SMASH!!!!!!.....blood....sweat....tears...

[Bernie Brewer]

Hmmmm, I have four carboys, and have never broken one *knocks on wooden computer desk* I have carriers for all of them though, and am verycareful with them.....

 

[RoaringBrewer]

This is yet another reason I'm contemplating the plastic conical fermenters. Can't break, never rack to secondary, etc.

Dump beer in plastic conical, drain trub after strong fermentation is complete or 7 days, let sit two more weeks, drain secondary trub prior to bottling, add priming mixture, use racking arm/tubing/bottling wand and fill bottles. All this in one vessel. No need to risk infection by sanitizing/transferring to a glass secondary, bottling bucket, etc. (Well, I might transfer to a bottling bucket to bottle, but those don't break)

Most importantly, No risk of losing a hand.

All for slightly less than $150.

 

[Hopfan]

I made the switch to Better Bottles a couple of months ago. Cleaning is dead easy...I soak with Oxyclean for about an hour (usually long enough to clean up and put away my other brewing gear after racking), then I dump about half of the liquid through the racking valve and drop in a washcloth. Roll the bottle around for a few minutes to let the cloth take off anything that may have stuck (Never seen anything, but just in case) and then sanitize & store.

I still use my glass carboys because I can't just let them go to waste, but I inch further towards selling them every time I have multiple batches going and have to move the glass and then the plastic. I suppose the glass gives you a good workout, but I too cringe every time I lift one, thinking about keeping the blood on the inside of my skin.

 

[Torchiest]

It seems to me like people make carboy sanitation and care way more complicated than they need to. I just take mine to the bathtub and dump the trub down the drain, then I rinse it a couple times with lukewarm water. Then I stick my brush in there, spin it around a couple times to get the gunk off the sides, and rinse it a couple more times. Everything comes right off. no problem. When it's time to brew, I fill it about halfway with water, add iodophor, and swirl it around for a minute. I haven't had any infection issues or other problems, and no breakage. *knocking on wood HARD*

 

[Ol' Grog]

I've been reading "hot" water....what are we talking here? Right after boiling or from the tap? Taps usually run around 150 to180.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I've been reading "hot" water....what are we talking here? Right after boiling or from the tap? Taps usually run around 150 to180.

HUH??? Try around 120(even that's on the warm side). If you had 180 deg tap water, not only would you be scalding anyone that touched it, but you could sanitize your stuff with tap water, no chemicals needed.

 

[Kevin K]

It seems to me like people make carboy sanitation and care way more complicated than they need to. I just take mine to the bathtub and dump the trub down the drain, then I rinse it a couple times with lukewarm water. Then I stick my brush in there, spin it around a couple times to get the gunk off the sides, and rinse it a couple more times. Everything comes right off. no problem. When it's time to brew, I fill it about halfway with water, add iodophor, and swirl it around for a minute. I haven't had any infection issues or other problems, and no breakage. *knocking on wood HARD*

Ditto. Same procedure here.

 

[Orfy]

I just rinse with water.
Let sit with oxyclean for a while agitate
and rinse with a little sanitiser.

Never had a brush in there yet!


Put away then before use a light sanitise and rinse.

 

[todd_k]

That's where his home attaches to the hitch ... through the closet ...

Bad form, Bill!

The hitch has been in my closest since I got rid of my Jeep, can't exactly put it on a VW Passat. I had it resting on some rubbemaid bins. Since clothes were hanging down, I couldn't see the hitch on top of the bin so when I pulled the bin out, the hitch fell out and hit the carboy.

 

[JoeRags]

I've been reading "hot" water....what are we talking here? Right after boiling or from the tap? Taps usually run around 150 to180.

180* tap water is not typical.... thats very hot.... probably right around the temp of the water I put in the carboy. Now, if the entire carboy was tempered, say the whole thing submerged, then gradually brought up to temp, there would not be a problem.

The problem with putting hot water into a carboy is that whatever glass is in contact with the hot liquid begins to expand. Since these things are so large, there is plenty of glass that is not in contact with the hot liquid, and therefore is not heating up and expanding. Expansion down low, while none up top causes stress within the glass, hence a large crack.

I'd say these things are fairly safe if proper precautions are taken. I cut some corners and was anxious to rack to my secondary because it was cold in the garage... I didnt let the water cool enough, and wouldnt you know it... I got cut bad.

I've learned from my mistake, and wont do that again for sure.... I just cant wait to get my conical built!

 

[Grimsawyer]

P.S. Sitting at work drinking a 3yr old bottle of Theaksons Old Peculiar. Yippeee

......ok.... where the hell do you work? Sitting at work drinking beer? :rockin: I mean I LOVE my job, I really do. But beer at work? And on the internet surfing beer sites? I don't care if you get paid 2 dollars an hour, I could put in some serious overtime at that place to make up the difference! At the same time drinking my cares away.

 

[frothy]

Do you have these in the States?
4" screw cap with a hole for an airlock & bung
2x carry handles.

lucky excape there JR - still sounds nasty though
Matt

 

[Ize]

I've only broken one carboy, and it was because I dropped it. No injuries, just a mess. But my friend had a visit to the ER when she broke one. It seems like the breakage is random, but it really isn't. It might get bumped several times and not break or show any damage- but then you just lightly bump it against the sink and SMASH. That's what happened to my friend- she had hauled a full 5 gallon carboy to the basement by herself, let it ferment and then racked it. Then picking it up to clean it in the basement sink, she lightly rapped it against the faucet. She drove herself to the ER (only 1 mile away) to the hospital where I work. Lots of bruising and quite a few stitches on her wrist. She had a big bandage for a while. She said there was lots of bleeding.

I think carboys are pretty durable, and I bet I must bump them or use water that's too hot or something, and they show no signs of breakage. Then suddenly, they might break. The straw that breaks the camel's back. I have one 3 gallon BB that I've never used (I bought it for wine), and one 5 gallon that I use all the time. The BBs are lighter to carry and unbreakable. I'm going to have to get some more.

Lorena

I think you're dead right with this Lorena. Has anyone barely bumped a glass in the sink and it just breaks? More than likely it's been bumped a few times and this time it was just right.

But Joe, I think you might be right with your situation. It would only seem to make sense that the hot water and the glass being exposed to a much colder environment in the garage caused the glass to be a bit more "brittle". One little bump and bam....

I know I've read here that HB-Bill and others use milk crates for their carboys. It's what I ended up putting my 6.5's in to move em' around but to keep em' safe. "BrewHauler" straps seem to be a good idea for moving them as well.

Ize

 

[skifast1]

The hitch has been in my closest since I got rid of my Jeep, can't exactly put it on a VW Passat.

You have the full sympathies of a fellow former-Jeeper!

 

[dibby33]

......ok.... where the hell do you work? Sitting at work drinking beer? :rockin: I mean I LOVE my job, I really do. But beer at work? And on the internet surfing beer sites? I don't care if you get paid 2 dollars an hour, I could put in some serious overtime at that place to make up the difference! At the same time drinking my cares away.

I work as a software engineer / programmer / analyst, whatever you want to call me. Beer poured into a glass looks just like coke. Not that the boss would mind anyway - as long as the work gets done. In fact he is normally the first one to mention beers at the nearest pub (50meters away) on Fridays.

There is another guy here that makes homebrew and we bring in bottles to try. He hasn't made any for a couple of years and I think I have just about got him motivated enough to start again

...best get back to it. work that is, too early for beer here

 

[Ol' Grog]

Damn....I need a new career.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

That's where his home attaches to the hitch ... through the closet ...

Zing! :rockin: