Big Mouth Bubbler plastic carboy

[KipDM]

there are several variants of these, but i bought the Siphonless Plastic version in both 6.5 and 5 gallon.
they are GREAT! the wide mouth makes it easy to reach your arm in and scrub everything clean as well as plenty of room for using your beer thief to check gravities.
also, being lighter makes them easier to lift in and out of my chest freezer. the bottom spigot is fairly typical of ported carboys.
the spigot is located above the yeast cake [unless you happen to also have a LOT of trub settlement like i did for a pumpkin beer] so you get clearer beer when transferring whether it's to a secondary or straight to a keg.

compared to other [glass] caroboys i've used over the years i would rate this a solid 9 out of 10, because nothing is perfect!

[Retired18Z]

So, I've been at this only a year... I never purchased glass carboys, only buckets (at first). I purchased one of these and thought it was the cat's pajamas, until I realized that yeast flocked out and hung on every "shelf" created by the large, structural ribs in the design. Nothing major but... Morebeer's Fermonster 6 or 7 gallon carboys give you the lightness of plastic, the wide mouth, but straight sides to help the yeast fall all the way down to the bottom. I agree, both of my wide mouth, clear plastic carboys are my favorites. The buckets serve a purpose, but the Big Mouth Bubbler and the Fermonster are, IMO, much better.

[BOB357]

I love my Big Mouth Bubblers, but recently killed one of them. To clean Better Bottles I would mix a couple of gallons of PBW in the carboy and then invert it in a 2 qt. measuring bowl and let it sit until the krausen ring was gone. This method uses a lot less PBW for soaking and virtually no elbow grease.

I decided to use the same method with the bubblers. The flexing that occurs as the PBW solution glugs out into the measuring bowl until gets to the neck of the bubbler was a bit too much for the thin plastic. After about 15 cleanings a 4" crack showed up in the side along one of the transitions.

Now I use the kitchen sink sprayer to blast off what I can and then mix a gallon of PBW which I use to scrub the krausen ring with a micro-fiber cloth. I replaced the cracked bubbler with a 7 gal. Fermonster and  use the new method on it as well.
 

[KipDM]

I love my Big Mouth Bubblers, but recently killed one of them. To clean Better Bottles I would mix a couple of gallons of PBW in the carboy and then invert it in a 2 qt. measuring bowl and let it sit until the krausen ring was gone. This method uses a lot less PBW for soaking and virtually no elbow grease.

I decided to use the same method with the bubblers. The flexing that occurs as the PBW solution glugs out into the measuring bowl until gets to the neck of the bubbler was a bit too much for the thin plastic. After about 15 cleanings a 4" crack showed up in the side along one of the transitions.

Now I use the kitchen sink sprayer to blast off what I can and then mix a gallon of PBW which I use to scrub the krausen ring with a micro-fiber cloth. I replaced the cracked bubbler with a 7 gal. Fermonster and  use the new method on it as well.

I pour more slowly so I don't have this flexing issue. But I too have started using a kitchen sprayer to get the initial crud off. I used to always use a 5-6 gallon PBW mix.

[KB]

Nice being able to easily clean the wide mouth. However, the lids are VERY difficult to remove. Does anyone have any suggestions for making lid removal easier?

[Ck27]

I'll have to check these out I've got 2 Cooper's Fermenters which are quite nice really and easy to use for dry hopping. I've got one 6.5 gallon bucket fermenter. 1 Speidel 7.9 gallon fermenter which is awesome hands down my nicest unit and durable as hell. I've also got a 1 gallon fermenter which I use for tests and whatnot.

[Baron Von MunchKrausen]

Nice being able to easily clean the wide mouth. However, the lids are VERY difficult to remove. Does anyone have any suggestions for making lid removal easier?

Interesting problem -  I wish I had.
With an aggressive fermentation needing blow-off tubes, my lids push up. I need to bungee cord the lids to the carrier handles to keep them sealed.

As to cleaning, I spray as much crud out as possible then add 1/2 cup PBW and fill to the top. All clean in a couple hours. I would not want to use any brushes inside plastic.

[Ck27]

Nice being able to easily clean the wide mouth. However, the lids are VERY difficult to remove. Does anyone have any suggestions for making lid removal easier?

Interesting problem -  I wish I had.
With an aggressive fermentation needing blow-off tubes, my lids push up. I need to bungee cord the lids to the carrier handles to keep them sealed.

As to cleaning, I spray as much crud out as possible then add 1/2 cup PBW and fill to the top. All clean in a couple hours. I would not want to use any brushes inside plastic.

Haha, sounds like what happened with the beer recipe I gave you.

[Baron Von MunchKrausen]

[Haha, sounds like what happened with the beer recipe I gave you.

Yup. It was an epic fermentation.
The hop haze has cleared. Now a nice IPA with mangos and pineapples.

[Ck27]

[Haha, sounds like what happened with the beer recipe I gave you.

Yup. It was an epic fermentation.
The hop haze has cleared. Now a nice IPA with mangos and pineapples.

Great I was worried about it when you told me it was having a bugger of a time clearing.

[BOB357]

Nice being able to easily clean the wide mouth. However, the lids are VERY difficult to remove. Does anyone have any suggestions for making lid removal easier?

That is a problem that can be solved by using a bit of keg lube or other food grade lubricant on the threads.

[jomebrew]

Nice being able to easily clean the wide mouth. However, the lids are VERY difficult to remove. Does anyone have any suggestions for making lid removal easier?

Yeah, me too.  I uses some keg lube last time and it was much easier to remove.  No more giant pipe wrench and two people.

I didn't remove the rubber O-Ring a couple brews and picked up an infection in the third brew.  Luckily it complimented the beer but that is absurd to expect. 

[Ck27]

Nice being able to easily clean the wide mouth. However, the lids are VERY difficult to remove. Does anyone have any suggestions for making lid removal easier?

Yeah, me too.  I uses some keg lube last time and it was much easier to remove.  No more giant pipe wrench and two people.

I didn't remove the rubber O-Ring a couple brews and picked up an infection in the third brew.  Luckily it complimented the beer but that is absurd to expect.

Fail

[brewtime32]

I just got one and have had trouble cleaning mine out. I'm going to have to try out the kitchen sprayer. Not really sure why I didn't think about that until reading this.