Siphonless 6.5 Gal. Big Mouth Bubbler® - Ported Plastic Fermentor

After using duct tape to hold down the poorly-designed Universal Lid, which won't stay down even if everything is bone dry, I have resorted to using to 5 pound bricks. This is ridiculous! Whoever designed the lid shouldn't lose their job, but the person who approved it for market should. When I first got my Siphonless Big Mouth Bubblers, I thought there were parts missing for the lid, since everything I had seen was a screw-on lid. I can totally understand why the original lids leaked. What I don't understand is why they didn't design the universal lid to screw-on like the old one?!!! More importantly, this is a KNOWN ISSUE. It's all over the internet - people everywhere performing DIY fixes on these lids, taping them down, putting weights on them. SOo why are they still being peddled on the market like they are some kind of revolutionary product. Well, it was certainly a revolutionary way for me to lose money! I don't have money to burn on stuff like this, so I'm STUCK with these until I can afford something of quality. Avoid this product at all costs. Stick with your buckets until you can afford better! John Salvatore - Pittsburgh

The lid won't stay on. I don't mean it can pop off during a vigorous ferment. I mean brand new, bone dry, straight out of the box and the lid won't stay tightly seated. Wish I would have tested it before pouring in the wort. Ransack through the packaging thinking I was missing a part to screw it down. Had to it taped down now. Don't buy this.

I went back and forth over if this was something I needed or not, but went for it as I was tired of getting to all those hard to reach places on my glass carboys. After receiving, I used and has issues with lid popping off every time I turned my back on it. Come to find this is a common issue that no one seems to be doing anything about. I resorted to the bricks on top of carboy method.
On first use, during cleaning the inside got all scratched up. I was using a sponge - nothing too abrasive - and when drying it I notice scratches on the inside. I'm now apprehensive to use in the future as scratches may harbor unfriendly critters. What is the point of reaching inside to clean the thing when it scratches so easily?
Just overall not happy with it, I though this would really make the brewing process easier, but added more hassle in the end and I feel like I have thrown my money away. With 2 small children, I don't have a lot of disposable income (or time) at the moment and the disappointment in this product has kind of killed my buzz on homebrewing in general, which to me is its greatest fault of all.

Bummer, I was hoping for a lot, maybe my expectations were too high.

To all the people that can't get the lids to say on. I had the same issue, my first brew. After that, I learned the lids must be dried thoroughly. Take off the rubber gasket, dry it completely, then dry the upper inside of the bottle. Then use a blow off hose with a stopper, and it works perfectly. I'm several batches in, and haven't had any issues, once I started drying the lid, gasket, and inside the top. Cleaning is a piece of cake. So easy versus a glass carboy. Easy to carry as well, just make sure it's dry on the outside. Love them! I've got 3 now!

I own the 1st gen, with the screw on lid. It's fantastic.

On the other hand, this second gen with the new lid is horrible! I can't even believe they sell it...

Basically, the lid just doesn't stay on. I can't say more than that. It's a piece of garbage.

I called support and got a couple "tips" that didn't work at all.

I now have a jar sitting on top of it to keep the lid down. There's also a 50/50 chance I contaminated my wort while attempting to get this on.

Midwest Supplied: Do you QA the products you're selling?

After have a few mishaps with glass primarys, I decided to give this a try & keep glass only for secondary. It's a nice plastic fermenter and the siphon makes transfer quite easy. It cleans up easy, but I'd recommend removing the bubble pattern. One big caution to users though (which I learned the hard way), FULLY REMOVE & CLEAN THE SIPHON EVERY TIME. Even though you dont see it, little microbes stick on the treads under the o-ring. If you don't remove the siphon, you won't get this fully clean and an infection can take hold.

Great products just wish it was free shipping over $50 like most online retailers do.

I love the big mouth bubblers with the spigot. Racking is simple... just sanitize the secondary and a very short hose. Then attach to the spigot and get every drop from primary to secondary with no siphon needed. With the spigot on the secondary, same easy process to transfer from secondary to bottling bucket or corny keg. All my future primary and secondary fermenters will have a spigot and I'm tossing the siphons!

works as intended, but need to get a stopper if you have been using buckets, the stopper is completely different.

The big mouth bubbler is great. Easy to clean, add and remove dry hops, etc. The only negative is that the faucet seems a little flimsy; I haven't had problems with it but have been really careful not to knock it when moving the fermentor around.

Add me to the list of disappointed with the seal. Resorted to stacking bricks on top until transfer and then I'm done with it.

This works well except for the new top. First, with sanitizer on the inside neck, the top continues to spill upward. Finally, after turning the gasket upside down, it held in place. Also, the hole for the bung no longer provides a tight fit for a blow off tube. It's too big and leaks around the tube. It works fine with a stopper due to the flared design of the stopper. This design change was not throughly tested under application conditions.

I bought one of these a year ago and have used it about 10 times with no problems. Yesterday while brewing, I filled this up with wort, lifted it up with the harness and it failed, flooding my hallway, leaking into my basement and ruining multiple ceiling tiles.

I CANNOT stand the "universal lid". It universally SUCKS! i've called and been told to let the lid and silicon gasket dry completely before inserting. Ok, that's a real pain in the arse, but, i'll do it. Still doesn't work.

BRING BACK THE THREADED LID! Until then, i'll be buying a fermonster.

Lid does not stay on when fermenting. Poor design.

I was skeptical at first with them being plastic and having had some bad reviews that were hidden on other websites but ever since I've got them I've done about 4 brews and boy have they made my life easier. They are made out of high-quality material and great they have not warped in any way. I bought 2 and am about to buy two more. Also dry hopping in them was a breeze to get in and out with zero hassle

I don't know why some people are having a problem with the lid popping off. I just finished my first brew in the 6.5 Gal. Wide mouth with no lid issues. Going too the 2nd was no problem.

Brewed my first batch using the big mouth bubbler. Tight seal worked as expected and was very easy to clean. Plan on buying a glass secondary soon. Very easy transfer to secondary.

i just got the fermenter and put the first brew in it 6 days ago. The trub seems to all be below the spigot so here's hoping the transfer to secondary goes well! Happy with it so far

Have 5 of these now they all are great will order more

I have used the 1st gen 6.5 gallon bubbler for a year, and a 2nd gen 5 gallon for 6 months (as a secondary fermentor), and they are great improvements compared to glass carboys. Yes, the 2nd gen lid is different, you have to realize it has 3 seals, the lid doesn't need to be fully down and flat to seal. (Thank you to the crew at Midwest for their patient explanation of how it works). Anyway, after a few minutes it will sit down tight all the way. You don't have to siphon, it's easy to handle and store, though the bubble pattern is a little tedious to clean thoroughly. Not as bad as glass though! I'm buying a new 6.5 gallon as a backup, because after a year of use and 20+ batches it's time to replace it due to the inevitable bacterial build up. I think they are great products, and I've brewing all grain for 10 years.

I've used big mouth bubblers before but this is my first one that is ported. The fermentor itself is just fine, but there's no way I'm using that new lid. During cleaning it wouldn't stay on even when the sanitizer was just bubbling up. I'm not going to trust it during fermentation. Fortunately the lids from my previous bubblers work fine.

Thank you great service.

worked perfect, I seen a few reviews that said it would leak but if you tighten nut hard enough it will never leak.so easy to use. going to get two more.

It was a gift and he loved it! He is a home brewer and always trying new flavors

Big Mouth 6.5gal Bubbler with pour spout is great addition after using traditional car boys. Easier to keep clean and much easier transferring to a clearing bucket.
Thank you Midwest supplies for helping with coupon that didn't apply in the way I expected. Chatted with Midwest Supplies staff, corrected the coupon issue and applied difference on my total, on a weekend morning. Above and beyond

Easiest fermentor to use,an a heck of lot less messy.

Love it, great way to rack my wine without getting any of the sediment into the carboy.

works great, especially when wine kit has grape skins. Use this for 1st, second stage fermentation, degasing, stabilizing and clarification and bottling. Saves a lot of time, no longer start in a pail, transfer to carboy and allow fermentation to finish. Then transfer back to pail for degasing, stabilizing and clarification

i don't brew or ferment too often but now I'm ready for anytime, big time!...In the mean time...i can also use my big mouth bubbler for iced tea, lemonade or water for working around outside. ALWAYS great transactions! Thanks MidWest!

This makes transfers a breeze! This is easier then racking and the trub stays in there!

I'm using it along with a solid Big Mouth bubbler and I like the cycling one a lot better because I don't have to do all of the vacuuming the fluids from one to the other

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s the Bomb

This has been a good upgrade from the bucket. Itâ??s large enough I donâ??t have to worry about a bubble over, I can use the standard air lock, I can see the activity, I transfer to the secondary with just a hose thanks to the port, which is one less thing to clean or for bacteria to hide in. I havenâ??t had any issues with the seal after 4 or 5 batches. I highly recommend this.

This was my second one to purchase. Easy to clean, easy to transfer and keep an eye on fermentation. A lot easier to get a hydrometer sample. There was a problem with the first one I ordered but Midwest supplies made it right without any question. You can trust you will get treated right when buying from them.

go from ferment to bottle if you wish. had to adapt the stopper as i cant seem to order the right size, drilled a hole in a drain plug and it works. Wish I had another one!

These are excellent fermenters. Pros: easy to clean and sanitize, relatively indestructible, scratch resistant, great size for 5 gal recipes with lots of room for kraeuzen. Cons: the bubble pattern on the inside requires some attention when cleaning, and they are awkward to carry when full. This second problem is solved by putting the Bubbler in a heavy-duty milk crate, or by using a carboy carrier strap (there are several brands on the market).

Love the bubbler no more siphoning and easy to clean much better than a carboy. Would recommend to a friend

Works just fine. Much easier to handle than my glass one. Get the carrier to go with it for even easier handling.

This makes bottling day so much easier. I make sure mine is free! Works great and have had zero trouble with the lid.

I've been brewing for many years and fermented in all sorts of vessels - buckets, glass carboys, plastic carboys, conical fermenters, and now the Big Mouth Bubbler. The Bubblers are super convenient to store and move.. easy to clean and the spigot is a great convenience.. No racking tubes, no glass breaking, and 1/10th the cost of a conical. YES!

I've used this on four batches so far and really like it. I use it as my single fermentation vessel and the spigot makes kegging or bottling a breeze.

Love going siphonless also the little extra space in this slightly larger version

I love the ease of the wide mouth and the spigot. I would have given it a 4.5 stars if possible because the textured bubbles in the plastic are a little prone to holding gunk. Smooth for the next incarnation, please.

I have a couple ported 6 Gallon â??Better Bottleâ?? that I liked but theyâ??re now hard to find. Happy with the Big Mouth - well made and SO much easier to clean than the water jug style carboy!

I really like how easy it is to transfer and clean. I'm kinda kicking myself though for not getting the glass Big Mouth because it's been extra challenging to keep it cool during fermentation here in FL. Seems like the plastic insulates the beer from my cold packs that I use.

Makes life so much easier. the open lid is a breeze to clean. The only issues I have had so far with these is the lids can blow off during vigorous fermentations, which i usually remedy with some tape. The second issue is the tendency to absorb smells from batches. I brew ipa's, and dry hop a lot, and as such they can absorb that hop odor. It does dissipate over time if the fermenter is left empty, and this makes me believe the plastic is stronger than it seems. I have had no issues with this effecting the next batch, just a smell while cleaning. As always, clean when done using, store tight, clean before using again, sanitize, and it will treat you well!

I wish I had bought one sooner. Works great and is simple to clean. I highly recommend it.

Awesome adjunct secondary. I will use this for quick response
Turn arounds.

The wide mouth top makes your life so much easier!