I just received a starter kit that included a Big Mouth Bubbler™ 6.5 Gallon Primary Fermentor. There is a noticeable soft spot about the size of fist toward the bottom…the rest of the fermenter is nice and thick and firm, but this one spot is thin and pliable like a solo plastic cup…I can push it in with my finger and it actually crinkles…as a total noob is the normal or is this a defect?
Question about Big Mouth Bubbler
- Thread starter mwulf67
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mwulf67, It sounds like a defect in the blow molding process to me. I would contact your vendor and ask for a replacement.
cpfan
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For a primary fermenter you want a pail, minimum size 7.9 US gallons. For a secondary fermenter, most people prefer a glass carboy.
Steve
bkisel
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Welcome to the forum!
Sorry to burst your bubble[r]
but I can't see what use a Big Mouth Bubbler™ 6.5 Gallon Primary Fermentor would be. [I do understand that a/the purpose for the big mouth is to facilitate cleaning.] For a primary vessel I'd want it to have a least another gallon capacity. I'm not anti Bubbler as I have and frequently use and like two of their 6 gallon carboys.
Sorry to burst your bubble[r]
Last edited:
Welcome to the forum!
Sorry to burst your bubble[r]but I can't see what use a Big Mouth Bubbler™ 6.5 Gallon Primary Fermentor would be. [I do understand that a/the purpose for the big mouth is to facilitate cleaning.] For a primary vessel I'd want it to have a least another gallon capacity. I'm not anti Bubbler as I have and frequently use and like two of their 6 gallon carboys.
It would work for 5 gallon batches as a primary.
Thank you...I have contacted vendor; will see what happens...
Welcome to the forum!
Sorry to burst your bubble[r]but I can't see what use a Big Mouth Bubbler™ 6.5 Gallon Primary Fermentor would be. [I do understand that a/the purpose for the big mouth is to facilitate cleaning.] For a primary vessel I'd want it to have a least another gallon capacity. I'm not anti Bubbler as I have and frequently use and like two of their 6 gallon carboys.
Thank you, I have been lurking for quite awhile...not how I imagined my first thread...
I don’t necessarily disagree about preferring a big pail…and don’t want to name any venders, but the starter kit I bought was called "Master Vintner® Wine Starter Kit"…a quick Google search will show a couple, I think, well known vendors selling this kit…are these guys all selling a crap kit that won’t work?
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Nope. A 6.5 gallon primary will be fine if you have no skins or grape pack added. You might come close to blowing it out, depending on how vigorous a fermentation you have though. As others have mentioned, a larger, open primary is preferred - especially when you get into kits with grape packs. A 7.9 gallon bucket gives you plenty of headspace and room to work when you need to do punchdowns.
Welcome aboard!
Cool, thank you...I won't be working w/grapes or skin for anytime soon...will pick up a bucket when I do...
bkisel
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Sorry, I should have made it clear that it will work as a primary but with the cautions/limitations mentioned above.
It’s all good…even better, I learned something…I might not have made the connection between “better” kits needing more room/head space…besides, I can see me producing an “Island Mist” type kit a couple times a year regardless of where this hobby takes me, so I should always have a place for this thing, even if less any ideal…or I just replace it later down the road...
I would still use this for any 6 gallon batch. The other end of the tube is submerged in another pail 1/3 filled with sanitizing solution or clean water.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/15-16-od-blowoff-hose-3-5-ft.html
Would you used that in addition to an airlock or in lieu of one?
maurtis
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You use the blow off tube instead of an airlock. Since the other end of the tube is submerged in a bucket of sanitizer, it is an airlock. Just a really long one. You are basically expecting a blow out and redirecting the excess into the bucket of sanitizer instead of on the floor.
bkisel
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If you stick with wine making you'll use it enough to have gotten your money's worth and more. For many, maybe most, of us it just isn't our first choice for a primary fermentation vessel. Because of its big mouth I could see myself using one for my stabilization, degassing and clearing phase - nice open mouth and surface for adding agents and stirring to degas.
Update: After contacting the vendor and providing a video (I told them in my first email, I had one), they are sending me a replacement…I am anxious to start my first batch, but I think I will wait for the replacement…the current one probably wouldn't fail on the first batch, but better safe than sorry…I certainly wouldn’t trust it long term…
