do hope it allows a bit of give for the carboy to expand when I wash it. I'm thinking I'll have to stick with lukewarm water and be very careful about cooling my wort properly.