No more glass for me ...PIC..

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zanemoseley

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Well I bought a 5 gallon glass carboy before I read about so many people not liking them. Well I figured I could be careful and I'd be fine. After 2 uses I was sanitizing it for a third secondary fermentation. Then I saw a huge series of cracks on the neck!!! Glad I saw this before racking. I have cared for this thing about as well as you could have. I have never carried it by the neck, all the weight was supported from underneath and had a hand on the top just for added security while moving. I guess I'll either go with all buckets or try some better bottles. The better bottles seem ok as long as you don't roll the thing around the bottom edge to aerate the wort. So be safe guys, my experience could have been worse including bad cuts and 5 gallons of beer on my hardwood floor.

CarboyCracks.jpg
 
Are those actually cracks or just scratches? I've never seen anything like that happen. I've had mine for years and am far less careful and they are fine
 
Well they sure seem like stress cracks or something to me and being located where the neck transitions to the body seems like a likely place.
 
All that was used to sanitize was a mixture of One Step in 115 F tap water. Never subjected to heat via oven or dishwasher.
 
Would using hot water from the tap cause this? i use hot water to clean and rinse mine, just curious if it might be too hot?
 
Ive used glass carboys for years including one from 1929 that my grandparents owned and Ive never had a single crack, chip, or break. I have a couple of better bottles too and while I like them I just feel better about sanitation and chemical resistance with glass.
I think a lot of the problems with glass are just from poor manufacturing, there are a number of threads about crappy glass bottles breaking during capping and opening too.
With glass heat is not an issue glass can withstand extremely high temps, its thermal shock that causes cracks or worse. as long as the glass is heated/cooled slowly and evenly temp is not a concern.
 
They're stress fractures. I have them on a couple of my 5 gallon carboys. I think its the quality of the glass as none of my 6.5 gallon carboys don't have them and I think its because they're better made. To be careful you should avoid handling them by the neck. I still use them though without problems and I always use a carboy hauler.
 
I have seen two threads about glass carboy issues in the last week. These IMO are freak occurences that could be due to many reasons, stress on the carboy, being to hard on it (not sure what this means ha), and freak occurences.

The main thing I wanted to comment about was I see these threads and then some people respond with "I'm switching to Better Bottles".."I am nervous now"...

Come on people...thats like reading a thread where someone got an infected batch and you grow paranoid over your brew or quit altogether.

Glass is perfectly safe to brew in and it has been used for decades upon decades. I use both and have had no issues whatsoever. I am actually just now cooling my wort on my batch and have the glass carboy sanitising now.

Remember...sit back and have one and relax.
 
I have two carboys that have cracks like that. I've used them fine with no problems. As long as you don't pick em up by the neck they'll be fine.
 
Its all good saying they're fine to use until I have one shatter possibly sending me to the ER and causing havoc in my house, 5 gallons of beer on a floor and floor molding is no small deal. I don't consider myself paranoid but I also like to feel I have good common sense. Common sense tells me if a 5 gallon all glass vessel has stress fractures in possibly the weakest area then its not a good idea to fill it fully and continue like nothing is wrong.
 
Its all good saying they're fine to use until I have one shatter possibly sending me to the ER and causing havoc in my house, 5 gallons of beer on a floor and floor molding is no small deal. I don't consider myself paranoid but I also like to feel I have good common sense. Common sense tells me if a 5 gallon all glass vessel has stress fractures in possibly the weakest area then its not a good idea to fill it fully and continue like nothing is wrong.

I like your logic. This is probably turning into another one of those glass vs. plastic threads, so if you use glass with no issues, continue to do so. The only reason I haven't had issues with glass is because I use plastic. If I had glass, I know it would be a matter of time before I broke one.
 
I've come over to the Better Bottle side because it's not just one or two threads about this; it's probably thirty or forty threads over the past couple years where someone had a carboy shatter, sometimes because they weren't careful (accidents DO happen) or sometimes without any apparent cause (like might be the case here). From all the firsthand accounts I've read, this really ISN'T a freak thing, it does happen, not to everybody but it could happen to anybody. It's just not worth it, especially since Better Bottles are now cheaper than glass carboys.
 
I don't usually carry them around the house while they are full, they get filled from my plastic primary, i then lift them on the table from the floor one hand holding the bottom and the other one grabbing the neck, (only time i manipulate them filled with liquid), so to me, it feels like I'd be like the guy getting struck by a lightning, it can still happen, but what are the odds?

I'll just inspect them more carefully for cracks or anything from now on.
 
Hell with it, it was running trough my head last night so i have made a little setup for glass carboy with a plastic milk crate with foam all around, so picking it up from the floor shouldn't be so potentially dangerous using it.
 
I've come over to the Better Bottle side because it's not just one or two threads about this; it's probably thirty or forty threads over the past couple years where someone had a carboy shatter, sometimes because they weren't careful (accidents DO happen) or sometimes without any apparent cause (like might be the case here). From all the firsthand accounts I've read, this really ISN'T a freak thing, it does happen, not to everybody but it could happen to anybody. It's just not worth it, especially since Better Bottles are now cheaper than glass carboys.

I agree totally.....I think the issue is two fold...glass gets brittle with age, so older ones may fail over time...and newer ones, especially made in the last couple years are more than likely made by companies who don't give a flying fuq if their products last or not, and will cut corners every step of the way to make a buck....

Now adays, especially with such a viable replacement, it just doesn't seem worth the risk anymore...especially since the price has spiked.
 
The older, nice thick 6.5gals are definitely a lot more durable IMO. I have used my carboy neck handles for carrying before (yeah yeah I know...), but I now have a nice folding dolly to cart them around with now:

0600522_450_CC_v1_m56577569830829719.jpg
 
This looks like a nice idea too:
carboy2.jpg

Those carboy carriers are great! I have four carboys- two 5-gal and two 6 1/2 gal- and use the Brew Haulers for all of them. I keep telling myself that I'm going to get Better Bottles if something ever happens, but it's been years now with no issues. And I have taken them outside in winter with the ambient temps in the single digits and filled them with 65* wort without any issues. I think the OP just got a bad carboy.
 
My family has 10 probably 12 of the 5gal glass carboys. We've used them for around 7-8 years now and always handle them by the neck. Its just that much easier to grab them.

We haven't had a single one with stress cracks. We wash them out with room temperature water though. They say right on them don't put warm water in them.
 
Whatever you use, surely it is all just a matter of being aware of the condition of your equipment, your lifting capabilities, and handling everything in the safest possible manner.
 
When someone comes up with a different shape for glass carboys...as in with built in handles, or even glas carboys with heavy plastic handles added on, I will consider using them again. It only took me one experience of a carboy hitting the floor while full that showed me with glass shards and 5 gallons of wasted brew to lead me back to the plastic. Despite the screaming hoards, I have never experienced a plastic taste with food grade plastic fermenters.
 
My first 6 gal carboy got these lines after 3 brews. They look like someone took car keys and scratched some lines into the glass. I didn't know what they're from. I think I would have noticed them before if they were there before. I only pick it up by the neck when it's empty. When it's full, it never moves from the location that I fill it. I guess I thought they were a lot more sturdy than this. I thuroughly wash it, maybe too much, and that's the only time I guess that may have caused it. I probably lifted it by the neck with a gallon of water in it when rinsing. :-(
 
I have a bunch of glass carboys as well. I've never had an issue with any of them but now that BB's area cheaper, I'll be steering away from glass on future purchases.
 
We use glass and never hand a problem like that
I must say that the two times i tried to bounce them on the concrete floor cracks appeared before i could say *****

I would expect neck to be the strongest part of the bottle as the amount of glass is greater. Its hard to believe you have real cracks. I think it just got scratched them some how.
 
The price on glass carboys is dropping here, so I'll be adding some more to my arsenal of fermenters. Like Gnomey said, it's all about knowing your equipment and your own limitations regarding said equipment. In my opinion, milk crates are mandatory when using glass carboys.
 
When I first started in brewing (last fall), I read a bunch about glass vs plastic, and from what I remember I concluded that no matter how good of plastic, oxygen can still permeate the plastic and get into your beer, and plastic retains beers/smells ect., so glass was the way to go. -- but, it's weird, how when stuff like this happens, so many people start talking about their better bottles being so much "better."

So, before I buy any more glass carboys, what are opinions about pluses/minuses of glass/plastic?

(And I have watched that youtube video of someone pushing a full Better Bottle off of a table onto concrete, and it does make the plastic attractive in that aspect!)
 
Guys I understand what you're going through. And I can't blame any of you for switching to Better Bottles. But for those that do I would be glad to take those glass carboys off your hands. :D
Anthony
 
Here's the thing with glass though, many of you reply to this thread almost arrogantly of how you've used glass for so long with no problems but the bottom line is that glass has a higher catastrophic failure rate than plastic. I've done nothing wrong with my carboy and in only 2 uses developed stress cracks on the neck. This could turn out very badly for people less observant of equipment conditions or unlucky. I would gladly have paid more money for a carboy with thicker glass and would be happy to use it. I'm not saying glass is bad however the current market for fermenters must be driving down the price and quality of glass carboys on the market. If I were to stumble upon older glass carboys with nice thick glass I'd buy them in a second but for me I'm going to BB's for new purchases. Also Midwest has been more than gracious in their offer of sending me a 5 gallon BB and stopper to replace the damaged glass one I have. My dealings with them have been outstanding thus far and I plan to buy from them for some time.
 
I too have been using carboys for years making wine. Never had anything like that. I did hear of the mexican made carboys being poorer quality...one was actually returned because it had a staple embedded in the glass!!
 
you only hear about disasters but you don't hear about how often things go off without a hitch. I'm a chemist so by nature i use glass because in my mind i think it's cleaner/more sanitary. I can't really argue that better bottles are cheaper and safer though... so to each his own. :mug:

Also there are different types of glass and i would love some type of borosilicate glass to use as a carboy.
Types of Glass
 
I agree totally.....I think the issue is two fold...glass gets brittle with age, so older ones may fail over time...and newer ones, especially made in the last couple years are more than likely made by companies who don't give a flying fuq if their products last or not, and will cut corners every step of the way to make a buck....

Now adays, especially with such a viable replacement, it just doesn't seem worth the risk anymore...especially since the price has spiked.

I have to take you to task on one point: "glass gets brittle with age, so older ones may fail over time".

That's total horse$hit.

If there is a manufacturing defect in a glass product, it can and may fail.

Quality glass will last for multiple lifetimes and it never get's more "brittle" than it was at the very day of manufacture.

No one will be using a "better bottle" bought today 100 years from now (and I'm being generous with the years). With proper care, my grandchildren's grand children will use my carboys, much as I have used my great grandparent's crocks.

"Better" Bottles may be a viable replacement, much the way plastic milk jugs replaced the quart milk bottle. But viable has rarely meant better.

Anyhow.."glass gets brittle with age", HOR$E$HIT.
 
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