I will NEVER buy another BB, and advise everyone to not do so either!
Some time ago I contacted them because I found a number of small fractures at the base of one of my units. It actually began leaking slowly as I was transferring a porter into it. (What a mess to clean up! PLUS the disappointment of losing a half gallon in the process!) Anyway, I had always thought BB's were "unbreakable", so I checked the website which (at the time) prominently displayed a picture of someone about to whack a Better Bottle with a mallet along with the word "UNBREAKABLE!" in all caps.
So I emailed them and asked if they could explain how my "unbreakable" Better Bottle had become broken. The reply I got from someone named Walter indicated it was my fault for using "corrosive" cleaners which had weakened the PET over time. I wrote back that the unit was barely 1 year old, and that the only cleaners I had ever used were industry standards like Easy-Clean, Straight-A and PBW.
He wrote me back and re-iterated that those are all "aggresive" cleaners designed for CIP use on the stainless steel fermenters found in professional breweries, and suggested I check out the Wash/Sanitize section, under the Technical tab, at their Web site.
I did so, only to find a lengthy article where they chart their own test results of various cleaners on various container materials including PET. The chart includes percarbonate cleaners such as PBW as being "OK"! It even specifies PBW, B-Brite, One Step, and OxiClean by name and says they're all "OK"!!
It also shows that based on their own tests, sanitizers like Star-San, IO-Star and even household bleach are all "OK".
So I wrote back and brought all this to Walter's attention, and offered to personally drive my broken carboy up to Wilmette IL so he could inspect it himself; but he was not interested in helping in any way other than to recommend I use some product made by Seventh Generation to clean with.
So.... Just wondering if anyone else has had the pleasure of such an experience with old Walter... Who IS this guy, anyway? He acts like he's the owner of the company, but in fact BB is just a division of something called High-Q. I think he's a Whack-O!
On the other hand, after losing patience with Walter, I decided to send the same (original) email to Northern Brewer, along with an aside that I thought it was probably purchased from them; though I had no receipt or copy of the order as it was probably a gift from either my wife or kids. And you know what they did?
They sent me a brand new "Bubbler" carboy for FREE including shipping, with no questions asked other than a follow up email to confirm it had arrived safely and that I was satisfied!
Now THAT'S customer service!
God Bless Northern Brewer!
(And Better Bottle can kiss my grits...)
BTW: It's been over two years since this was originally posted, and my Bubbler carboy has been used at least a dozen times with NO issues despite regular use of PBW or OxyClean. Go Bubblers! NB rocks! BB's suck! (IMHO)
