Is my carboy safe to use?

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pksmitty

pksmitty

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I have an old 5 gallon glass carboy sitting around the house. I think it was originally a water bottle. I would like to use it as a secondary.

I think I can clean it up pretty well with oxyclean and a brush.

Having read a bunch of the posts regarding glass carboys breaking, etc, how can I tell if this one is sound enough to stand up to the weight of my beer without breaking?
 
Fill it with water is what I would guess. You'll need to do that to clean with Oxyclean anyhow. Put it in a container that will contain the glass if it breaks.

It should be designed to hold the volume of liquid it can hold, which in your case is 5 gal. I have no idea how to detect hairline cracks other than simple observation.
 
Yeah, I guess it's hairline cracks I'm concerned about. I'm just not sure if there's a way to find them other than just close examination. If I have any doubts, I won't use it.
 
I second filling it up with water and waiting to see if it is sound.

Smitty, where are you in Bel Air? I grew up there, right by Crofton and Vale.
 
Just fill it with water, dump in oxyclean, let it sit for two days. I think you're being overly concerned with glass and it's fragility. They really can take a bit of abuse you just have to be careful with them. I always treat mine with the same respect as I give power tools; useful for the task at hand, but there's always the possibility of it seriously ****ing you up.
 
I'm in Brentwood Park. Off Vale, between Crofton and Red Pump.
Click to expand...

That's amazing. That's probably less than 5 minutes from my parents house. Next time I head home we'll have to set up a beer swap.
 

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