My jug ate my bung

[TheHermit]

I have one of those 6.5 acid carboys along with the correct bungs. I placed my airlock into the bung and pushed the bung into the top of the jug. Everything was so slick from all of the sterilizing i did it squeezed past the lip of the jug. Well I thought that I would be able to hook it through the hole and pull it back out. By the time I got back it decided to slide into the jug. Will this cause me any problems while my cider is fermenting?

 

[northcal]

You'll be fine. Apply less pressure on another one, and retrieve the old one later.

Sometimes a few or more beverages can cause superhuman strength! LOL.

good luck with the cider.

 

[HopSong]

Probably won't cause any problems.. If it was just the stopper, they are pretty easy to get out.. after fermentation Take a plastic bag.. like you get from the grocery store.. push it in there a reasonable distance so there is a lot of bag going straight in. Turn the jug upside down.. hoping the air lock stays oriented away from the mouth of the jug.. and start to pull.. the whole works should come out.. especially if it's all slick with another dose of StarSan .. or better yet.. Oxyclean.. that's pretty slick stuff.

 

[duffrecords]

Probably not, as long as you sanitized it. I accidentally pushed a silicone bung into a carboy full of wine and it was OK. Granted, I racked it only a couple of weeks later once the lysozyme I had added settled to the bottom. I can't speak for rubber bungs, though. I always smell that rubber odor in the neck of the carboy, which is why I use silicone now.

You can remove the bung by feeding a plastic shopping bag into the mouth of the carboy, holding it upside down so the bung rolls toward the mouth and hopefully under the bag. Then blow into the bag to inflate it and envelop the bung. If you do it right, you should be able to pull it out without too much trouble. Unfortunately, this won't be an option until after you've racked your cider.

 

[TheHermit]

Thanks for all of the replies and especially the best way to get it out. There is no doubt about the star san I had plenty of that on there that was my pblm lol. All is going well it is fermenting like it is supposed to this is my 2nd batch already and except for beginners mistakes all is going well.

 

[itsratso]

"My jug ate my bung"

how much did that cost you?

 

[b-boy]

I like these. They don't pop out, are low profile, and you can't push them in.

http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shop/rubber-stoppers/carboy-stopper-for-better-bottles-drilled/

 

[podz]

I don't understand how this can physically happen. My silicone bung is like 3 or 4 centimeters tall and conical shaped. When it's got an airlock inside of it, it can be pushed down into the carboy a maximum of 75%. It just does not go further than that.

 

[northcal]

Stuff happens... The OP probably has a different bung or carboy than you have??

If his bung was a little too small for the opening it seems pretty easy how it can slip inside.

Best,

I don't understand how this can physically happen. My silicone bung is like 3 or 4 centimeters tall and conical shaped. When it's got an airlock inside of it, it can be pushed down into the carboy a maximum of 75%. It just does not go further than that.

 

[Glynn]

I did the same thing this week. The bung wouldnt stay seated and kept sliding up, so i pushed it real hard and it went right through. I was dry hopping so i just put a new one on and fished the old one out after i bottled. To get it out i used some heavy duty non braided electrical wire and bent a hook in it. Turn the carboy upside down so the narrow part of the bung is pointing into the neck, slide the wire though the bung hole and hook the backside and yank it out

 

[HopSong]

That stuff is def slippery.. I just take a clean paper towel to dry off the stopper before inserting into the carboy. It's wet enough that I have no concern about any infection.. anything on the paper towel would be killed in seconds.. and the stopper still has residual SS left on it..

 

[TheHermit]

Thanks for the replies and glad I am not the only person who adds a little to much pressure when installing a bung. Next time I will wipe the inside lip dry as well as the bung to create a surface with more friction. One poster added a link for better bungs and will be looking to order a few.

This acid carboy does seem to have a little larger opening than a regular carboy, but I still bought the correct bungs. When you are new mistakes are made, and you learn from them. I could even use a cap and run a tube down to a jug of water which would be the safest to do and less troubling.

Am I having fun, hell yes I am and a new hobby to boot. :rockin:

 

[podz]

I've never heard of an acid carboy until you mentioned it, but anyway vessel openings can be highly variable in size. I don't think manufactures really care too much about variances of the inside diameter of the neck in glass vessels.

For example, I have two 5-litre brown glass jugs made by the same company with the same marks, etc. The screw lids are interchangeable, work just fine. However, I had to buy two different size bungs for those jugs at the LHBS because one of the openings is smaller than the other one and the bung could very well have fallen in.

Originally, I had bought two same sized bungs and noticed the problem when I got home. I measured the inside openings with my digital micrometer, returned one of the bungs to the LHBS and told him the measurement. He pulled out his bag of bungs and his own old-school micrometer, then gave me a new bung. It worked perfectly.

You can get a cheap little digital micrometer for less than 10 bucks. They are not used everyday, but when you need a precise measurement they are an invaluable tool to have in your collection.

 

[jhalloran]

Try a drilled bung, they are generally too large to slip into a carboy and they have a lipped edge.