What’s wrong with a plastic carboy?
sounds like there are many pros and cons to each. I say, use whatever you are comfortable with. Its clear to me that good results come from both plastic and glass.
I had a bad run with a glass carboy recently. It was the day after wert transfer. I came home from work to find the carboy had shattered and 6 gallons of IPA was in a thin veneer across my hardwood floor..... One can imagine my disappointment as i then began the clean up process. I took the carboy back and explained the situation and the local supply store would NOT stand behind their product... Just my two cents on the two cents. I'm really curious to see the average product using plastic vs glass for the average brewer who's intention is not to win medals but enjoy a cold frothy one.
Thoughts anyone?
it shattered on it's own? usually they break if you drop them or something hits it. Maybe your dog bumped something into it? the only other thing I can think of is a really weak spot from a manufacturing defect. In that case it probably pays to find out return/refund policies from the store before you purchase.
I don't think there is any difference in the outcome of the beer if you ferment in a plastic bucket or better bottle vs a glass carboy. maybe if you leave it in for a very long time, but if you are doing normal brews that take 2-3 weeks fermenting and then 1-2 weeks secondary, I doubt there will be a problem using plastic.
The thing people forget about glass, is that it is never consistant, the manufacture can do everything right, but some glass will break getting hit by an elbow, and the same exact glass you can knock off a table, and nothing will happen. Everyone has his preference, but I use plastic. I have used the same 4 fermenting buckets for 3 years. If they discolor, I use a bleach solution, and they are as good as new. I have never tracked an off taste to my fermenter, and contrary to popular belief, they are hard to scratch, and very easy to clean.
The other thing about glass goes back to the consistant thing again. Carboys are not made to hold pressure, if your blowoff tube gets stuck, you better hope the airlock blows out, or you just made a 5 gallon granade. .
If i'm doing a lager, I ferment as usual, but then put it in a keg to lager it. I believe that oxygen can penetrate buckets, but it would take about a year to get any oxidation that way. Go with what you prefer, some people love Carboys, and would not brew without them, that's fine, but you can make fantastic award winning beer in buckets.
plastic or glass it doesn't really matter, the process by which you put wort in and take beer out is what makes all the difference.
That said I really like glass because I can see inside. It's fun to watch what goes on. I am beginning to be able to tell the subtle differences in krausen of the 3 or 4 yeasts that I use regularly.
ID
When making wine, you can get crystals of tartaric acid forming. With glass they wash out easily. With plastic they can stick to the inside of the carboy.
So my answer to the basic question of 'What's wrong with a plastic carboy?' I would say nothing, provided:
1. The opening is big enough to get your arm into.
2. You have a bung (not a lid) of the right size.
3. It is made of food grade plastic.
4. The inside is not badly scratched or damaged.
By having a large opening you can clean ANYTHING out of it - part fill it with hot water and washing up liquid or de-greaser and get in there with a scouring pad. Then rinse it out and put in warm sterliser and run that around with a scouring pad. This fixes the tartrate build-up (you can 'feel' it when using the scourer).
You need a proper rubber (or cork) bung to get an air-tight seal. A lid, even a tight fitting one will allow some air transfer. You might get away with a bucket designed for diapers - they have to be really air tight (or at least odour-tight :-)
Non food-grade plastic can leave unpleasant tastes and odours, and some won't be tough enough. Most buckets are rather thin plastic and will crack if even slightly mis-handled.
Slight inside surface scratching should be OK - the de-greaser should get out any fat/oil/dirt and the steriliser should destroy bacteria and mould. Larger scratches would be bad as anything could lurk in there.
I use 20L plastic carboys very successfully - they are light enough when full for me to move around safely, even with no handle. I have two 10L glass but find them more difficult to use than the 20L plastic.
Don't use a scouring pad on something made of plastic.
brewchez wrote:
Don't use a scouring pad on something made of plastic.
+1 when I used a bucket fermenter, I cleaned with a micro-fiber cloth. very soft material, won't scratch the plastic and give germs a place to hide.
Nicole2112 wrote:
1 gallon glass jugs can be pretty easy to obtain--just buy a jug of apple juice at the grocery! Be sure to sanitize well before using, though.
I'm not sure how to cheaply get bigger glass carboys, though. Do any water companies still use 5 gal. glass jugs? Any of them not require returning the bottles? Most I've seen now use plastic, but the plastic they use I'd be inclined to trust, since their business depends on not getting impurities in your water.
i started put using a plastic bucket and quickly switched to glass carboys. it's a matter of preference but as mentioned there is a higher probability of contamination using plastic versus glass. main reason I switched was I like to see what's going on during fermentation. i now have 4 glass carboys for beer and a 10 gallon red wing crock for winemaking.
I do extract and partial grain recipes. i add 2 gallons of ice cold water to the carboy and just pour the hot 3 gallons of wort into the carboy with cold water in it. it helps bring the temp down quick, not to yeast add temp. never had an issue of carboy breaking from heat stress. if you add just hot wort to the carboy it will break the carboy. Glass is easy to clean with a carboy brush.
highly advise to use glass.
DC
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