SMASH!!!!!!.....blood....sweat....tears...

tradgedy was averted... beer is safe.


In the process of sanitizing a secondary carboy to transfer my cheesefood caramel cream to.. it cracked in my hands. Luckily I was able to drop it without further flesh slicing. I ended up with a 2" slash on my hand, but not very deep. No stitches required. Hey... no pain, no gain. This caramel cream is going to taste that much better when I crack it on Christmas!

What were the conditions under which the carboy cracked? How were you cleaning it? Did you hit it or drop it or had it ever suffered a blow?

I hear about carboys busting every now and then, and it concerns me, so I'm always interested in learning how NOT to handle one in ways that will cause it to bust.

I had a trailer hitch fall out of my closet and smack the bottom side of a full carboy. Thankfully it didn't crack/break. I had a sweatshirt over the carboy so at least there was something to lessen the impact. Hopefully I don't have any future problems with this carboy.

I had a 12 gallon carboy crack and slice through the a friends hand. He had to have surgery and therapy so he could play his bass again. It really was a bad day of brewing. besides, all the beer and that great carboy where lost.

beer4breakfast said:

What were the conditions under which the carboy cracked? How were you cleaning it? Did you hit it or drop it or had it ever suffered a blow?

I hear about carboys busting every now and then, and it concerns me, so I'm always interested in learning how NOT to handle one in ways that will cause it to bust.

Click to expand...

HOT WATER.... dont use it.

I knew very well, it could shatter very easily with hot water. I sanitized, then poured about 3/4 to 1 inch of hot water in to rinse. Shaking it up in my arms, and it cracked in half.

Yes... I was cutting corners. I paid for it this time.

I usually boil my rinse water then let it cool down. I have some Star San in the mail so this wont be an issue any longer...

Brewpastor said:

I had a 12 gallon carboy crack and slice through the a friends hand. He had to have surgery and therapy so he could play his bass again. It really was a bad day of brewing. besides, all the beer and that great carboy where lost.

Click to expand...

I'm considering myself VERY lucky... Could have been a lot worse. When it cracked, I was able to drop it without much more contact with the fracture. Its still a bad cut, but its more wide than it is deep (about 1/8th inch x 2 inches). I proceeded to clean up the mess then go crack a 22 of my brown ale... mmmmm delicious. :rockin:

Man those things are so dangerous. I really need to go to better bottles.

Dude said:

Man those things are so dangerous. I really need to go to better bottles.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm thinking the same. I've got a 6.5, a 6, and two 5 gallon glass carboys, so I hate not to use them. I guess I'll just try to be careful, and replace them slowly over time. But rather than buy Better Bottles, I might just go for a couple of conicals.

I mean when I win the lottery, that is.

Seriously.... that thing could have taken my whole hand off....

JoeRags said:

Seriously.... that thing could have taken my whole hand off....

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I know. Luckily I've never heard of anyone getting seriously hurt (until Brewpastor's story). It is amazing that more of those things don't break. I cringe every time I see someone pick up a carboy, especially by the neck.

Dude said:

I know. Luckily I've never heard of anyone getting seriously hurt (until Brewpastor's story). It is amazing that more of those things don't break. I cringe every time I see someone pick up a carboy, especially by the neck.

Click to expand...

God forbid it cought my wrist... family was home, but still... just the thought.

Maybe I'll go order a few more stainless hoppers from Toledo! Its for safety reasons right?... ha, yea.

Glad to hear you're alright. Now, how much do you think the blood will change the color of the beer?

Why are carboys used as opposed to plastic bins with lids?

Is it because :
a) there is less air room at the top due to the sloping sides
b) easier to clean (this may be disputed!), therefore less nasties (helped by less scratchies)
c) you can see what the beer looks like
d) there is no chance of flavours / smells being retained in the glass
e) no chance of air escaping through lid seal 'cause there ain't any.

...just wondering

P.S. Sitting at work drinking a 3yr old bottle of Theaksons Old Peculiar. Yippeee

I'd go with f) all of the above

I'd be more worried about driving to work than a carboy ending my brewing career.

todd_k said:

I had a trailer hitch fall out of my closet and smack the bottom side of a full carboy. Thankfully it didn't crack/break. I had a sweatshirt over the carboy so at least there was something to lessen the impact. Hopefully I don't have any future problems with this carboy.

Click to expand...

Ok somebody's gotta ask: Why was there a trailer hitch in your closet?!?!??!

ablrbrau said:

Ok somebody's gotta ask: Why was there a trailer hitch in your closet?!?!??!

Click to expand...

That's where his home attaches to the hitch ... through the closet ...

I almost bought a 6.5 gallon carboy to start using as a primary, but as I held it in my hands, I thought about how it's just about once a month that someone posts with a "I cut myself real bad" or "my brewbuddy had to get forty stitches."

I don't like the idea of Better Bottles for primary, seems like it would be tougher to clean all the gunk out of them, but I'm not too far away from buying a couple for secondaries. Yikes.

Glad you're OK, man.

You know, I didn't realize there was such issues with the carboys. I am wondering if they aren't making the majority of them with the cheapest materials/processes available. I mean heck, I know glass is fragile and all, but this is freaking me out now. I would be curious to know, out of the majority of the people that have accidents what exactly was taking place when those things broke. (extreme/fast temperature changes, using a handle/carrier or not, prior impulse damage, etc). I would really be leary of anything that had suffered an impulse (hint hint like trailer hitches lol). They can suffer weakening in the glass which is not visible by the naked eye, which can cause these fractures. Sorry to hear about your cuts! Glad the beer is ok

zoebisch01 said:

You know, I didn't realize there was such issues with the carboys. I am wondering if they aren't making the majority of them with the cheapest materials/processes available. I mean heck, I know glass is fragile and all, but this is freaking me out now. I would be curious to know, out of the majority of the people that have accidents what exactly was taking place when those things broke. (extreme/fast temperature changes, using a handle/carrier or not, prior impulse damage, etc). I would really be leary of anything that had suffered an impulse (hint hint like trailer hitches lol). They can suffer weakening in the glass which is not visible by the naked eye, which can cause these fractures. Sorry to hear about your cuts! Glad the beer is ok

Click to expand...

Drastic temperature change in my case. I knew when I put the water in it was a risk... but didnt worry about it. Now I know to be VERY careful with these things.

I was actually suprised at the thickenss of the glass. In some area's, the glass whas very thick, while others, such as the top of the carboy, was very thin.

Stainless is the way to go!

the_bird said:

I don't like the idea of Better Bottles for primary, seems like it would be tougher to clean all the gunk out of them, but I'm not too far away from buying a couple for secondaries. Yikes.

Glad you're OK, man.

Click to expand...

I've never used glass, only Better Bottles, so I can't compare, but a friend just switched to Better Bottles after a nasty ankle cut, and he said he couldn't believe how easy they were to clean. He said the 'gunk' seemed to come off much easier.

Don't know how or why that would be, but thats the feedback I've heard from someone who has used both.

(Edit: I'm starting to feel like a BB sales rep on these boards!)

I never had a glass carboy myself but now I have two 5g and one 6g better bottle. I think the key to cleaning these is to rinse it immediately after racking. Even though the gunk is attached to the sides, it's still hydrated a bit being enclosed with 5 gallons of liquid. If you let it sit empty for an hour, it will dry and make it much harder. Either way, warm water does the trick.

I would imagine just letting the bottle (whichever the case) soak for some time (even days) would pretty much hydrate anything and make it easy to clean.

eviltwinofjoni said:

Glad to hear you're alright. Now, how much do you think the blood will change the color of the beer?

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So thats how they make red beers!! ba da bum

I've had two Glass Carboys break, one was due to hot water and a jet bottle washer, the other was droped, cut myself on the second time, but not bad, (that was the same day I broke my toe, but damn that was a good Pumkin ale.

I've been cleaning mine with cold water and oxyclean. Just let 'em soak for a few hours, then insert brush and swirl it around to dislodge any remaining kraeusen or trub, dump and rinse, dump and rinse, dump and rinse...

I definitely won't be using hot water after hearing of two that have broken because of that.

I clean mine in doors at 20c and use oxyclean.

I use hot tap water at around 55c and it's fed from the tap so takes 5 minutes to fill.
Plus I never move a carboy that's full hot hot liquid.

I guess the breakages with hot water is from thermal shock. Drastic change of heat in a very small amount of time.

When making coffee, I pour boiling water into the glass french press container. There is little chance of the glass breaking because of the metal around it to conduct the heat away from the glass (see photo in link below). I wonder if this concept could be used with the carboys. Chance for someone to create a patent for that and sell it to the carboy manufacturers?

http://www.bodumusa.com/shop/line.a...SLT=&mscssid=4U4FP4DBBCCX8PS9V89K1NUBCUDXCQA0

Just a thought...

I would wager strongly that there is also a differnt type of glass used with French press coffeemakers.

If all carbyo breaks were the result of thermal stress, that would be one thing; clearly, that's an avoidable user error. But, it seems that lots of people have had them break seemingly randomly. That's the freaky part.

I've only broken one carboy, and it was because I dropped it. No injuries, just a mess. But my friend had a visit to the ER when she broke one. It seems like the breakage is random, but it really isn't. It might get bumped several times and not break or show any damage- but then you just lightly bump it against the sink and SMASH. That's what happened to my friend- she had hauled a full 5 gallon carboy to the basement by herself, let it ferment and then racked it. Then picking it up to clean it in the basement sink, she lightly rapped it against the faucet. She drove herself to the ER (only 1 mile away) to the hospital where I work. Lots of bruising and quite a few stitches on her wrist. She had a big bandage for a while. She said there was lots of bleeding.

I think carboys are pretty durable, and I bet I must bump them or use water that's too hot or something, and they show no signs of breakage. Then suddenly, they might break. The straw that breaks the camel's back. I have one 3 gallon BB that I've never used (I bought it for wine), and one 5 gallon that I use all the time. The BBs are lighter to carry and unbreakable. I'm going to have to get some more.

Lorena

Hmmmm, I have four carboys, and have never broken one *knocks on wooden computer desk* I have carriers for all of them though, and am verycareful with them.....

This is yet another reason I'm contemplating the plastic conical fermenters. Can't break, never rack to secondary, etc.

Dump beer in plastic conical, drain trub after strong fermentation is complete or 7 days, let sit two more weeks, drain secondary trub prior to bottling, add priming mixture, use racking arm/tubing/bottling wand and fill bottles. All this in one vessel. No need to risk infection by sanitizing/transferring to a glass secondary, bottling bucket, etc. (Well, I might transfer to a bottling bucket to bottle, but those don't break)

Most importantly, No risk of losing a hand.

All for slightly less than $150.

I made the switch to Better Bottles a couple of months ago. Cleaning is dead easy...I soak with Oxyclean for about an hour (usually long enough to clean up and put away my other brewing gear after racking), then I dump about half of the liquid through the racking valve and drop in a washcloth. Roll the bottle around for a few minutes to let the cloth take off anything that may have stuck (Never seen anything, but just in case) and then sanitize & store.

I still use my glass carboys because I can't just let them go to waste, but I inch further towards selling them every time I have multiple batches going and have to move the glass and then the plastic. I suppose the glass gives you a good workout, but I too cringe every time I lift one, thinking about keeping the blood on the inside of my skin.

It seems to me like people make carboy sanitation and care way more complicated than they need to. I just take mine to the bathtub and dump the trub down the drain, then I rinse it a couple times with lukewarm water. Then I stick my brush in there, spin it around a couple times to get the gunk off the sides, and rinse it a couple more times. Everything comes right off. no problem. When it's time to brew, I fill it about halfway with water, add iodophor, and swirl it around for a minute. I haven't had any infection issues or other problems, and no breakage. *knocking on wood HARD*

I've been reading "hot" water....what are we talking here? Right after boiling or from the tap? Taps usually run around 150 to180.

Ol' Grog said:

I've been reading "hot" water....what are we talking here? Right after boiling or from the tap? Taps usually run around 150 to180.

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HUH??? Try around 120(even that's on the warm side). If you had 180 deg tap water, not only would you be scalding anyone that touched it, but you could sanitize your stuff with tap water, no chemicals needed.

Torchiest said:

It seems to me like people make carboy sanitation and care way more complicated than they need to. I just take mine to the bathtub and dump the trub down the drain, then I rinse it a couple times with lukewarm water. Then I stick my brush in there, spin it around a couple times to get the gunk off the sides, and rinse it a couple more times. Everything comes right off. no problem. When it's time to brew, I fill it about halfway with water, add iodophor, and swirl it around for a minute. I haven't had any infection issues or other problems, and no breakage. *knocking on wood HARD*

Click to expand...

Ditto. Same procedure here.

I just rinse with water.
Let sit with oxyclean for a while agitate
and rinse with a little sanitiser.

Never had a brush in there yet!


Put away then before use a light sanitise and rinse.

homebrewer_99 said:

That's where his home attaches to the hitch ... through the closet ...

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Bad form, Bill!

The hitch has been in my closest since I got rid of my Jeep, can't exactly put it on a VW Passat. I had it resting on some rubbemaid bins. Since clothes were hanging down, I couldn't see the hitch on top of the bin so when I pulled the bin out, the hitch fell out and hit the carboy.

Ol' Grog said:

I've been reading "hot" water....what are we talking here? Right after boiling or from the tap? Taps usually run around 150 to180.

Click to expand...

180* tap water is not typical.... thats very hot.... probably right around the temp of the water I put in the carboy. Now, if the entire carboy was tempered, say the whole thing submerged, then gradually brought up to temp, there would not be a problem.

The problem with putting hot water into a carboy is that whatever glass is in contact with the hot liquid begins to expand. Since these things are so large, there is plenty of glass that is not in contact with the hot liquid, and therefore is not heating up and expanding. Expansion down low, while none up top causes stress within the glass, hence a large crack.

I'd say these things are fairly safe if proper precautions are taken. I cut some corners and was anxious to rack to my secondary because it was cold in the garage... I didnt let the water cool enough, and wouldnt you know it... I got cut bad.

I've learned from my mistake, and wont do that again for sure.... I just cant wait to get my conical built!