Hate Slippery Carboys? Tell Me I'm Not The First One To Figure This Out

[TerapinChef]

I'm sure that I'm not the only one here who has to carry his full (heavy, wet, slippery, ackward) carboys from the kitchen to the basement. I know that every time I do it I think about how much it would suck to drop all of that time and money as well as the mess that would ensue. I hope that I'm not the first person to figure this out, but I've never seen anyone mention it. I'm sorry if I'm repeating known information, but

CARBOYS FIT GREAT IN MILK CRATES

5G Carboys fit good, a little bit of extra room, but that gives you enough room to get your fingers through the handles with no problem.

7.5G Carboys are a bit of a tighter fit, filling most of the milk crate so you can't really get your fingers through the handle holes. But personally I would rather carry a wet milk crate with all of it's holes and slots than a wet carboy.

Milk crates are relatively easy to come by, cheap or free. In fact there's a very good chance that just about every one reading this has at least one in there house somewhere. Hope this helps at least one person from breaking a carboy somewhere along the line.

 

[skou]

Chef, as a small warning, I might add that having milk crates in your house may be somewhat illegal. Personally, I don't "store" my carboys in milk crates, but since I work for someone having a MASSIVE deal with the local milk company, there have been a couple of crates, known to be seen in the vicinity of my house.

(Well, maybe just a wee bit more than a couple. My LEGO collection takes up 7 of the rectangular kind!)(We won't even talk about my empty Grolsch bottles, which fit 28 to the crate.)

steve

 

[TerapinChef]

Chef, as a small warning, I might add that having milk crates in your house may be somewhat illegal.
steve

Sorry, I forgot to note that "most" of my milk crates were commandeered from an old dairy that has been out of buisness for years. I even managed to score some of the old metal ones. Great score!

 

[Brewsmith]

You're not the first one to figure this out.

At least one old timer around here uses crates.

 

[EvilTOJ]

Milk crates can also be bought at any store that sells household items, like Target or Walmart.

 

[JnJ]

Milk crates can also be bought at any store that sells household items, like Target or Walmart.

Those are flimsy and not the real thing. I don't think I'd trust a full carboy in one of those.

 

[CBBaron]

Those are flimsy and not the real thing. I don't think I'd trust a full carboy in one of those.

Agree, I have not seen a decent one at a retail store yet. In addition most are rectangular and fit hanging file folders (legal in one direction standard in the other)
Craig

 

[RedSun]

You can also use carboy carriers, which is how I get down. Nice nylon sling for lugging things around. I usually just put mine on a garage creeper and roll the sum b around, easier all the way around.

 

[e lo]

Nylon webbing is really cheap at any store that sells climbing equipment, and it should be very easy to sew your own carboy carriers. I haven't done it yet, but it's on the list of stuff to do. You wouldn't even need good tubular webbing -- cheap, flat 1/2" would be just great for this purpose.

 

[Donasay]

Real milk crates are ideal, and you know they will definately hold 5 gallons of beer, as they are designed to transport 4 gallons of milk.

 

[beergears]

Plus some sort of semi-rigid foam or cardboard at the bottom of crate, as an extra cushion, just in case... as suggested by someone here.

BTW in my basement, I have an old rug around the area where there is carboy "traffic", same idea, a little cushioning in case of falling objects.
Bonus; I can put the carboy plus bung on its side on rug and rock and roll it to aerate...!

 

[rdwj]

I love mink crates. Makes things much easier to carry and act as a but of a shock absorber

 

[jds]

I use them as carboy carriers too. And beer carriers, and equipment carriers, and for lots of other things. I picked up several 'real' milk crates many moons ago, when i worked in a college cafeteria. The milk distributor didn't mind me taking a few when I asked, and they've followed me around for the past 15 years or so.

They might even have decorated my first few apartments.

 

[malkore]

Plus some sort of semi-rigid foam or cardboard at the bottom of crate, as an extra cushion, just in case... as suggested by someone here.

when I put a carboy in the basement to crash cool it during secondary, I put it on a piece of pink rigid foam insulation, 1/2" thick.
works great and I don't have to worry about smacking glass on a concrete floor.