Carboy Question

[KurtK9]

I recently acquired a large glass carboy, which was originally used for science then used for wine making about 30 years ago. It's very similar to the one in this link and I think it holds around 15 gallons (http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_view.asp?sku=3454224&pfx=).

My question is, if I brew 5 gallons of beer and use the carboy as my secondary, will the large surface area of the carboy affect the beer in any way? It's about a foot in diameter...

Thanks!

 

[BrewBoy19]

Shouldn't at all. you just have more space. I think in some case head space matters for certain recipes but I think for the most part you just have extra room. I could be wrong though i'm just a noob. But I was told I could use 2 - 5 gallon buckets instead of 1 and only being able to fill it up will 4 gallons of wort so it wouldn't overflow in fermentation. That gives me lots of extra space. I would think the same rule applys for your situation.

 

[beninan]

I have that same one. it's a 12 gallon. traded a 6 pack of homebrew for it, although i haven't used it for anything yet.

I would not use that for a 5 gallon batch as a secondary, as a primary fermenter it would be ok. There would be way too much headspace for a 5 gallon batch. also keep in mind if you decide to use it for 12 gallons of beer, that carboy will weigh around 125 lbs... so build yourself a stand buddy!

 

[KurtK9]

Thanks for the help, I was a little afraid I'd have to brew 10 gallons or so before I could use it. You're completely right about the weight, it's got to be around 25 lbs empty...

 

[beninan]

I think its exactly 25 lbs empty. You could use it for other things though, like a container for 5 gallons of sanitizer, but it would still be pretty heavy for that use. I think when I actually use mine, I will designate a chair as its stand, so I could still siphon out of it.

edit: here's mine

 

[KurtK9]

I cleaned it out this past weekend (it had been sitting in an attic for 25 years) and it was pretty unwieldy with a couple gallons in it. I guess it goes back into storage until I move up to larger batches. What would you think would be the minimum batch size to try if I use it as a secondary?

Edit: Yep! That's the one.

 

[beninan]

12 gallons would be the minimum you would want to secondary with. you want as little head space left as possible. Or you could do a couple gallons less, and fill the bottom with sanitized marbles to raise the level, but that's a pain. You want the level of the beer to be all the way up into the neck of the carboy.
I've been thinking about using mine as a primary fermenter (where you would want the head space) for 10 gallon batches, and then split it between two, five gallon secondaries, and possibly do different things to each secondary to have 2 different beers.

 

[KurtK9]

I see, makes complete sense. I guess I'll wait till I move up to 10 gallons and try it as a primary as you've suggested. Thanks again!