Better Stoppers for Carboy?

Hey there,

So the last couple of brews I've done have pushed the rubber stopper off the top. I've used string and such to try to keep it from pushing off but is there anything else I can try? Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks

I had a similar problem and had a fellow brewer in my club recommend this. It can fit an air lock or blow of hose. There are two sizes depending on your carboy so ask your LHBS and they can tell you. Hope this helps, Prost.

Mine only pushes off if the rim is wet... make sure its dry and maybe that will help

Thanks! I had an issue with it being wet the first time so this last time I really made sure everything was dry. I'll give the cap a go.

+1 to the orange stopper in the post above. You can dry the rubber stoppers but they still slide up a bit. With this one you don't have to worry about them sliding up and popping out anymore.

Sorry to bump this thread a few weeks in, but I have a couple of questions around using these vs. rubber stoppers as well.

1. Has anyone else ever experienced a 'rubber' smell to their beer when removing the rubber stopper when time to bottle? I recently bottled a failed cherry cider experiment (still fun). While the fermented juice tasted more like red wine, I couldn't help but get this aroma out of it every time I stuck my nose in the glass that smelled just like the rubber stopper. (1 gallon batch)

2. Regarding the caps, is a blowoff tube the only option? I don't see a way to attach an airlock to this. I have no experience with these but they don't look terribly complicated. Maybe just a little more sensitive to 'movement' and such? Would love to try one if it would ensure I don't end up with a 'rubber stopper' smell in my beer.

I should also note that with my first 5 gal batch of beer, I used the rubber stopper and had no 'rubber' aroma in my beer.

Thanks in advance, and sorry if I hijacked the thread...

Tim

Universal stoppers work much better than your standard rubber stopper as well. I think I prefer them over the orange / purple caps as well. I prefer the orange / purple caps for blowoff tubes, though.

Orange is for 5 gallon carboys, purple is for 6.5 gallon carboys.

1) No, I never detected a rubber smell using these caps.
2) You definitely can get a 3-piece airlock stuffed into the top of these caps.

Having no experience with universal stoppers, I googled this after reading your reply, but I don't really see how it's much different than a regular drilled rubber stopper? Photos seemed to show it crammed down into the neck of the carboy just like a solid rubber one with a hole drilled for the airlock. I'll have to ask next time I visit my LHBS. Luckily, no funky rubber smell/taste on my 5gal IPA I bottled yesterday.

Thanks again,
Tim

banks412 said:

Having no experience with universal stoppers, I googled this after reading your reply, but I don't really see how it's much different than a regular drilled rubber stopper? Photos seemed to show it crammed down into the neck of the carboy just like a solid rubber one with a hole drilled for the airlock. I'll have to ask next time I visit my LHBS. Luckily, no funky rubber smell/taste on my 5gal IPA I bottled yesterday.

Thanks again,
Tim

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The universal stoppers have a little extra ridge on the top outside that prevents them from being stuffed down. I've never had one fall in on me.

The carboy caps work both ways. This is how I use them.

I use the universal stoppers, but they still pop out sometimes. After insertion I wind a few turns of electrical tape to hold it in place.

MaxStout said:

I use the universal stoppers, but they still pop out sometimes. After insertion I wind a few turns of electrical tape to hold it in place.

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Yeah, sometimes they can pop out, but they never fall in, which is always a much bigger pain.

I make sure to twist them in. Seems to help.