Left my 6.5 gallon carboy soaking with PBW over night. Just went down to the basement to clean it - only to discover a puddle of water under the table and the carboy half full of water. There’s obviously a crack somewhere… the water is siphoning out as I type this so I can move the carboy without it breaking more.
I’ve grown tired of cleaning carboys over the past couple of years and have been considering fermenting in buckets for a while now. What do you all ferment in?
Buckets. I have a bunch. I’ve thought of upgrading but buckets are just so damn convenient
I will be using my new Speidel fermenter this weekend for the first time. Bought it because I think it will be more airtight than buckets, which have have used up until now.
I just got a stainless SS Brewtech brew bucket and so far I like it. Really quick and easy to clean and rack right from the bottom valve. Just leaves the yeast and hop " stuff" in the bottom cone. I have 2 batches through it so far.
I just received my Anvil Brewing fermenting bucket, 7.5… Next W/E will be the trial run… Miabock… Tom over in Boston, I looked at those too, but pulled the trigger on anvil… Save a few bucks for… barley? Sneezles61
IF you gots the cash… Spike! BUT… I will look more like a home brewer ( Wheres Pietro?) but with SS buckets! Sneezles61
These new 6.5 gallon glass Big Mouth carboys look very interesting.
I won’t however purchase till my 6.5 gallon regular carboys break…
I use 5 gallon ones for dry hopping with Leaf Hops in Secondary.
Those are awesome.
I prefer the plastic big mouths. Still need to pay attention to how you handle them but not life threatening if they break. They have a couple issues with the lids but nothing duct tape won’t fix. Cheap too, not as cheap as buckets.
Really like my ported fermonsters 
I hear ya. I just brew in buckets, I generally have 2 or three going in different stages. The glass carboys are relegated to wine.
I use 2 plastic buckets for fermentation and another to bottle. I have 2 6.5 g carboys that I’m skittish to use after seeing some people’s injuries. …but I am using one glass carboy now to see my first lager ferment
Its not as exciting…but more exciting than cider 
Ya I am a sucker for the ss brewtech gear…it will be good to hear how you like the Anvil.
I’ve been using both glass carboys and the plastic Big Mouth Bubbler. I think the siphon-less BMB is more convenient, easier to clean and safer. I recently added the optional harness which does makes it easy to handle. I’m sticking with 5 gallon glass when I need to secondary.
My glass carboys are in the corner covered with dust since I broke one about a year ago. They’re too heavy and difficult to move anyway so I’ve gone to buckets.
BE VERY CAREFUL MOVING THAT CRACKED ONE!! If that sucker comes apart it could be VERY dangerous!
@brew_cat How do you get your bucket lids on airtight? And do you know what size hole to drill for an airlock? I have the small universal stoppers. The product page says the diameters are -
Top Diameter: 1.56"
Bottom Diameter: 1.156"
So maybe 1.25" spade bit?
Plastic buckets!
I do have 4 glass carboys that people have given me over the years. I only use those for lagering, although if I was running out of fermenter space and couldn’t take a drive up to my LHBS (45 minutes away) then I might use one as primary as a last resort. You can get 4 plastic buckets for the price of one glass carboy!!
I don’t generally have trouble with the lids but occasionally won’t won’t seal but not a problem co2 pressure will leak but you shouldn’t worry about back pressure at least I never have. 3/8 if you have those little bushings. I prefer 1 1/8 and use the bungs that fit in gallon jugs not sure of the size. If you have carboy bungs drill bigger I’d have to measure. What s nice with the big holes is you can look in or take a sample without taking the lid off. You can also give it a shot of co2 if you have gas.
My ale pail lids don’t seal. I don’t worry about it. If gas is escaping nothing is coming in.
