Usability of old used blue glass carboys?

[IanMC]

Hi all,

I just bought 2 used carboys which looked fine in the dark rainy parking lot where I met the seller, but turned out not to be what I expected when I got home and saw them in the light. They are 5-gallon blue glass "Arrowhead Puritas Waters" carboys, seemingly quite old. I was hoping that the fine people here could give me some advice about their viability for fermentation.

They were really nasty when I got them - the seller said that his dad was a former winemaker, and they appeared not to have been cleaned since their last use some time ago. One of them had what first appeared to be a thick cake of dried wine dregs at the bottom, but after it was rehydrated, it looked biological, almost like an old kombucha scoby. I did 24-hour soaks with hot water and double-strength PBW and StarSan (each), so they are pretty clean now, and I was able to get out most of the stains.

I've attached some pictures which should illustrate my questions.
A few things:

1) Blue glass. Anything I should be concerned about? Additives (lead)?
2) They seem to be hand blown, and have some fairly large bubbles. Should I be worried about integrity?
3) There is a small chip near the confluence of 3 large bubbles. Actually, it looks like part of the outer layer of one of the bubbles has broke off. Should I be particularly worried the glass being too weak here?
4) One of them has a long brown line that wraps around the entire top, side, and bottom of the carboy. It seems to be on the outside, but should I be concerned about contamination?
5) Overall, would you use these, or just toss/sell them and buy some proper clear glass 6/6.5 gal modern carboys?

Thanks!

 

[Pappers_]

Those are cool! I love antique glass stuff.

I don't really know if I would use them for fermenting beer, though, its hard to say. If the brown line is on the outside, that's not a concern, if its on the inside then I would be concerned. The bubbles don't really concern me, I think. In any case, if I did use them, I would give them a good long soaking in a strong bleach solution. I call that the 'nuclear option' - get rid of any bugs that might muck up your beer. Rinse it well after the bleaching, and use star san or iodophor right before you pour your wort in.

 

[IanMC]

Thanks for the advice. What kind of bleach concentration would you recommend? Also, do you find bleach soaks have benefits over PBW+StarSan?

 

[processhead]

The brown line looks like a rust stain. They can be more difficult to remove than other organic crud, but not impossible.

Most, if not all, of the bubbles in the glass are internal and not really a concern.
I would give them a try.

 

[IanMC]

The brown line looks like a rust stain. They can be more difficult to remove than other organic crud, but not impossible.

Most, if not all, of the bubbles in the glass are internal and not really a concern.
I would give them a try.

What would you recommend I use to remove the rust? CLR?

Thanks!

 

[processhead]

What would you recommend I use to remove the rust? CLR?

Thanks!

I think that is a good choice.

 

[IanMC]

I think that is a good choice.

Alright. I'll give it a try. Thanks!

 

[jhoneycutt]

It might not be but in the third pic is that a crack?

 

[IanMC]

Thankfully not. Do you mean to the left of the suspected rust stain? I think that's just a trick of the glass retracting the light. You can't see it in person.

 

[Homercidal]

Those things are junk! For no fee I'll dispose of them for you. Simply ship to my address and I'll do the rest.

In all seriousness, though, nice find. I had an old friend stop my my place recently. He is a winemaker and the one who got me into brewing to start with. He said he's cutting back on his winemaking and seemed to want to know if I was interested in his carboys. I should call him up and say Merry Christmas, and see how things are going...

 

[jhoneycutt]

Thankfully not. Do you mean to the left of the suspected rust stain? I think that's just a trick of the glass retracting the light. You can't see it in person.

Yep looks like it starts right below the letter a in gallons

 

[IanMC]

Those things are junk! For no fee I'll dispose of them for you. Simply ship to my address and I'll do the rest.

In all seriousness, though, nice find. I had an old friend stop my my place recently. He is a winemaker and the one who got me into brewing to start with. He said he's cutting back on his winemaking and seemed to want to know if I was interested in his carboys. I should call him up and say Merry Christmas, and see how things are going...

Haha... Thanks. Initially, I thought I got screwed with these. Now, I agree that it was a good find.

Give your friend a call... You can never have too many carboys, right?

Merry Christmas, by the way. I hope Brewing Claus was good to you.

 

[IanMC]

Yep looks like it starts right below the letter a in gallons

Thanks for pointing that out. It looks good in person, thankfully.