Dropped rubber stopper into fermenter

[unfnole23]

So I was taking a gravity reading of my latest Ale and I went to put the stopper back into the fermenter and it went in real far. I left it for a few days thinking I could maybe pry it up and out with a knife. Today was bottling day and when I tried prying it out, it fell into the fermenter. Anyone have tips on how to fetch it back out?

 

[Teromous]

Inside a carboy? Wow, you must have been pushing pretty hard. I suppose you could try turning it upside down, then using thin scissors to try and cut it up and take it out in pieces...

Just to make sure, this is a rubber bung inside a carboy, correct?

 

[ChshreCat]

This trick works pretty well for carboys and stoppers.

http://www.wikihow.com/Extract-a-Sunken-Cork-from-a-Wine-Bottle

 

[Reno_eNVy]

This trick works pretty well for carboys and stoppers.

http://www.wikihow.com/Extract-a-Sunken-Cork-from-a-Wine-Bottle

Cool trick, I like it.

If that doesn't work, I'd try using a coat hanger to hook it and position it as you wish. They get a thin hand-towel or another cloth to your disposal (bounty is pretty damn strong, that might work.) Move the stopper to an advantageous position, insert the cloth holding both ends, get the stopper into your cloth like a hammock, carefully remove the hanger and then pull.

Also, but here's how you open a wine bottle in you happen to be walking around drunk downtown and don't have a wine-key/corkscrew (skip to 0:40 for the good stuff):

 

[Teromous]

Next time try this one:

 

[unfnole23]

Awesome guys. The cutting up idea led me to use scissors. I put the scissors inside the hole of the rubber stopper. I opened the scissors a little to get a hold of the stopper and was able to pry it out all in one piece! haha how I managed to drop a bigger stopper into a smaller hole is beyond me

 

[Teromous]

Awesome guys. The cutting up idea led me to use scissors. I put the scissors inside the hole of the rubber stopper. I opened the scissors a little to get a hold of the stopper and was able to pry it out all in one piece! haha how I managed to drop a bigger stopper into a smaller hole is beyond me

Wow I'm amazed that you got it out!

 

[ChotaBoy]

I've done this a couple times. After the hed slaps and Dohs I remembered a trick my uncle told me about. Take a cloth napkin, or dish towel (no bounty won't work) turn the carbouy on its side. insert about 3/4 of the cloth. Roll or upend the carbouy untill the stopper lands on the cloth. Gently pull the cloth out it will trap the stopper inside the neck. Then pull hard this will allow the stopper to be pulled out with the cloth. Works every time.......