cracked bucket... after fermentation?

So, about five weeks ago i made some edworts o-fest using yeast from a previous batch of kolsch. I put them into a different fermentation bucket and let the yeast go to town.

Walked in to the bathroom tonight and there was beer coming from my closet. I thought maybe something had happened and it was coming out the top, so i move the bucket. Well, when i moved it i discovered a big hole in the bottom and 5 gallons comes pouring out. I have a nice 8-inch long crack in the bottom.

Anyone ever had this happen? The crack wasn't there three weeks ago when i last moved the bucket. Seems odd that it would just now appear after not having been moved. Could something within the beer have weakened it or something?

There have been some threads about certain buckets having failure due to an omission in the design. IIRC, the proper bucket has a ribbed bottom.

Does it look like this one.

http://www.grapestompers.com/fermenting-bucket-failure.asp

flipfloptan said:

Does it look like this one.

http://www.grapestompers.com/fermenting-bucket-failure.asp

Click to expand...

that is actually the exact problem and place i got mine from. Thanks, that helps a lot.