Question about vacuum pump and "Big Mouth Bubbler"

[cronos1013]

Has anyone tried to use one of THESE with their all in one wine pump?

I am hesitant to buy one before I know whether or not it will crush itself (expensive and messy mistake) when put under vacuum.

I make a lot of melomels so I typically use a TON of fruit in my secondary fermentations, and clean up often leaves something to be desired...this seems like it would be a good compromise.

Chris

 

[DirtyDawg10]

Seems like it is recommended for beer. I could see it used for a fermentation carboy but I wouldn't want to bulk age in it. The small opening of a regular carboy is to keep the exposed surface area at the top of the carboy to a minimum. This wide mouth at the top would create a much larger surface area.

 

[richmke]

The Big Mouth is designed for Primary fermentation, where you have lots of stuff to clean. How long from adding the fruit in the secondary to the next racking?

The lid of the Big Mouth seems sturdy enough against the vacuum, so I wouldn't worry about that. The head space would be an issue if you are keeping it in there for more than a few weeks (if the fruit actively ferments, then the CO2 will give some protection).

 

[jamesngalveston]

I just bought two last week, have not received them yet. I plan on using a vacuum pump on mine...I dont think the plastic top will cave in..we shall see.

 

[kryptonitewine]

I wouldn't worry about the top caving in but what about the sides???

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I looked at some of the reviews and these are some of there exact replies

I'm afraid it might make it a little more fragile then my other glass carboys.

Also the bottle has many fairly large air bubbles in the glass. They're very noticeable, but none have a profile or appear to more than cosmetic flaws. I hope they don't cause any structural weakness, and honestly I don't expect them to, but they're worth noting.

The only flaw is in the glass manufacturing,there are many air bubbles in the glass,I do not think they will weaken the unit but they do look funny.

The glass is pretty thin compared to a normal carboy but it works well. I'm afraid it might make it a little more fragile then my other glass carboys.

I personally not heard of this product till now - please if anyone has tried it under vacuum please do tell !!

 

[kryptonitewine]

Glass? I thought this was peet. Disregard my earlier post.

 

[cronos1013]

Hey, thanks for the replies.

@dirtydawg
I have other carboys to age in, I was just wondering about if it will crush if I put a vacuum on it when I pull from my primary fermentation container (normal carboy) to the secondary where I am adding a TON of fruit to the must, making it a bigger PITA to clean once finished.

@jamesngalveston
Can you let us know? I am quite interested to hear if this thing implodes.

@kryptonitewine
I don't know, your first post might be accurate still, I have read complaints about air bubbles in the glass which could indicate poor workmanship or they could make it more fragile, also the glass is supposedly thinner than normal carboys.


@richmke
I normally let my melomels sit at least a month on the fruit, sometimes 2, I typically use 3 pounds of fruit per gallon of mead.

-Chris

 

[jamesngalveston]

steve soon as i get mine, i will test with vacuum from a safe distance away.....should get by next monday are tuesday.

 

[cronos1013]

steve soon as i get mine, i will test with vacuum from a safe distance away.....should get by next monday are tuesday.

Did you have a chance to test this? If so how did it work out?

 

[jamesngalveston]

both that i received had cracks, and send them back...the new ones should be here any day...

 

[cronos1013]

Man that stinks, that's worrying, do they look like they got damaged in shipping or due to mediocre construction?

 

[jamesngalveston]

they were damaged in shipping by fed ex just tossing them around...big holes in the boxes, etc...shipper didnt read fragile.......
are may be like ralphies dad, the saw it as french....fra gil e..lol

 

[Brew and Wine Supply]

An FYI on the big mouth carboys, they are made in China. Lots of air bubbles in the glass and poss lead in them. remember the other thread on Chinese carboys? One of my suppliers got one thinking of selling them, they decided not to. I will leave it at that.

 

[RickD]

steve soon as i get mine, i will test with vacuum from a safe distance away.....should get by next monday are tuesday.

James just curious if you had a chance to test these? Doh!! Banned !?!

 

[RickD]

I have a little big mouth bubbler arriving in a few days and I want to test it with my AIO pump. Any tips or suggestions for conducting the test? Following a thorough visual inspection, my current plan is to simply wrap it with a large bath towel (to contain the glass in the event of what Elon Musk would call "rapid unscheduled disassembly"), and then simply attempting to pull water into it using my typical hosing setup.

 

[reeflections]

Another issue with using these with the vacuum pump is that you will need a 2 hole bung that that will fit into a slightly less than 1" hole.

Personally, I have 2 of these and love them for primaries for 1 gal experiments, but I think the lid would collapse before the glass. The lids are pretty thin plastic.

The OP link didn't work but I assume this is what we are talking about:

Little Big Mouth Bubbler® Glass Fermenter

 

[reeflections]

Just realized this is a 2014 thread.

 

[RickD]

Just realized this is a 2014 thread.

Yes, but given it's incomplete ending I thought I'd try to resurrect it. I believe a 6.5 stopper will fit the standard lid. Won't know if I don't try. I may try this one also: Big Mouth Bubbler® Universal Lid - Dual Port (northernbrewer.com)

 

[reeflections]

I bought mine (1.4gal) about 1 year ago and a #6 stopper will not fit my lids.

That dual lid looks like a winner. It even looks stronger than the original, but it's hard to tell from the picture.

I'm looking forward to your experiment results. There have been times when I have wanted to use my Bubblers as receivers. Especially when I am racking to a smaller carboy and have more than 1 gallon left over. I have just been afraid of breaking the lid. Plus the bung issue. The glass in my Bubblers are thinner than a regular carboy but it seems as substantial as the one gallon carboys (used Carlo Rossi wine bottles) I routinely use with the AIO, and no serious looking defects. I trust the glass with the AIO.

Let us know how it goes and, if you end up getting one of those universal lids, I am curious about them as well.