Funkenjaeger (talk | contribs) (Added information about using cheap plastic water carboys, and the cons. Also other minor changes to content and formatting of overall entry.) |
Funkenjaeger (talk | contribs) (noted that water carboys are normally too small for regular 5gal batches.) |
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===Plastic Water Carboys=== | ===Plastic Water Carboys=== | ||
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Another type is the inexpensive plastic carboys used for office water coolers. These carboys are usually easy to find at regular retail stores and are significantly less expensive than glass carboys or better bottles. However, these carboys can be made of any number of different types of plastic, and a homebrewer should identify the type and make sure it is suitable before attempting to use one as a fermenter. Looking at the recycling code on the bottom of the carboy, #1 plastic is PET (like the better bottle) and should be suitable for fermenter use. Other codes are less suitable, particularly #7 which represents "Other", and could thus be just about anything. Using a carboy made of unsuitable plastic may mean excessive oxygen permeability, and the plastic may be porous enough to allow it to stain and harbor odors and possibly infections. | Another type is the inexpensive plastic carboys used for office water coolers. These carboys are usually easy to find at regular retail stores and are significantly less expensive than glass carboys or better bottles. However, these carboys can be made of any number of different types of plastic, and a homebrewer should identify the type and make sure it is suitable before attempting to use one as a fermenter. Looking at the recycling code on the bottom of the carboy, #1 plastic is PET (like the better bottle) and should be suitable for fermenter use. Other codes are less suitable, particularly #7 which represents "Other", and could thus be just about anything. Using a carboy made of unsuitable plastic may mean excessive oxygen permeability, and the plastic may be porous enough to allow it to stain and harbor odors and possibly infections. | ||
| + | These carboys are also typically only available in a 5-gallon size or smaller, making them unsuitable for use as primary fermenters for 5-gallon batches as they have insufficient headspace for krausen. | ||
Revision as of 22:03, 12 November 2007
Glass
The glass Carboy is a common primary and secondary fermentation vessel. Ranging from 1 gallons to 6.5 gallons this versatile container is impervious to oxygen making it an ideal secondary fermenter. If being used as a primary fermenter it is suggested to use a blow off tube for the most vigorous part of the fermentation. Cleaning glass carboys can be tedious, but since they cannot easily be scratched they are very sanitary. Carboys should be kept in a dark place or covered, because light will prematurely "skunk" the beer.
Better Bottle
An alternative to glass carboys is a Better Bottle. This carboy is a mix between a bucket and a glass carboy, with advantages and disadvantages from both. The advantages of the Better Bottle is that it is light weight, unbreakable, and has very low oxygen permeability since it is made with PET plastic. The disadvantages of the better bottle is that it is still transparent, so a cover is necessary, it is harder to fit a blow off tube, and care must be taken while cleaning since it can be scratched by rough cleaning, making it difficult or impossible to effectively sanitize. Use of appropriate chemical cleaners can minimize or eliminate the need to scrub of the inside of the carboy during cleaning, avoiding scratches.
Here is a comparison between carboys and Better Bottles.
Plastic Water Carboys
Another type is the inexpensive plastic carboys used for office water coolers. These carboys are usually easy to find at regular retail stores and are significantly less expensive than glass carboys or better bottles. However, these carboys can be made of any number of different types of plastic, and a homebrewer should identify the type and make sure it is suitable before attempting to use one as a fermenter. Looking at the recycling code on the bottom of the carboy, #1 plastic is PET (like the better bottle) and should be suitable for fermenter use. Other codes are less suitable, particularly #7 which represents "Other", and could thus be just about anything. Using a carboy made of unsuitable plastic may mean excessive oxygen permeability, and the plastic may be porous enough to allow it to stain and harbor odors and possibly infections. These carboys are also typically only available in a 5-gallon size or smaller, making them unsuitable for use as primary fermenters for 5-gallon batches as they have insufficient headspace for krausen.
