Carboys suck...right?

[Boek]

I just spent 7 hours cleaning out my glass carboy that I used for secondary. I was so wishing I had another bucket to use instead.

It was pretty cool to show my friends a 5 gal bottle of stout but it doesn't seem worth it.

Why are they still used? Nostalgia?

Am I missing something?

(Sorry for the melodramatic subject line.)

 

[Gregscsu]

It shouldn't take more then 10 minutes to clean a carboy with a carboy brush, no matter how dirty it is.

 

[Airplanedoc]

It shouldn't take more then 10 minutes to clean a carboy with a carboy brush, no matter how dirty it is.

What are you doing wrong that it takes 7 hours to clean a carboy.

 

[jaytizzle]

Hot water and oxyclean. Set it and forget it. Unless you filled it with cement then everything should come out.

 

[Revvy]

7 hours to clean a carboy....It's not the carboy that's the problem it's however you felt you had to clean it.

This-

+ Hot water + Overnight Soak +

Equals maybe 20 minutes of active work......

 

[unionrdr]

What gets me is many noobs by BB's or carboys because they wanna watch it ferment. Then come on here freakin out because they don't know what they're looking at.
Not to mention that small neck opening. And safety issues with the glass ones.
I prefer my cooper's micro brew fermenter & BB ale pales. Wide openning,easy to get at to clean. Not to mention lighter & safer. Easy to get hop sacks,etc in & out. And I have spigots on all of them to make life easier. Still get clear beer with high flocculation yeasts.

 

[stratslinger]

What did you do that took you 7 hours to clean???

Here's what I do:
- Dump a heaping scoop of OxyClean Free into the Carboy/Better Bottle. (PBW works well too. But it's way more expensive.)
- Put in a gallon or two of hot water
- Shake the crap out of the carboy/better bottle to mix everything up
- Fill it the rest of the way up with hot water
- Go back upstairs, watch TV, go to bed, go to work, whatever. Just do anything except continue working on that fermenter. Let the OxyClean do it for you.
- Come back several hours later.
- Empty the fermenter.
- Rinse, let dry

If I'm in a hurry:
- Put a couple tablespoons of OxyClean Free into the carboy/better bottle
- Put about a couple quarts of hot water in
- Bust out my carboy cleaner and my cordless drill
- Go to town on the muck and mung in there for about 10 or 15 minutes tops
- Rinse, let it dry

No need to spend hours cleaning these things, man!!!

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Hot water and oxyclean. Set it and check it out after 30 minutes!. Unless you filled it with cement then everything should come out.

It's pretty cool to check out the Oxyclean just rip through the remains in a carboy. If there is anything left, it comes right off with a brush with no efforts.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I just spent 7 hours cleaning out my glass carboy

I'm pretty sure I could build a model ship inside my glass carboy in less time it takes you to clean yours.

 

[unionrdr]

Or get that carboy cleaner with the wings that you chuck on a drill. One gallon PBW,& buzz that sucker a few times.

 

[AnthonyC]

7 hours?! On your secondary no less. How long did it take to clean your primary, A week?

I don't use a secondary so my primary has krausen, dry hop debris, yeast, finings, and God only knows what all else stuck to it. I dump in a scoop of oxyclean and fill it with water. It's clean the next day. (Okay, I do have to top it up with water once the suds die down so that the neck and everything are submerged in oxyclean solution). Literally 5 minutes of work.

I use carboys (PET) because I'm a beer voyeur. No other reason.

 

[Boek]

Sorry for the melodrama and hyperbole. It took me about 30 minutes to clean. I use it because my in laws gave me an 80 year old carboy so it was free.

I guess what I'm looking for is if there are advantages to a carboy over an ale pale the justify the (moderate) extra work?

 

[jaytizzle]

I'm a complete amateur and noob at brewing. I went with carboys because they look cooler, SWMBO hates buckets in the house (have enough for my saltwater aquarium addiction as it is), I want to watch what is going on cuz I'm a nerd, and there's far less risk of sanitation problems (can scratch the plastic in a bucket and possibly harbor bacteria).

 

[kevin476]

I never use carboys just ale pale but when I did use carboys I just used washing soda, it's right next to oxyclean at walmart and IMO works better and waaayyyy cheaper.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Sorry for the melodrama and hyperbole. It took me about 30 minutes to clean. I use it because my in laws gave me an 80 year old carboy so it was free.

I guess what I'm looking for is if there are advantages to a carboy over an ale pale the justify the (moderate) extra work?

Nobody will ever give you an 80-year-old plastic bucket to ferment in.

Glass lasts a long time. Plastic does not. Glass is pretty much impervious to infection. Plastic is not.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Four souring or aging, they are not permiable to oxygen, plus you can watch without touching.

 

[Revvy]

It's the same amount of work to clean a carboy or a bucket.

 

[LMGK]

Seriously, oxyclean warm water. Maybe an hour. How drunk we're you that it took seven hrs?

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Seriously, oxyclean warm water. Maybe an hour. How drunk we're you that it took seven hrs?

Sorry for the melodrama and hyperbole. It took me about 30 minutes to clean. I use it because my in laws gave me an 80 year old carboy so it was free.

I guess what I'm looking for is if there are advantages to a carboy over an ale pale the justify the (moderate) extra work?

He was exaggerating...

 

[LMGK]

I was super pro Carboy because that's what I started with but recently bought a few ale pales. I think I like them a lot. But it's all personal preference. Get whatever you feel mostmcomfortable with

 

[bigbeergeek]

Sorry for the melodrama and hyperbole. It took me about 30 minutes to clean.

Seriously, oxyclean warm water. Maybe an hour. How drunk we're you that it took seven hrs?

Looks like you missed the post a few spots above yours. How drunk were you at 1 o'clock that you missed that? I kid I kid. Seven hours cleaning a carboy would imply an addiction to meth, not an alcohol problem

 

[unionrdr]

If you don't wanna scratch the ale pales,then don't double stack them or clean'em with anything abrasive. Momma got me the spray wand from Midwest for Christmas. It's great for getting the krausen ring & yeast cake blasted loose. Then fill with water & 3-4TBSP PBE,stir-n-soak.

 

[malevolent]

Oxyclean destroys caked on crap. Learn it, love it.

 

[paulmac]

I'm definitely a carboy guy, love to see whats going on. But I think I am going to make the switch to better bottles from glass...with 3 little ones running around, don't wanna take the chance of an accident.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Seven hours cleaning a carboy would imply an addiction to meth, not an alcohol problem

Or a severe case of OCD.

 

[Naptown]

Ocd

 

[two_one_seven]

I do what Revvy said.

I use BetterBottles and you can't scrub those with a brush. A good soak and blast with bottle washer takes 5 mins tops. Plus you can pick the up the bottle with one finger........when they are empty of course.

 

[Grinder12000]

After my ale pale hid an infection I stay away from them as much as possible.

Oxyclean is a miracle product.

Glass carboy all the way. I would never use a BB

 

[nymtber]

After my ale pale hid an infection I stay away from them as much as possible.

Oxyclean is a miracle product.

Glass carboy all the way. I would never use a BB

I'm with this guy. Oxyclean free works great, and glass carboy's rule! Buy a Carboy Hauler, I have two, one for each carboy.

If you have hard water (I do) a final rinse with 1/4gal white vinegar in the carboy full of water after the oxyclean will eliminate any hard water stains. But you must RINSE very very very well after the vinegar...

 

[Kosch]

Yup, the brass carboy jet that Revvy posted. I have our hot water tank set pretty high, I rinse for maybe 2 minutes and there isn't a sight or scent left in the carboy. I then soak with Oxiclean anyway, 1.5 gallons, shake, let sit upright for a couple hours, shake again, tip upside down in a small plastic container to let the neck and opening soak. Rinse after with some vinegar water, and it's all set. Minimal work. I haven't used my carboy brush yet.

 

[Homercidal]

Oxi and Hot Water. Soak. Drain. Rinse.

If there is still a light layer of anything stuck to the side, I might throw a washcloth inside and swish it around before rinsing. Just to wipe the gunk off the inside.

 

[mcwilcr]

Oxiclean free and warm water with an overnight soak and a bottle washer is how I clean mine. Worth noting though, my local dollar store commonly has a generic brand that works equally well for a fraction of the cost. just be sure to check and make sure it does not have the little blue fragrance crystals in the container.

 

[Merleti]

I can't even wait the over night soak. I use the http://www.carboycleaner.com/ with PBW.

 

[unionrdr]

I can't even wait the over night soak. I use the http://www.carboycleaner.com/ with PBW.

That's the one I mentioned earlier. I saw Gary demonstrate it on Home Brewer TV & thought it was great. 1G of PBW,pop it in a drill & give it a few up-n-down swipes. Drain rinse dry done!:rockin:

 

[ryno84]

The carboy cleaner looks cool, but $32 seems kind of steep for it

 

[mcwilcr]

I can't even wait the over night soak. I use the http://www.carboycleaner.com/ with PBW.

The overnight soak is just how I have become accustomed to doing it. it is completely unnecessary but in my mind requires the least amount of effort since all you then have to do is empty the carboy, rinse it out with the bottle washer and you're done.

 

[kh54s10]

I bought Better Bottles to start.

I would never even consider glass for 2 reasons. 1) they weigh to much! 2) one trip to the ER makes any savings by the longevity a moot point. They are too dangerous.

I bought an Ale Pail and like that it is easy to move. It is no easier to clean and I hate the lid!

Better Bottles all the way!

 

[unionrdr]

Ever since my wife got me the spray wand from Midwest,Cleaning plastic fermenters is way easier & faster. It shoots out 5 lil streams of water,which works ok. But takes a lil more time & water than I prefer. So I need to fix that. What does this thing need?......MORE POWER!! R-R-R! Tim would be proud!:rockin:

 

[lylo]

I have never been able to get my carboy cleaner to work as well as shown on the video.I usually end up scrubbing with a brush every third use or so when/if I find a faint kreusen ring at the top.

 

[unionrdr]

Come to think of it,when Gary made that video,it did look like it only had that milky film in it. He must've soaked it first?...