Outside of carboy has a small crack...

FarmerJoe · 04-13-2011, 07:48 PM

Hey guys and gals. I just got my first carboy delivered yesterday. I noticed that there is a tiny crack on the outside, well its more of a tiny piece chipped off than a crack. The chip is tiny, about the width of the tip of an average ball-point pen, just slightly slightly larger. It doesn't appear to be deep, but then again its hard to tell since its so small. I'm not really worried about it cosmetically, but just wanted to make sure if it would still be safe to use as my primary.

If its safe to use I'll just keep it. It'll be a hassle to send it back for just cosmetic reasons, especially since I got it from amazon for just under $30 shipped, but did have to wait a little over a month for it. BTW, its a 23L, so roughly about 6.07 gallons.

BendBrewer · 04-13-2011, 07:50 PM

Hard to tell without seeing it. I would notify the vendor and see what they can do about it.

**Hammy71** · 04-13-2011, 07:50 PM

Fill it with water. The only pressure it should ever see is the weight of 5 gallons of liquid. It's probably ok.

Acoma · 04-13-2011, 07:53 PM

I'd call the vendor and send it back. Not worth the risk of having 5 gallons of beer explode on your ankles.

FarmerJoe · 04-13-2011, 08:49 PM

Yea, I've been trying to take a picture of it, but its very hard to get a good shot that would be useful for you guys to judge since its such a small spot on a big glass carboy. I'll keep trying though.

I will fill it up with water and check to see if nothing leaks through, which I highly doubt it would anyway.

I will be trying to find out who manufactures these carboys to see if I can ask them directly on what they think about the issue. I got it through amazon, and seeing as they're probably not too knowledgeable on brewing, I really don't think they'll be too much of help, until it comes to the decision of sending it back. Well, I'm off to see if I can get some contact info for the people amazon get it from.

Thanks for the help!

**AnOldUR** · 04-13-2011, 09:04 PM

There's a big difference between a chip and a crack. A crack can spread, but a clean chip won't. My wife got a carboy for me from a yard sale. The guy used it for wine and had put level marks on it. Too deep to have been scratched in with a diamond tool. Looked more like he used on of those vibrating engraving tools. The glass is actually chipped away. Made me a little nervous at first, but been using it for a couple of years with no issues.

FarmerJoe · 04-13-2011, 09:39 PM

AnOldUR, you're right, I should have been more careful with using both words. I should clear that up now. After further inspection, it is definitely a chip on the outside, not at all a crack. I looked it over very closely and I see that there is no way this will spread like a crack would. After hearing your story, I feel a lot more comfortable with keeping it. I'm thinking of just using extreme caution when using it the first couple of batches, like keeping it in a large cardboard box inside of a large storage bin, just to make sure its not going to explode during fermentation. I guess like you, I'd just be nervous at first.