Wide Mouth Glass Fermentor

[DrWill]

What "bucket people" fail to realize is that some of us want perfectly clear fermenters because of their fermentation voyeurism.

Is it creepy that I love to watch my pet yeasts reproduce? I mean, yeah it's creepy, but it is TOO creepy?

 

[hexmonkey]

I transport my carboys in milk crates. No problems for years.

What about when you wash them out? Don't you have to take them out of the crates?

 

[GotPushrods]

What "bucket people" fail to realize is that some of us want perfectly clear fermenters because of their fermentation voyeurism. It has nothing to do with real benefits and you're not going to talk them into opaque or semi-opaque plastics.

I completely agree. Sure stainless would be amazing. But if I'm going to settle for plastic, I want some other perk.

I am still blown away that no one makes a 6.5 - 7 gallon PET carboy. They would get rich off me alone.

Who brews 5 gallons in primary anyway? Almost nobody. My 6 gallon PET carboys are nice, but at 5.25 - 5.5 gallons, there's always a ton of blowoff, and often a mess that my blowoff container can't hold.

Make that a 7 gallon PET carboy with a wide mouth and you'll sell more than you can make. With all the innovation in homebrewing the last 5-10 years, I am shocked this doesn't exist.

 

[Seven]

I completely agree. Sure stainless would be amazing. But if I'm going to settle for plastic, I want some other perk.

I am still blown away that no one makes a 6.5 - 7 gallon PET carboy. They would get rich off me alone.

Who brews 5 gallons in primary anyway? Almost nobody. My 6 gallon PET carboys are nice, but at 5.25 - 5.5 gallons, there's always a ton of blowoff, and often a mess that my blowoff container can't hold.

Make that a 7 gallon PET carboy with a wide mouth and you'll sell more than you can make. With all the innovation in homebrewing the last 5-10 years, I am shocked this doesn't exist.

Does this qualify?

Speidel plastic fermenter - 7.9 Gallon

 

[david1528]

I'm gonna give it a shot. Cleaning carboys sucks!!!

 

[GotPushrods]

Does this qualify?

Speidel plastic fermenter - 7.9 Gallon

I've seen those but 1) they aren't clear (why not, it's fun) and 2) costs WAY more than a simple injection/blow molded piece of PET. My point is just make a PET carboy just like the ones B3 sells for 25 bucks. Just make it a little bigger. Boom... Blazing hot seller.

Those Speidels do look nice though!

 

[63belair]

I feel like an idiot, but I did not realize these were made of glass until reading this thread. I read the initial email and checked them out on another website (not NB's) and thought they were a logical extension of NB's 'The Bubbler' line of PET carboys.

I really think NB should have considered a different name for this, or at least they should say on their product description that it is made of glass.

Oh well, cool concept but I won't be running out the door to buy one.

 

[DrHops]

I think these are the answer, except I'm unsure about the seal of the lid. http://www.katom.com/094-SI6000.html?CID=Shopping&utm_source=Shopping&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=CSE&zmam=29342707&zmas=1&zmac=5&zmap=094-SI6000&

They don't make lids for these. They are hung upside down when not in use so the water drains out of them. You might be able to find a lid that works, but as far as I know, no one makes lids for these.

 

[DrHops]

Cool, I stand corrected!

 

[Tex60]

I picked this up off of Craig's list it has 1776 in the design on the bottom 5 gal the opening is big enough to put my arm to the bottom, I just have to figure out a stopper for it

 

[ultravista]

That ice bucket has a big hump in the middle. Why not use a regular old 6 gallon bucket?

 

[BobFV]

I like the idea of using the 6.5 gallon model for primary, but with a high gravity beer I don't think an air lock in the little grommet hole will do the trick. I don't see any way to connect a proper blow-off tube to this - anybody have any ideas how that might work?

 

[Homercidal]

I like the idea of using the 6.5 gallon model for primary, but with a high gravity beer I don't think an air lock in the little grommet hole will do the trick. I don't see any way to connect a proper blow-off tube to this - anybody have any ideas how that might work?

Yes, they actually sell a blow-off kit for this for a couple of bucks.

 

[BobFV]

Yes, they actually sell a blow-off kit for this for a couple of bucks.

Cool, yes, I see it now on the site. Thanks.

Looks like the screw on top actually has a hole for a stopper which can also be used for a blowoff tube. I imagine my "Brew Hauler" carboy carrier will work with it as well.

Looks like a good piece of gear.

 

[BreezyBrew]

Ahhh... no more struggling to get a fat bag of dry hops out of the neck!

I only put 1oz per muslin bag of hops in there. Makes it easy to get out.

 

[rockbottom61]

It looks like they do offer a 6.5 gallon model.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/big-mouth-bubbler-6-5-gallon-fermentor.html

 

[Randzor]

I can't see why not. I wish there would have been follow through on the same idea for a PET version of the same that was promised a few years ago.

I wonder if there is a patent or plastic sourcing problem. I understand most glass is made in mexico so it may be easier to source a manufacturer.

 

[Homercidal]

I mentioned this when the wife brought up Christmas gift ideas. She actually asked a fair number of questions about it, like why's it better? where can it be bought? etc.

Crossing fingers. I'd like to try one out. I'm just hoping they are more durable than the carboys that have been made lately.

 

[AnOldUR]

Not an expert on stress analysis, but I'd think a normal carboy would be less prone to breakage than one of these wide mouth versions. Wouldn’t the smaller opening make up a stronger system?



edit:
Not saying this would stop me from buying one. Just an observation.

 

[Homercidal]

Not necessarily. Most carboys break at the bottom, not the top. Having a smaller opening at the top also puts a greater distance between the outside corner and inside corner, which would likely make it weaker (at equal thickness). Having a larger opening reduces the distance between the corners, allowing less leverage if you were to place stress on the opening.

Now if it's thick enough, and made from the right types of glass, it should be fine.

 

[Milan37]

Yesterday I got an email from NB touting these. Not two hours later I got an email from Midwest for the exact same thing. Just a coincidence, I guess.

 

[CBelli]

Man, ya crazy, man! I'm in agreement with Bobby. Would be nice to be able to clean my carboys with a rag instead of soaking them. Could scrub and get them cleaner without using so much water. I'd have to use a different method of siphoning, but that's not a big deal. I typically use the carboy caps and start the siphon by a blast of co2 to push the beer out. Would maybe pick up an autosiphon or something.

I use carboy caps and 6lbs of co2 to push my beer into a cornie as well, but for me, this is 'closed transfer' is more important than easily cleaning a standard carboy....

I would love to get a few of these 6.5 ones but I am not willing to go back to an open transfer.....

If anyone figures out how to modify the cap to take a CO2 please share!!!

 

[Homercidal]

Yesterday I got an email from NB touting these. Not two hours later I got an email from Midwest for the exact same thing. Just a coincidence, I guess.

Not much of a coincidence if you consider that Midwest Supplies is basically a satellite of Northern Brewer...

 

[Homercidal]

I use carboy caps and 6lbs of co2 to push my beer into a cornie as well, but for me, this is 'closed transfer' is more important than easily cleaning a standard carboy....

I would love to get a few of these 6.5 ones but I am not willing to go back to an open transfer.....

If anyone figures out how to modify the cap to take a CO2 please share!!!

This doesn't seem like much of a challenge. It's a plastic cap, so it could easily be drilled and fitted with a QD, if nothing else.

 

[Robusto]

I would love to get a few of these 6.5 ones but I am not willing to go back to an open transfer.....

If anyone figures out how to modify the cap to take a CO2 please share!!!

Here you go:

http://www.kelvin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=710112

or get a solid #5.5 and drill it out your self...

 

[beersk]

I use carboy caps and 6lbs of co2 to push my beer into a cornie as well, but for me, this is 'closed transfer' is more important than easily cleaning a standard carboy....

I would love to get a few of these 6.5 ones but I am not willing to go back to an open transfer.....

If anyone figures out how to modify the cap to take a CO2 please share!!!

Agreed. I really like the pressurized transfer. I soak my carboys with PBW solution in hot water for 24 hours. So cleaning, while wasting a bit of water, is easy enough.

 

[exc503]

As long as it seals as well as a standard carboy, I would be game. In fact have been dropping hints to wifey for three weeks (hope she catches them).

 

[Newsman]

Love it! Great idea!

 

[Newsman]

I, too, would love one of these in PET plastic. I even emailed NB about it. They basically said "we'll take it under advisement" or "yeah... when pigs fly."
I figure if we get enough people emailing them and asking for a PET Plastic version, they'll get the message. So, if you want a plastic version of this, go email NB or Midwest (or both!)

 

[rico567]

It's still glass, and I have better alternatives.

 

[diatonic]

Just saw these on the cover of the Northern Brewer catalog I just got. Anyone using them that can comment on them?

 

[ultravista]

I bought one from Midwest. Real nice but haven't used it yet. I'm trying to figure out how to use my thermowell with it. I'll have to drill the lid.

 

[zdbrown1]

A plastic version would be sweet

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[POAS]

I got one for X-mas and have used it twice. I love it. Easy to clean and it's glass. I did buy the hauler that's made for it to tote it around. Would be very hard to move without it.

 

[POAS]

Seals very well too.

 

[Yesfan]

If Better Bottle made a version of these, I think I would replace what I have now. Just curious, but are they the same diameter as standard carboys?

 

[jchawk]

For what it's worth I've been using Curtec plastic containers for fermenting.

I drilled a hole in the top using a step bit big enough to fit a rubber grommet and an airlock. I run a blow off tube to the airlock and put it into a bucket of sanitizer. I did this because the lid screws on tightly and has a really nice rubber gasket that keeps things nice and air tight.

I have yet to create a beer fountain with this method. You can typically find these second hand on eBay in various sizes. The 26 liter/6.9 gallon wide neck drums seems to work best for me as I normally do ~5ish gallon batches. I have some of the larger 55 liter/14.5 gallon drums but I think they are entirely too heavy to try and move with 10+ gallons of liquid so I just use them for bulk grain storage.

I'm intrigued by the better bottle but I think the Curtec has a nicer lid and they don't break when dropped...

 

[eastoak]

genius.

 

[Yesfan]

^^ I like those, but one thing I don't like is how wide they are. Wider vessels take up more space if you're using a temp controlled freezer to maintain fermenting temps.


That's what I'm wondering about the Big Mouth Bubblers. If they are wider in diameter than standard carboys, then that would be another disadvantage to me. I have a pretty good sized chest freezer. It can fit 3 six gallon buckets or 4 six gallon carboys. I can fit 8 five gallon ball locks too.

I would like to see a 6-6.5 gallon PET bottle that was narrow in diameter and had the big screw on lids like the big mouth bubblers. Then one could fit a lot of carboys in a small space. You can't ever have too many carboys.

 

[63belair]

^^ I like those, but one thing I don't like is how wide they are. Wider vessels take up more space if you're using a temp controlled freezer to maintain fermenting temps.


That's what I'm wondering about the Big Mouth Bubblers. If they are wider in diameter than standard carboys, then that would be another disadvantage to me. I have a pretty good sized chest freezer. It can fit 3 six gallon buckets or 4 six gallon carboys. I can fit 8 five gallon ball locks too.

I would like to see a 6-6.5 gallon PET bottle that was narrow in diameter and had the big screw on lids like the big mouth bubblers. Then one could fit a lot of carboys in a small space. You can't ever have too many carboys.

I agree with you on the whole width issue. I'd love to see 6-6.5 gallon PET bottles that were the diameter of a ball lock, or even pin lock keg, but just taller and with a large/wide opening. It would make swapping kegs and fermenters in/out of temp controlled fermentation chambers much more seamless.