Never using a carboy again

Yeah, I used glass for quite a long while, but decided I'd had enough good luck, so I switched to plastic Speidel fermenters. I still use two 5 gallon glass carboys for purchasing RO water, but I use Brew Haulers for moving them. I miss fermenting in glass, but better safe than sorry. Cheers!

 

As much as I don't like mixing plastic with any kind of beverage or food I never use glass carboy.
Glass is heavy susceptible to cracks due temp changes and can be dangerous when broken.
I have use plastic carboy for a while but find it hard to move around.
My choice is food grade 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket equipped with handle easy and safe to move around.

happy fermentation

 

Dang dude, I'm sorry that happened to you. I'd "pour one out" for you, as the homies say,.....but that seems inappropriate in this case...

 

There's no doubt that using plastic is safer, in much the same way as never swimming in the ocean greatly reduces your chances of injury due to shark attack.

That said, I don't know of a single homebrewer injured while handling a glass carboy properly, i.e. with a brewhauler, milk crate, or similar device.

But I would not use one of those metal "carboy handles." They are not designed to support the weight of a full (or even empty) carboy, but some people tend to not read directions. And if you use a brewhauler/milk crate, there's no need for an additional handle anyway.

My favorite carboy injury story on a forum (favorite because I'm convinced it is not true), which I wish I could find again, was an account from a guy who had asked the forum for advice about carboys. Other posters told him that glass carboys are dangerous. After being "reminded" that they are dangerous, he suddenly remembered that his own brother had died from falling on one.

 

Oh no!! I'm doomed!

 

This must be the story you read (first message):

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=232037

 

I don't worry so much about the hazard of broken glass as the small neck on the carboy that makes it hard to clean and dryhop....and, therefore, a 2nd tier primary fermenter, imho.

 

I agree - the small neck is one of it's greatest disadvantages. Luckily, there's now a large mouth 5 and 7 gallon glass fermenter available (e.g. Kegco and Big Mouth Fermenter).

 

Does the 7 gal. have a spigot? ...if so, how much are they?

 

The Big Mouth does have a spigot, but it is plastic. It is $54.99. See:

https://northernbrewer.ca/products/siphonless-big-mouth-bubbler-6-5-gallon-plastic-fermentor

The Kegco is glass and is $55.11, but does not have a spigot:

https://www.amazon.com/Kegco-Gallon-Carboy-Fermenter-Homebrew/dp/B01ANDX4WO

Here's a 5 or 6 gallon glass fermenter with a spigot:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/5gal-6-gal-glass-wide-mouth_60621396311.html

 

What type of carboy was it? Smooth sided acid style or the ones with square ridges?
I broke a 6.5 gal acid bottle a few months ago, it was empty, swung a full one into it by accident. Examining the broken pieces I saw there was a very large difference in wall thickness from one side to the other. I won't use an acid carboy from now on, but still using the ridged glass brewing bottles. I only put cool wort in my carboys and carry with both hands, one on neck and one on the bottom.

 

I am mostly a convert to plastic, using the Spiedel and beer buckets. The win for me is the spigot at the bottom and cleanup...way easier. I still have and use the glass carboys on occasion. Last night, for example, I mixed up some mead in one of my 6.5 gallon carboys. It is super satisfying for me to see the active fermentation though usually not worth the PITA if siphoning out the fermented product nor the weight. Also, I like the glass carboys for fruiting a beer. Definitely would not like to break one!

 

pretty much exactly the same...speidel and bucket, but an occasional glass carboy user that loves watching active fermentation in them. I've got about 8 carboys though...so they basically just take up space in my basement. The only time I've had an issue with a glass carboy was when a friend decided to put my 6.5 g carboy with near boiling wort into a snowbank...shockingly it didn't survive. If you play it smart & safe with glass carboys, than you should never have an issue with them. The milk crate/bru hauler is a great example of playing it safe. Close inspection after each cleaning for signs of small fissures is a another one I try to always do...and never carry a carboy just by the neck.

 

I haven't had any quality issues with my beer due to the lid. If I use the right stopper I don't have any air issues.

 

I used buckets in the past but have been using 6.5 gallon glass carboys for the last 50+ beers. I really like how I can do closed transfers with the carboys.

 

If you like how you can do closed xfers with a carboy, you'd love how you can do closed xfers with a conical. Go on, you know you want to...

 

Matter of fact, I’ve been really looking at getting one of those fancy 14g SS conicals.

 

One of my concerns is that I have a few recipes that I secondary. For example: my strawberry Belgian blonde that gets a crap load of puréed strawberries. I always rack on top of the fruit to avoid splashing. What do people normally do in this scenario with a conical fermenter if you don’t own 2?