Cleaning glass carboys - how?

[robertbartsch]

I've always used plastic fermentors since they are easy to clean. Last night I was racking from plastic to a keg and when I tried to clean the tub to remove the ring from hops residue, it was not easy.

This got me thinking. How do people clean the inside of a glass fermenter?

 

[ChshreCat]

Oxyclean Free Versatile. It's fantastic stuff. Fill the carboy most of the way with hot water, add a half a scoop of Oxyclean and then top up with hot water. Let it sit for a few hours or overnight and rinse. That's it. Takes everything off. Works great to de-label bottles as well.

Some folks with hard water have found a residue left behind. An acid wash will take it off. Either dilute vinegar or a starsan solution rinses it away.

 

[shortyjacobs]

Using this.

I recirc oxyclean for about 30 min-45 min. A quick swipe of a carboy brush halfway through if I have some really stuck on gunk.

 

[JVD_X]

I would suggest that you look for the generic oxycleans from the dollar store. I get 1 pound containers (they are small) but the overall price is about 50% cheaper than buying it at a Walmart or wherever.

 

[Chad_C]

+1 to Shorty. I used to do the soak method but have recently built the carboy/keg washer. I actually use automatic dishwasher soap in mine, followed by a rinse in hot water. The soap cuts through anything in the carboy, and it doesn't foam. The pump heats the water so it really cant be beat.

 

[shortyjacobs]

+1 to Shorty. I used to do the soak method but have recently built the carboy/keg washer. I actually use automatic dishwasher soap in mine, followed by a rinse in hot water. The soap cuts through anything in the carboy, and it doesn't foam. The pump heats the water so it really cant be beat.

Ooooh, dishwasher soap. I'm almost out of oxy, I think I'll have to give this a go next!

 

[AnOldUR]

Oxyclean Free Versatile.

This, except I'm old and weak, so I only put in a couple of gallons and cap it. Just enough so that when I flip it over it covers the krausen ring. Put it on a carboy drainer and let it soak for a couple of hours and rinse.

All these fancy pump things are great toys, but really not necessary.

 

[yogensha]

I built one of those cleaners out of a sump pump and for me, it doesn't work on the stuck on stuff. Great for secondaries and kegs though. I'm also leery of hot water and carboys. I find a carboy brush and dish soap works the best.

 

[dmob29]

I use Oxy as well... but cold water works fine. I put about 1/2 a scoop in there and turn the hose on it. It foams up, so I shut the water off and wait until it goes down a little then keep doing that until its full. I do this at the start of my brew day and by the time I'm chilling I take a brush to it and all the stuck on crap comes right off.

I do like the auto washer dealy thingy... pretty cool!!

 

[impur]

I'm not too fancy, I just use a carboy brush.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Ooooh, dishwasher soap. I'm almost out of oxy, I think I'll have to give this a go next!

I'll have to remember this.....I always used dishwasher tabs for soaking, but my new keg washer foams like crazy.

Also, I designed the keg washer shoot in all directions vs. straight up...I think it helps knock more crud off.

Be careful with the glass carboy if it's wet! The oxiclean makes it super slippery.....for that matter, give fermenting in cornies a try.....I did it once and now I'm hooked!

 

[Wolfy]

I'm lazy and so I usually just soak everything in hot water and sodium percarbonate (the active ingredient in Oxyclean) and a drop of dishwashing detergent (as a surfactant). A few hours in that (up to 24) and it's about as clean as it's going to be, no work, effort or fuss.

 

[shortyjacobs]

I'll have to remember this.....I always used dishwasher tabs for soaking, but my new keg washer foams like crazy.

Also, I designed the keg washer shoot in all directions vs. straight up...I think it helps knock more crud off.

Be careful with the glass carboy if it's wet! The oxiclean makes it super slippery.....for that matter, give fermenting in cornies a try.....I did it once and now I'm hooked!

Yeah, originally I had planned on capping that pipe on top, then drilling holes in the cap to spray everywhere. But then I tested it without first, just out of impatience, and liked how it cascaded evenly down all sides of my carboy. Most of the gunk is at the top of the carboy, which is the bottom when it's upside down, and it's tough to spray around the neck anyway. I find 15 min on my rig, a quick swipe of the carboy brush to knock off any crap, then another 15 min, and it's shiny.

 

[maltbarleyhops]

i use the brass bottle washer that i have on my outdoor spicket. great blasting pressure. then a soak with oxy clean. ready to put away.

 

[virginiawolf]

OK so I cleaned all my carboys but theres moisture in them . I tried putting them out in the sun thinking the water would evaporate out but it didn't all the way . I wanted the carboys to be nice and dry so they don't get mold or anything in them. I used a carboy brush to clean them but since I had a number of them I did a search and found this.

I ordered 2 even though I've found that usually gimmicks don't work out. I just ordered them last night I suppose I'll return to let you know if it works well.
Virginia Wolf

[/IMG]

 

[choffon]

im also very skeptical with online ads(gimmicks) but i have had a carboy cleaner for about a month and between that and a brass bottle washer hooked to my laundry utility tub. and it is amazing for us lazy folks

 

[Catt22]

[/IMG]

You have a very beautiful cat there!

 

[edmanster]

OK so I cleaned all my carboys but theres moisture in them .

after sanitizing i throw a piece of foil on top and store them upside down in a milk crate lined with a piece of wood..

 

[JonK331]

After i do the oxyclean soak i mix up a gallon or so of star san and shake it up inside the carboy and then drain. I then cover with foil or plastic wrap until the next use. Nothing will ever grow in there wet or dry. This is how labs keep their glassware clean after the autoclave.

 

[Catt22]

After i do the oxyclean soak i mix up a gallon or so of star san and shake it up inside the carboy and then drain. I then cover with foil or plastic wrap until the next use. Nothing will ever grow in there wet or dry. This is how labs keep their glassware clean after the autoclave.

+1 I've been doing it this way for more than ten years without problems. I've never understood the need to dry a carboy completely. I do rinse them again and resanitize before the next use, but that takes only minutes to do.

 

[barleyhole]

huh, I've always just washed them really well with water and let them dry, tipping them up-side-down every couple hours to drain the water and they eventually dry. Never had any sanitation problems (of course I sanitize really well before use).

 

[TwoGunz]

OxyClean and then tip them upside down I'm a plastic tub. After a few hours, or overnight, they sparkle

 

[BucksPA]

honestly, i just use a carboy brush immediately after racking out of carboy primary and hot water. I leave streaks there, but i let me carboy soak in iodopher for all but 5 minutes before transferring new batch in. Haven't had an infected batch yet. On the contrary to the above poster, I haven't had a super sparkling carboy yet. Heck, i don't even turn em upside down, so condensation remains in there for weeks.

 

[Chap]

Rinse and scrub w/ carboy brush immediately after use. Allow to soak over night with PBW or Oxy Clean. Dump out most of the water and put a wash cloth into the carboy, swirl and shake until all the built up crud is gone. Rinse w/ freshwater then rinse again w/ Starsan. Store wet w/ foil over the top. Works for me.

 

[Yambor44]

OK so I cleaned all my carboys but theres moisture in them . I tried putting them out in the sun thinking the water would evaporate out but it didn't all the way . I wanted the carboys to be nice and dry so they don't get mold or anything in them. I used a carboy brush to clean them but since I had a number of them I did a search and found this.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bseNrmJUb0w
I ordered 2 even though I've found that usually gimmicks don't work out. I just ordered them last night I suppose I'll return to let you know if it works well.
Virginia Wolf
[/IMG]

Virginia,

I have used a sump pump method as mentioned above, a store-bought keg, carboy and bucket cleaner with pump, I have soaked them overnight full of water and oxiclean.

The best product I have found in all is the product you just ordered. It takes very little water and cleaning product and it works very, very well. I use it on my kegs and recently carboys. Just make certain that you use a stopper in the opening so the stainless rod doesn't chip or break the glass. I use a cordless drill.

Also, cleanup of the cleaner is a breeze. I find that sometimes I can over simplify my process. What I found in the past with the other methods was it was taking a lot of time and effort with those homemade and store-bought cleaners to clean them after I was done cleaning the carboy or kegs.

Now I always ask myself how much work is this going to add. We try and add these types of products to make our process easier and then end up increasing time and effort. JMO. YMMV

 

[virginiawolf]

Thanks for the responses. I'll try the technique with the starsan and plastic. I figured that little bit of moisture would inevitably get mold but I guess not. I only use Iodophor. Now I'm looking forward to getting this carboy cleaner. Glad you like the cat. He has a great personality. He always wants to be where the fun is.
Here's a question not on carboys but I made a larger yeast starter than normal like 2 3/4 beer bottles worth and pitched it into 5 gallons of wort I just brewed. I pitched a regular bottle of whitelabs in the other 5 gallons, The fermentation has really slowed in the carboy that I pitched the larger starter in and the other 5 is still going strong. Is that because the larger starter already gobbled up the sugars? I'll probably post this elsewhere on the forum but I'm sure you could explain it Thanks for the tips!VW

 

[Whut]

Here's a pic of my washer and it rocks. Two gallons of warm water plus a quarter scoop of Oxi Free. Let it do it's thing for 30 minutes and whatever you've got on top of it is squeaky clean. Here's the link to my build thread if interested.

Also I'd be remiss if I didn't add that I learned everything on how to build it from the good folks here on HBT! :rockin:

 

[EROK]

PBW........ it just likes me.