Lead glass

So I was given a carboy that was salvaged from someone's attic.

It looks pretty good apart from a few fractures in a circle at the base. I'll be filling it with water and putting it on some newspaper to see if it leaks at all in the next day or so.

My big question however, is how possible is it that there is lead in this glass? Its pretty old, I'd say maybe even 40 years. I have no idea about lead in glass, and an hour of google revealed nothing other than that lead crystal is definitely harmful if you plan on leaving liquids in it for an extended period of time.

Hope someone knows!

Maybe LeadCheck from 3M. Intended for construction but it might be useful. Detection in liquid threshold is 2ppm

I have some older carboys that have a blueish tint to them, not sure if that is from lead.

I've noticed cracks like that in some of the older carboys I inherited. I'm not going to use any that show any visible cracks. I use all glass carboys but am realizing after seeing some of the threads where they've broken on people that there is a real risk with using glass carboys. So some safety measures should be used. The biggest risk seems to be in carrying a full carboy, because if the thing breaks while it's being carried it is extremely dangerous.

I'm thinking of looking for my old motorcycle gear to wear when moving glass carboys and maybe some cut resistant gloves, and making a few shrouds out of hardware cloth to help contain the mess if one of them ever does let lose on my while I'm moving it.

Thanks rhamilton, Ill grab one of those. So you think just let some water sit in the carboy for a day or two and then test it with that kit? Or test the glass directly?

Poprcupine73: I didnt even think about that. Now Im worried about those fractures having weakened the glass enough that it will just come apart with a full 5 gallon batch inside!

I'm really not trying to be a smart ass ... But for 40 or 50 bucks is it really worth it. When in doubt don't get lead poisoning.. That's my motto

Agreed. However, I'm a grad student so money = extremely limited. $40 is just too much when I can go without the extra carboy just as easily.

A new plastic food grade bucket is about $15 with a lid, cheaper at a big box store - skip the carboy, avoid the risk of bleeding, and go cheap with a bucket

Safa said:

Now Im worried about those fractures having weakened the glass enough that it will just come apart with a full 5 gallon batch inside!

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The part that scares me about it is they don't even have to show a visible crack, sometimes they just seem to come apart on people. I personally like glass because I just do not trust plastic even if someone claims it is 'food grade'. The FDA telling me something is safe or is 'food grade' does not reassure me. In hindsight if I hadn't just bought so many glass carboys I'd highly consider going with stainless steel kegs for fermenting.

The leadcheck swabs are nice, but those are usually like $25 a kit though it includes a number of swabs. To spend that to test for lead might as well just get a new carboy. I don't know if those swabs would work on glass. I have a feeling they are picking up a bit of dust or material off the surface, i.e. a painted surface to detect it, I don't know it would get that off a glass surface. I have some kit like that but it needs a chip of material that you crush and put in an ampule and squeeze it to mix the chemical.

i really doubt it uses leaded glass. if the 'fracture' is a cut line in a roughly circular pattern on the bottom, that is on most old glass carboys. i think the water companies did that when they decommissioned them. not a big deal.

The older glass carboys I have (Great Bear Springs and some others) do have quite a bit of mold marks on the bottom, but strangely they are almost all cracked, like a spiderweb pattern almost all the way around, a few inches wide, being definitely cracks distinct of the mold marks. I don't know, my dad managed to use to those for probably 25 years without a problem, but I think he also never moved them full so that probably reduced his risk.

crackle bottom carboys aren't "cracked" .

Right, they're not, I see that pattern on these carboys, and in addition, the spider web style actual true cracking can see the crack all the way through the glass type cracks. I don't know, it just makes me nervous with glass, though I fully intend to continue using glass carboys or possibly if I get scared enough moving to stainless kegs for primary.

On closer inspection (following a little cleaning) the 'cracks' actually appear to be deep scratches or gouges. Very strange. I've now filled the carboy (all the way to the very brim) with brewclean from kegconnection.com and I'm leaving it overnight.

Im not super worried about the scratches anymore, they dont appead to be deep at all. I just wonder how the hell they got there. Attached are photos.

Those scratches are normal. Most of my old carboys have them it's from the mold. They aren't real cracks.

Hm, seriously, that is from the mold? Why do they look like they go all the way through the glass? That's what I see on my old ones too. I really really want to believe they're just cosmetic but man if it doesn't look like a crack going all the way through.

Thanks JRems, that's awesome.

Porcupine, not sure about yours but in person mine doesn't look like the scratches are very deep, only a few millimeters or so.

Hm ok thanks for posting the pics. I'm going to take a closer look at mine, maybe they're not cracked after all, they look pretty much exactly like your photos. I thought I could see the cracks going all the way through the glass, but I guess probably they aren't since they don't leak. That would be an extra five carboys I could use then.

How much headspace do you guys recommend for a primary? I measured this guy last night and its 5.5gal filled right to the brim, and 5 gal to the step. Would that 0.5 gal be enough, or should I expect to use a blow off tube?

i said it on page one, but nearly every old glass carboy has the circular "scratches" posted above. i'm not sure why but i think the old water companies did this when they got rid of bottles.

porcupine73 said:

The part that scares me about it is they don't even have to show a visible crack, sometimes they just seem to come apart on people. I personally like glass because I just do not trust plastic even if someone claims it is 'food grade'. The FDA telling me something is safe or is 'food grade' does not reassure me. In hindsight if I hadn't just bought so many glass carboys I'd highly consider going with stainless steel kegs for fermenting.

The leadcheck swabs are nice, but those are usually like $25 a kit though it includes a number of swabs. To spend that to test for lead might as well just get a new carboy. I don't know if those swabs would work on glass. I have a feeling they are picking up a bit of dust or material off the surface, i.e. a painted surface to detect it, I don't know it would get that off a glass surface. I have some kit like that but it needs a chip of material that you crush and put in an ampule and squeeze it to mix the chemical.

Click to expand...

I assume you dont drink soda or anything from a plastic bottle like milk or fruit juice, because all of it comes in various levels of PET and other food safe plastics. All those store baked cookies you eat from the store? Frosting comes in giant plastic buckets. Almost everything we eat contacts food safe plastic at one point for transport or manufacturing, worrying about it is like worrying if the sun is going to rise tomorrow.

Personally i wouldnt touch a glass carboy with a 10 foot pole even in perfect condition, way too many stories on this forum and elsewhere about people losing beer and needing stitches because their carboy decided to commit suicide and shatter on them at the most inopportune time...i wouldnt even think of using one that was cracked or had gouches/scratches like the ones shown in the pictures...why bother when you can get a bucket for $15 or a better bottle for like $22-23 and never ever have to worry about it. I understand the need and desire to penny pinch, but seriously this isnt a cheap hobby to begin with...spend the $20 and get proper(safe) equipment.

Option 1) Learn to build ships in bottles
Option 2) Trash it

Yes there is a real risk in using glass carboys. However I believe they can be handled safely if the proper procedures are followed. I'm still working out my safety plan for using them, such as a dolly to wheel them around, some type of cut resistant gloves, and probably synthetic motorcycle riding gear, and a hardware cloth shrowd to put around the carboy. I have held full 6.5g carboys and shook them to agitate them, I am very very happy I didn't have one break but I will say if one had - I would be in a world of hurt.

FuzzeWuzze said:

I assume you dont drink soda or anything from a plastic bottle like milk or fruit juice, because all of it comes in various levels of PET and other food safe plastics. All those store baked cookies you eat from the store? Frosting comes in giant plastic buckets. Almost everything we eat contacts food safe plastic at one point for transport or manufacturing, worrying about it is like worrying if the sun is going to rise tomorrow.

Click to expand...

I don't drink soda at all, but right I do not drink beverages from plastic containers and I don't eat store bought cookies. Now just because it might not be practical to completely eliminate contact with plastic doesn't necessarily mean that minimizing it isn't a good idea.