There are “those who have and those who will”. I moved rather quickly into the those that have category. Cleaning my 5 gal glass secondary after racking and bottling my very first homebrew I managed to shoot it from my soapy grasp onto the concrete floor with about a gal of water in it. Slippery little devil. Think a valuable lesson was learned with minimal loss. Should have had on rubber gloves and been mor vigilant. Either way I am replacing it with a plastic Better Bottle.
Thank God I got it all cleaned up before the Wife returned! You all be careful out there.
At least you weren’t hurt and at least there wasn’t beer in it. That would be a PITA to clean. These gloves are good for gripping and save the skin from some of our harsh cleaners. I use these for cleaning and a brew hauler for moving but still wonder if it is only a matter of time…
[quote=“DeBrew”]There are “those who have and those who will”. I moved rather quickly into the those that have category. Cleaning my 5 gal glass secondary after racking and bottling my very first homebrew I managed to shoot it from my soapy grasp onto the concrete floor with about a gal of water in it. Slippery little devil. Think a valuable lesson was learned with minimal loss. Should have had on rubber gloves and been mor vigilant. Either way I am replacing it with a plastic Better Bottle.
Thank God I got it all cleaned up before the Wife returned! You all be careful out there.[/quote]
good reminder for all, new and old brewers, married or single.
I have those webbed things that fit around them. I never take them off. Another thing, after brewing for a while I have discovered that many beers are fine at 2-3 weeks in the plastic bucket and I rack straight to the keg. I guess if you are bottling it’s a bit different. I’m racking my Bourbon Barrel Porter to a carboy today for a month or two, but that is one of the few beers I put in a carboy.
Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:56 am
Re: Shattered Carboy
At least you weren’t hurt and at least there wasn’t beer in it. That would be a PITA to clean. These gloves are good for gripping and save the skin from some of our harsh cleaners. I use these for cleaning and a brew hauler for moving but still wonder if it is only a matter of time…
The bolt on carry handle survived still attached to the neck but as a reminder to newbies like me, a carboy will not fit into a carboy drain and dry holder like comes in some starter kits with this bolt on handle attached. Therefore, you end up fiddling around even more if you decide to remove it and reinstall. Added potential for disaster.
The handle is really only good for carrying an empty carboy. I’ve heard of people snapping the necks clean off with the handle. Very dangerous. Actually today I just found this collection of horror stories… I’m seriously considering switching to buckets after reading this.
Wow. I’m done with glass carboys after reading those horror stories. I have one batch in glass currently, but I will be buying a bucket for primary and a better bottle for secondary before I brew again. Just not worth the risk.
after thinking about glass fermenters and the dangers of braking them I will most likely only use them for lagering. i’m into ales right now and they really don’t require glass, I.M.H.O.
I bought a new 6.5 gallon glass carboy two years ago. I mixed bleach and water and let it soak over night because the carboy sat in the store for who knows how long with nothing covering the opening. Figured a good rinse then cover the opening and place it in storage until needed. I was pouring the bleach and water mix into a 7 gallon bucket when it slipped from my hands and smashed on the concert floor in my workshop. 6 gallons of bleach water on the floor with no drain. I am still finding glass now and then. They are slippery when hands and carboys are wet.
Best thing I bought when I bought another carboy was a brew hauler harness for the carboy. I try not to handle the carboys too much.
There is absolutely no reason to use dangerous glass carboys. Buckets are just as good or better in almost all situations. For those few situations where a bucket might not be ideal (such as storing in bulk for more than a couple months), kegs are a great option.
If you absolutely have to see the beer inside, get a better bottle instead of a carboy.
What about the big mouth bubbler? My wife got me one for my birthday, does the bigger opening allow for greater control since you can get your arm into it?
Yes and no. When it’s full, there is really no easy/safe way to carry it except with a brew hauler. (My Christmas present included the bigmouth-specific hauler. I’m not sure how well the standard hauler fits.) There is no neck, so you can’t do the one hand on the neck, one hand underneath, which is the most convenient, and most dangerous method of dumping a carboy. It’s every bit as slippery when wet. Putting your hand in it when dumping it out is fine for cleaning, but sorta misses the point when sanitizing, I actually used the auto-siphon to dump the starsan yesterday.
I like the bigmouth, but it isn’t the dream come true I thought it would be. I do like being able to get a washcloth in there…
I have a big mouth bubbler too along with 4 carboys. I use the hauler when moving the glass but it does little good when cleaning and especially dumping. The risks are weighing on my mind lately, so I’m going to try modifying a couple bucket lids to take my thermowell stopper. NB also has an 8 gallon bucket… which will allow me to to worry less about blowoff.
I use glass carboys for secondaries. I will continue to use them, but I will not be buying anymore. I use buckets for primary. I would love to get a better bottle for primary though. I was using the handle on the carboys when it was full, no more. I held it from the bottle was well, but I can see how it would still stress out the neck to the breaking point, especially over time.
Carboy handles, even though they are not supposed to be used to lift it up, especially full, are one way to help you keep hold of it. I have them on my two 6.5 gallon and all five of my 5. Some of them are about fifteen years old. I have no problem with buckets and own a SS conical. I just started out with the glass and with a great amount of luck and care have somehow managed not to break them. Knocking on wood.