Cheap Carboys, Local or Net

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Anyone know where I can get carboys and airlocks for cheap? I am new to this and want to make some apfelwine. Thanks

 

[bradsul]

If you post your location someone can help you I'm sure. If you're going to order something online I'd opt for better bottles instead, they're really light so it helps with shipping fees.

Online I'd suggest www.austinhomebrew.com, www.midwestsupplies.com, www.northernbrewer.com if you're in the US.

 

[Fingers]

You should add your location to your profile so we know where you're from. There might be some members close to where you are.

That being said, I think the cheapest would be to look at Craigslist or some other buy and sell type of page. I've seen people selling their stuff pretty cheap. Reminds me, I'm off to the big city for a couple of days myself. I could use some more carboys. I'm going to check out the want ads myself!

 

[Nurmey]

Check out Craig's list, sometimes you get lucky on there. Buying carboys retail (locally) is cheaper for me due to shipping costs.
Airlocks are cheap. I buy them (locally) for about 49 to 75 cents.

 

[Tommish]

I have not tried these before, but last summer I went to an Old Time Pottery (like a budget Garden Ridge) and saw that they had 5 or 6 gallon glass water jugs (looked just like carboys) for really cheap-- something like 15 - 18 dollars. I can't recommend them but when I saw them I thought "homebrew..."

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Thanks everybody for the quick replies, much appreciated. I live in the 4 corners area, Durango,Colorado. Lots of great beers here between all the local stuff and New Belguim of course with Fat Tire and one of my favorites, Sunshine Wheat. THANKS again...

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

I still might order a beer kit with 2 glass carboys if I get the money, all the links and stuff really helped for comparison.
Does anyone know if my local brewery would use carboys for anything? They sell some brewing stuff to the public so they might have some anyways, I am going to check when it stops snowing relentlessly, we got 42 inches here over the last 3 days! I know once I get started I am in a good place for my hobby, we have several local breweries, Ska, Durango Brewing, and Carvers Brewery all make great beer.

 

[Skins_Brew]

i don't know if anyone has mentioned it or not, but i know someone mentioned plastic vs glass because of shipping fees. I ordered a 5 gallon glass carboy from austin homebrew. They have 6.95 flat rate shipping regardless of weight. I think the catch is if someone orders after you, and they choose a more pricey shipping option, theres gets bumped ahead of you. Mine left the store the same day i ordered it and is only taking 5 days to get to me (In Virginia). Should be here tomorrow

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

I do my apfelvein in a 5gal plastic water bottle, I save my carboys and $$ for my beer:cross:

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

THANKS!
Austin homebrew may be the way to go, $6.95 shipping is great, to bad I don't live in Austin anymore, Celis white is one of my favorite beers. But then again, I'm pretty sure I'll get a plastic one at Wal-Crap and make a batch with that too. I just like glass over plastic, why can't Graphix make plastic carboys, lol...

 

[Skins_Brew]

Correction, it was 6.99 shipping.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Austin homebrew:
100.00 basic kit with 1 glass carboy, 1 plastic
27.00 upgrade to 2 glass carboys
7.00 shipping

Not bad.....

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Thanks Redskins838892 for the help by the way. everybody else too...:rockin:

 

[Fingers]

I'm pretty sure I'll get a plastic one at Wal-Crap and make a batch with that too. I just like glass over plastic, why can't Graphix make plastic carboys, lol...

Careful, the only plastic carboys that are appropriate for homebrewing are #1 grade, such as Better Bottles. Ordinary water bottles are typically a #6 or #7. Some use them anyway, but IMHO you're asking for problems. You could boil in a rusty kettle too, and maybe your beer will turn out fine for awhile, but it's bad form and it could rear its ugly head.

If you talk to the regular brewers on this board who really take the craft seriously, you'll find that they use only glass and Better Bottles. There have been some dissenting opinions from people who claim to have used the water bottles long term with success so it's an issue that's been regularly debated. Do a search and see who you believe.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Thanks, sounds like a good idea. I'll probably just stick to glass.

 

[olllllo]

Thanks everybody for the quick replies, much appreciated. I live in the 4 corners area, Durango,Colorado. Lots of great beers here between all the local stuff and New Belguim of course with Fat Tire and one of my favorites, Sunshine Wheat. THANKS again...

You have, what... 4 micro in a town of 20,000 plus the Siebel Brewing Institute's ocasional seminars.
Dude count your blessings.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

You have, what... 4 micro in a town of 20,000 plus the Siebel Brewing Institute's ocasional seminars.
Dude count your blessings.

I know, this area is great for all the awesome local beers. Ska is my personal favorite, they make a lot of nice small batch beers you can only find locally. My Colorado state favorite is Sunshine Wheat from New Belguim, one of the best beers ever in my opinion.
As far as the seminars go, I'll have to look into that stuff. Interesting...

 

[431brew]

Glad to see the mention of plastic water bottles as fermenter. I was thinking of doing the same, but wanted to get some feedback first. I can get a 5-gal heavy plastic bottle of water for $12 at my local grocery store.

Apparently, there are at least two types of these bottles because I saw a 5-gal at Lowe's that was very cheap, thin wall plastic...it was very soft...and almost changed my mind on the idea. Then, I saw the one in the grocery store and got to thinking about it again. The one at the grocery store is one of the deals where you exchange the empty bottle for a new one. I guess the plastic is heavier because they are reusable. And, it is a MUCH thicker, harder plastic. The Lowe's bottle was a throwaway, so it was cheap plastic.

They also have a heavy duty 3-gal bottle for about $7. I am a newby and am currently using a MRB keg and recipes. I was thinking of using the 3-gal water bottle as a fermentor for the MRB recipes, then syphoning to the MRB keg as a secondary/ bottler.

Also, I want to start experimenting with 5 gal recipes, but keep my expenses down on the equipment until I learn more about the process. So, I wanted to use the 5-gal heavy plastic water bottle as a fermenter and begin experimenting with some real recipes.

My questions are:

Is the problem with using these heavy water bottles related to sanitation or durability or something else? Or, would the heavy, exchange bottles be ok?

Does anyone know what size cap would be required for these water bottles? I am curious if the 5 gal water bottle opening is the same as a 5 gal Better Bottle opening. I do not have a LHB store and will have to order from the net, so wanted some feedback first. Hopefully, the water bottle does not have some odd ball sized opening that you can't find a cap for.

Thanks.

 

[bradsul]

431brew: Do a search for 'culligan' and you'll get more discussion on this issue than you can handle. You'll need to decide for yourself ultimately.

 

[PUD]

hey nice guy i'm over in the awesome town of cortez. ska rocks my socks off with the duppel blonde and decedant ipa. also durango brewery's dark lager is one of my all time favorites. i just started drinking my first Apfelwein. put it in a better bottle. that's the way to go in my opinion. of course i have a few of them from my original kit.

heard they opend an hbs in durango, know anything about it? i was going to head up that way if the snow ever lets up. have you been to ska's new location yet?

 

[431brew]

Bradsul: I will do that, thanks! I am still learning my way around this site...you guys probably have alot of info on the water bottles that I need to read.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

PUD
Cortez, Cool! I just tried Mesa Cervesa Honey Rasberry from your hometown brewery and it is the best fruit beer ever. It reminds me of Celis Rasberry which used to be my favorite when I coud get it. Yeah Ska does rule, cant wait to try their next release, a Belgian Wit Beer. Haven't made it to the new brewery yet, too broke to buy anything. I dont know anything about a home brew shop, wish there was one.
How was the apfelwein, I can't wait to make some...
Mr.Nice Guy

 

[chione]

I do my apfelvein in a 5gal plastic water bottle, I save my carboys and $$ for my beer:cross:

I have my second batch going in a 5 gal water bottke (Arrowhead)! The first one turned out great. I also use the water bottles for secondaries and THEY WORK FINE I HAVE YET TO FIND ANYONE WHO USED WATER BOTTLES THAT HAS AN ISSUE WITH THEM. I call them better better bottles because they work like better bottles but are free and thus better

 

[AFAJ Brew Guy]

I have my second batch going in a 5 gal water bottke (Arrowhead)! The first one turned out great. I also use the water bottles for secondaries and THEY WORK FINE I HAVE YET TO FIND ANYONE WHO USED WATER BOTTLES THAT HAS AN ISSUE WITH THEM. I call them better better bottles because they work like better bottles but are free and thus better

True they do work, but they are easily scratched and they are also oxygen permeable.

IMO, not a risk I am willing to take, then again people do say that I have a "Type A" personality.

 

[chione]

True they do work, but they are easily scratched and they are also oxygen permeable.

IMO, not a risk I am willing to take, then again people do say that I have a "Type A" personality.

The question is the risk real or perceived?

 

[mrkristofo]

The question is the risk real or perceived?

The risk of oxygen permeability is very real. It has to deal with the chemistry of the polymer in the plastic.

Or in the words of Ron Burgundy, "It's Science."
:fro:

 

[chione]

The risk of oxygen permeability is very real. It has to deal with the chemistry of the polymer in the plastic.

Or in the words of Ron Burgundy, "It's Science."
:fro:

I have looked at the O2 permeability and it doesn't seem to be the issue. Have you ever heard of anyone who has had their beer oxidize because of using a type 7 plastic carboy? I bet you a beer you have not....

 

[Redweasel]

If you are looking for glass carboys on the cheap check out Old Time Pottery. I just bought tho five gallon carboys for 14.99 each.

 

[olllllo]

I have looked at the O2 permeability and it doesn't seem to be the issue. Have you ever heard of anyone who has had their beer oxidize because of using a type 7 plastic carboy? I bet you a beer you have not....

#7 plastic uses a grab bag of plastics to manufacture a bottle, there's no way to tell what you are getting with respect to O2 permeability. You have chosen to gamble with that and it appears you have won. Congrats.

Better Bottle offers a product that is designed to address O2 permeability.

Most people choose to and advise others to play it safe and not use #7 bottles.

As an example, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to take part in an oxidation experiment conducted by Kaiser and several others from this board. He had 4 beers which he purposely added various amounts O2 before bottling so that he could see the effects of oxidation.

None of the samples was discernible from the control.

The takeaway is that oxidation might be more difficult to get than most people think. However, it would be silly for anyone to recommend that it perfectly acceptable to aerate your beer before bottling.

So in a longish way, to answer your question, no, I have not heard of anyone personally getting oxidized product using a #7 because:

1) Most people follow the logic in the advice and don't risk it.
2) Most people do not secondary for very long (or do at all).
3) For what ever reason, those that do this seem so strident about it, I often see that they stop posting here because they can't seem to let it go. (Oddly enough one is another San Diegan that hasn't posted in 8 months.)

What is the longest that you've kept a secondary in a #7? Would you trust a barleywine in it?

 

[chione]

#7 plastic uses a grab bag of plastics to manufacture a bottle, there's no way to tell what you are getting with respect to O2 permeability. You have chosen to gamble with that and it appears you have won. Congrats.

Better Bottle offers a product that is designed to address O2 permeability.

Most people choose to and advise others to play it safe and not use #7 bottles.

As an example, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to take part in an oxidation experiment conducted by Kaiser and several others from this board. He had 4 beers which he purposely added various amounts O2 before bottling so that he could see the effects of oxidation.

None of the samples was discernible from the control.

The takeaway is that oxidation might be more difficult to get than most people think. However, it would be silly for anyone to recommend that it perfectly acceptable to aerate your beer before bottling.

So in a longish way, to answer your question, no, I have not heard of anyone personally getting oxidized product using a #7 because:

1) Most people follow the logic in the advice and don't risk it.
2) Most people do not secondary for very long (or do at all).
3) For what ever reason, those that do this seem so strident about it, I often see that they stop posting here because they can't seem to let it go. (Oddly enough one is another San Diegan that hasn't posted in 8 months.)

What is the longest that you've kept a secondary in a #7? Would you trust a barleywine in it?

If Kaiser was able to quantify the amount of O2 he haded to the bottles I would like to see the data.

I need to run the numbers but my guess is that you get WAY more O2 in your your during the bottling process than you do using a #7 bottle, but again I NEED to run the number rather than make decisions based on fear and religion.

The longest I have kept something is #7 bottle is 6 weeks for apfelwein

 

[Kaiser]

As an example, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to take part in an oxidation experiment conducted by Kaiser and several others from this board. He had 4 beers which he purposely added various amounts O2 before bottling so that he could see the effects of oxidation.

But I think that this was a little different. The beer was bottled with Krauesen and I wanted to test how well does the yeast take up any oxygen that is introduced at bottling time. I inserted the O2 wand for 1, 2, and 4 seconds and none of these samples showed signs of oxydation. The is no true qantitive data here as I was fine to se qualitative results.

Bottling or storing beer in an O2 permeable container is a different problem as you may actually get O2 in even after the yeast is not active anymore.

Kai

 

[ReDim]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ZHHEB6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

To attach the airlock I use a small peace of airline tubing and (Straight Connectors)

Looking for straight once, because I am straight ! t shaped will also work I guess, if your silly that way
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005JBH2RO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I am used to keep aquariums so air-tubing and connectors are just lying around my house.

I suppose a heat gun would also do the trick...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H4WAYFI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

i have not experimented with this, but in theory this could replace traditional brewing airlock all together, just drill a hole in the lid, and secure with a heat gun or a rubble gasket from the other side
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H4WAYFI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20