Better Boy plastic carboys??

[firejohn03]

Is anyone using or had any success with the Better Boy(brand name) plastic carboys? The guy at my local brew shop says they are made specifically to handle alcohol, and that they don't leach. He said he is replacing all of his glass with them when needed. They have the triangle #1 recycle symbol stamped. I am a poooor winemaker and these are about half the cost of glass carboy's. I have 5 gallons of blackberry wine in my primary and a batch of DB still going. I need more carboy's and was hoping for some suggestions or insight??????

 

[GEM]

I use the better boy carboys for all my wines and I think they are great. They don't brake like glass and are a lot lighter. The only downside is that you cannot vacuum rack to them since they will not take the vacuum pressure. Otherwise I recommend them highly, especially from a safety standpoint.

 

[dralarms]

Don't know where winder is at but I've got 2 5's 2 6's, 2 new 6's. And 3 I'll sell ya cheap.

 

[jamesngalveston]

im dralarms...i started off with some, but i cant degass them, and there heavy as heck when fully loaded. the glass ones, i can degass and rack from across the room if i have too.
and to me, you can never get a plastic to be as clear as clear glass.
and that is important to me for judging as to when to bottle.

 

[jamesngalveston]

maybe as just a go between transfer bottle..thats it. like from primary to first secondary, then all to glass....

 

[vernsgal]

I have to say 1st off, I haven't used the Better Boys but have inquired about them on this site before,

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f6/plastic-vs-glass-35240/

Most of the u brews around me use the Better Boy plastics.When you walk in you see rows upon rows of them filled with wines. They say they're a lot lighter and economical.
The only thing you shouldn't use them for is bulk aging.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I have to say 1st off, I haven't used the Better Boys but have inquired about them on this site before,

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f6/plastic-vs-glass-35240/

Most of the u brews around me use the Better Boy plastics.When you walk in you see rows upon rows of them filled with wines. They say they're a lot lighter and economical.
The only thing you shouldn't use them for is bulk aging.

I wonder why they would say -
you shouldn't use them for is bulk aging - is it the plastic leaching into the wine ??

 

[jamesngalveston]

and you cant properly vacuum degass, are vacuum transfer...if you have a vacuum system then glass is the only way to go. and if you have 2 are more 5 are better carboys loaded, you should have a vacuum system.
flex hose is cheap.

 

[Runningwolf]

I have some and never use them except out of desperation if I am out of glass. Just being traditional I guess.

The idea of racking with Vacuum racking, I haven't done it since I quit buying kits several years ago (except a few like ports and Cranapple Chardonnay). And for the same reason I dont degas with vacuum either. I would certainly prefer dropping a BB over a glass carboy.

My preference, glass. Any issue's with Better Bottles, nope!

 

[vernsgal]

I wonder why they would say -
you shouldn't use them for is bulk aging - is it the plastic leaching into the wine ??

I'm not sure why you can't bulk age. I'll ask when I'm in a u-brew, probably next week,unless someone here knows why? They're not supposed to leech.

 

[firejohn03]

Hey dralarms are you in Ga? Winder in in Northeast GA. I appreciate everyone and the input. If I can get them cheap, I guess I will have to try a few. I am only making 10-15 gallons at a time, so it's not like I am out much. Thanks a lot......

 

[BernardSmith]

I think the one great advantage of Better Bottle is that they weigh a great deal less when filled than glass. The one great disadvantage is that plastic is not as rigid as glass so that if (or when) you move a full carboy you are very likely to deform the bottle and allow the wine to push through the airlock and so (potentially) become contaminated with any impurities in water of the airlock. To the best of my knowledge there is no indication that Better Bottles should not be used for aging wine. In my limited experience I have not had the experience that James has had with problems clearing wines in Better Bottles but insofar as you cannot use a vacuum to help degas the wine you may need to allow any wine stored in a Better Bottle much longer to clear simply because you may be forced to let the wine degas more naturally. Certainly you can easily rack from a Better Bottle to glass or to plastic using the inner surface wall of the target carboy to spread the wine in a thin film and so help degas during siphoning. One other advantage that Better Bottles have is that some are ported. That means that they have a hole drilled towards the bottom of the bottle. This hole is fitted with a tap which can be attached to a thin tube and used to help bottle the wine (you don't need to siphon the wine when bottling you simply open the tap and allow gravity to fill the bottle), but if you bottle using a vacuum pump then a ported carboy is not anything you are likely to make any use of.