Broken Carboy Club

[Cruzn4aBrewzn]

Dont try that with plastic either, it will implode. Why didnt you just put the pot into the ice bath thats what i do.

Ha..ha.. It might make for a cool vaccusealed carboy though. I have a three tier keggle set up so with the size of the keggle with the valve and such it's just to big and clumsy to try and soak it.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

My 6.6/7 gallon glass carboy has a brew hauler and one of those handles with the wing nut. I have a 3 gallon glass carboy that I thought was too small to worry about the safety precautions. Today I brewed a small SMaSH and used the 3 gallon carboy. It rained heavily last night, and I ran the chiller into the grass. At the end of the brew I stepped into a puddle, so I took off my shoes. So, barefoot, I picked up the full carboy and it slipped away like I imagine (infrequently) a slippery pig would. Thankfully, the carboy dropped into the swapped grass and did not break, it was less than an inch from the concrete corner. Thinking of the pictures on this an other "broken" forums, I think my glass carboys may see less action.

 

[turkeyjerky214]

That's a close call. I actually bought a Better Bottle on a whim, and I decided to sell off all my carboys and replace them with Better Bottles.

 

[ekjohns]

Im going to sell my 6.5 gallon glass carboy this week. I have had a close call in the past where I dropped it a few inches while cleaning. After hearing these stories I am moving to better bottles. I know this may seem paranoid but after giving myself 2nd degree burns on my hands, I have been re-evaluating my brew set up and increasing my safety. There is a good chance I will never drop the carboy again but it only takes one freak time for something to happen and if I can avoid that one chance it is worth it to me.... that and I tend to be clumsy

 

[turkeyjerky214]

In my experience, there are two downsides to Better Bottles, but I think the pros outweigh the cons.
I don't like that I can't use a brush to clean them, and when you lift them, they suck back whatever is in the airlock, even with the "S" style. Like I said, though, small concessions for something that is a lot lighter and safer.

 

[ekjohns]

I read how some people were putting microfiber dish rags in the BB and shaking it

 

[LandoLincoln]

I tend to be clumsy

Anybody that "tends to be clumsy" should never handle full glass carboys. Ever.

 

[ekjohns]

Anybody that "tends to be clumsy" should never handle full glass carboys. Ever.

well to give myself a little credit I do try and be as safe as possible when handling the carboy, but I have done some clumsy things before and you just never know...

 

[dfess1]

just like a hockey player not wearing a visor.. the first time they need stitches and/or surgery to repair what could have been prevented with a visor, they'll never go back to not wearing one..

i know, this isn't the hockey forum either.. i just like analogies

Yeah, it's not a hockey forum, but your analogy is wrong anyway. The hockey player will get stitched up, call you a ***** for suggesting he wear a visor in the first place, maybe miss a shift or two, but definitely finish out the game.

I'm not in the club, and hope to not be in the club. To each their own.

 

[corkybstewart]

I lost a carboy full of brett hefeweizen that was going to be kegged as soon as I had a free keg, and that would have been the next day. My son and I had been taking mugs off a shelf for Oktoberfest, and one must have gotten bumped to the edge of the shelf. We heard a strange "clink" then looked up to see my brett hefe flowing across the garage floor. The mug had fallen, bounced off a bag of malt and hit the middle of the carboy, which was under a shelf. Nobody was hurt but 5 gallons of beer I had waited 6 months for had to be hosed out of the garage.

 

[BigBlueDog]

In my experience, there are two downsides to Better Bottles, but I think the pros outweigh the cons.
I don't like that I can't use a brush to clean them, and when you lift them, they suck back whatever is in the airlock, even with the "S" style. Like I said, though, small concessions for something that is a lot lighter and safer.

These issues do take some getting used to when switching from glass carboys. Swirling around a rough terry cloth washrag in a small amount of PBW or Oxyclean inside works well for cleaning off visible gunk. Place the BB in a plastic milk crate when fermenting/transporting; the extra support on the bottom will help avoid the vacuum problem.

 

[turkeyjerky214]

I actually built a PVC carboy washer specifically for my better bottles. Even with that hot PBW spraying and running down the sides, every now and then there's still a little piece of gunk I can't get. I was planning on fashioning a soft-sided cleaning wand with a cloth on the end of it.

I've heard the milk crate trick. Need to find some milk crates, though. For right now, I'm just using my brew haulers, and they work pretty well. I just put a sanitized piece of cling wrap of the top when I have to move them.

 

[passedpawn]

I've used a brush many many times on my better bottles. If there are scratches, I can't see them. Maybe my brush has soft bristles.