PSA - (carboy handle disaster)

This is a public service announcement.

Carboy handles are not load bearing.

This message brought to you by six gallons of Oktoberfest Ale absorbed by a carpet and one (1) broken glass carboy.

This is a public service announcement.

That sucks! Sorry man, better luck next time. At least you ankles didn't get sliced.

never good to hear, RIP Oktoberfest&Carboy. Hope you didn't get hurt,maybe now is the time to change to better bottles.

I had a home brewing class and that was one of the things I had mentioned - DO NOT carry a full carboy by the handle.

So what happens? When we are all done the LHBS owner is moving things around and picks up the new brew carboy BY THE HANDEL! I swear all the blood left my brain as I ran leaped to help him carry it.

maybe now is the time to change to better bottles.

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Yea blame the carboy LOL Run your car into the tree and blame the car?

I use glass for about 25% of my beer now. You need a brew hauler. Ed at Brewmasters warehouse sells them, but here is a picture from another site:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/catalogsearch/result/?q=brew+hauler

Not the fault of the carboy it was the application in which it was used. A+ on the brew hauler I have them on all my glass boys.

I rarely use my glass carboy, but every time I do, I keep telling myself to get a brew hauler, or at least a plastic crate from the basement.

Brewhaulers are nice...

You're not the only one who's made the mistake of assuming the handle is full-carboy load bearing....my dad did it for years, and was very confused when I yelled at him for it.

That happened to my CO too. It bounced down his basement steps and smashed all over his work bench. Pity.

Cheap option: Plastic milk crate.

I am sorry for your loss. I will toast to your lost beer when my Oktoberfest finishes up in the next month or so...

That really stinks. LIke others have said, a milk crate works very well and they're cheap.

Still stinks though.

Ha, thanks for the condolences lads. It was quite a shocker. I was moving it about six feet, and most of the time I hold it from the bottom--it was about six inches off the ground but that's all it took.

I had finished the batch seconds before the tragedy and was convinced it was going to be my best ever. Now I'll never know.

Anyway, it's off to my LHBS soon for...yes...a better bottle.

When I carry mine full or not I always hold her from the bottom and balence with the neck. It's sort of a bear hug.....beer love I guess.

Batinse said:

Ha, thanks for the condolences lads. It was quite a shocker. I was moving it about six feet, and most of the time I hold it from the bottom--it was about six inches off the ground but that's all it took.

I had finished the batch seconds before the tragedy and was convinced it was going to be my best ever. Now I'll never know.

Anyway, it's off to my LHBS soon for...yes...a better bottle.

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Again sorry for the loss. Better bottles have their downsides too. Because they're shorter and fatter I don't think they will fit in a milk create or brew hauler, but I might be wrong on that. It isn't easy lifting or carrying 5 gallons of anything, and while a better bottle may not shatter if you do drop it full the bung is likely to pop out and the beer spill everywhere. But like I said 75% of what I do now is in the Better Bottle.

I actually just bought six ale pales from Ed at Brewmasters. Because I let my beer set on the cake so long, "ring around the carboy" is a bear for me even with multiple soaks in Oxiclean. Since I am going to be lagering and start with Jamil's recommendation not to bother to transfer to another vessel, I thought my problems might even get worse, so I figured I'd try the pale since I can reach in and wipe with a sponge and use hot water (Never use hot water in your better bottle unless you want it to vanish before your very eyes.) Everybody, Jamil, Revvy, Palmer, Northern Brewer, Austin Homebrew Supply, etc. says pals are fine, so I thought I'd give them a shot since their cheap and have a built in handle.

Dude that sucks, I'm sorry to hear about your loss! I've never used a glass carboy but I do love my Better Bottles, although I use my ale pails just as much as the B.B.

BillTheSlink said:

(Never use hot water in your better bottle unless you want it to vanish before your very eyes.)

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Please elaborate? I usually fill my BB with hot water after I'm done and let them soak for a couple hours and I haven't had any problems.

Jersh said:

Dude that sucks, I'm sorry to hear about your loss! I've never used a glass carboy but I do love my Better Bottles, although I use my ale pails just as much as the B.B.




Please elaborate? I usually fill my BB with hot water after I'm done and let them soak for a couple hours and I haven't had any problems.

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If you put hot (not warm) water in a Better Bottle it will shrink and collapse. I don't know how I feel about even warm. If hot water can do that to a better bottle, can it cause toxins to release into the interior? I never put anything but water about 75-80 in mine, but hot will certainly cause it to shrink and is a no no.

All plastic all the time. I donated my glass carboy to a new brewer.

Tkx for the announcement. I've never used an ale pale, nor BB's and never intend to either. Heck I'm still gradually increasing my collection of glass carboys. I currently have 5x 6.5 Gal and 4X 5 gal in my collection. I do have two carboy handles that will make the trash bin very soon now, I was tired of changing them over from vessel to vessel anyway. I'll need to go find some milk crates now I guess or just suck it up and buy the haulers. My back can't take the bear hug method any longer

I broke a glass carboy, then never touched one again. Done with that.

I used to lean my full carboy by using the handle and then reach under it with my other hand. Then I would carry it about eighty feet to my fermentation chamber using the "beer love" method described earlier, dodging corners, steps, and doorknobs the whole way. After reading the horror stories on here about carboy accidents, every step of those journeys were fraught with thoughts of carboy explosion and daggers of wort soaked glass shredding into my unprotected gut.

Now, I have milk crates and carboy crates, that I got from the bottled water delivery guy. The carboy crates are molded the fit the carboy snugly, and can be stacked with the empty carboys inside. The drawback is they will only fit certain size carboys. I like the milk crates, but they take up extra storage space.

I do own one Better Bottle but, I don't use it as my go to fermenter. I like to scrub things, If I can't scrub it, I don't feel like it is clean. I guess it's a little OCD, but for that reason, the Better Bottle is usually the last one to be used. And of course, I haven't broken any of the glass ones yet so...


Edit: I'm glad that you weren't seriously hurt. Five gallons of beer and a broken twenty dollar jug is a lot less misery than a trip to the ER.

I don't know if my sordid love affair with glass carboys is over--I do like the smoothness and cleanliness of glass--but when you get hurt this bad by someone you love, it's hard to take them back.

Oh. And my apartment still smells like Oktober.

Yeah glass carboys do have their inherint dangers, but god if they aren't just so damn pretty. As for the brew hauler, make your own, all you need is some webbing from a climbing shop or hardware store, and its a whole lot cheaper than getting bilked out of 15 bucks for a pre-made one.

Seriously if you can figure out how to brew beer, I'm sure you can figure out how to weave together a brew hauler.

I bought one brew hauler then made 3 of my own version, I still use milk crates for some carboys as well.

BillTheSlink said:

I use glass for about 25% of my beer now. You need a brew hauler. Ed at Brewmasters warehouse sells them, but here is a picture from another site:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/catalogsearch/result/?q=brew+hauler

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Yeah these are great! I have one on both of my six gallon. I have heard of the necks breaking on the other type that I have. I posted somewhere about the danger, should have made a link like this one, very dangerous. Glad you didn't get hurt!

I've got 6 or 7 small milk crates that I can give away if anyone in the Seattle area needs one or 3.. I'd rather see the beer protected!

jmp138 said:

Yeah glass carboys do have their inherint dangers, but god if they aren't just so damn pretty. As for the brew hauler, make your own, all you need is some webbing from a climbing shop or hardware store, and its a whole lot cheaper than getting bilked out of 15 bucks for a pre-made one.

Seriously if you can figure out how to brew beer, I'm sure you can figure out how to weave together a brew hauler.

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Good reminder! I saved a bunch of webbing from an old pack or something and planned on using it to make a brew hauler. I just forgot all about it!

I also have a knot book that shows how to make a wrap-around knot to carry stuff like that, but it would not be practical to have to rig up each time.

I have one glass carboy. I used it for my Flanders Red, which is going to be souring for the next 12 months in one place. I did this simply to reduce the use of the glass carboy, while still putting it to good use. No sense throwing it away, just minimize the number of times picking it up and moving it around... It's a statistical thing.

I'll be honest... I love the challenge of lifting and carrying my glass carboys. To me, I'm earning my future beer by barehanding a full carboy into place... if you dry it and your hands well, glass is actually kinda "sticky" to the touch. until you start sweating from sheer terror, that is... haha.

But yeah, I love my glass... I think I'll have to be injured by one to give them up. Sorry to hear about your loss man....

Nickeldeposit said:

When I carry mine full or not I always hold her from the bottom and balance with the neck.

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Now that we know about your love life how do you move your carboys?

I'd like to thank everyone for their support during these hard times. I'd just like to say, that "Second Coming Oktoberfest" has been successfully made, and carried (in a milk crate) without catastrophe to the fermentation chamber.

This one's for the kids: kids, don't carry full carboys with only the carboy handle. You'll thank me when you're older.

Yikes...I lifted my first brew last night by the handle to take a look at it...while holding it a foot off the ground I was wondering "I wonder if this thing can take the load I'm pitting on it?" Glad I read this, I'll be bottling in a few days and would have carried it downstairs to the kitchen by the handle otherwise.

I have done many batches in the glass carboy. I know I need to get the brew hauler. I brew outside, fill the carboy outside. The walk about 20ft to the house. walk up 2 stairs, into the kitchen, through the kitchen, then down about 20 stairs to the basement. The about 10 ft, to where I ferment. I use the beer hug method as well. Just sounds very dangerous.

A friend came over and we (he) made a quick batch of apfelwein in a glass carboy. Just carrying it from my patio into my house made me nervous.

He has to put his batch at my house because of a whip-crackin SWMBO.

Why do folks avoid using ale pails? They are cheap, light, easy to clean, easy to pour wort into, easy to dry hop, easy to oxygenate wort in.

Sorry to hear about the mishap. That truly sucks.

+1 on all answers. Probably ought to have this thread as a broken carboy thread. I haven't personally broken one, but I'm sure I've come close as my first three brew sessions resulted in me carrying the full carboy by the handle down to my basement. I was lucky. And fortunately, so has my best friend who has been brewing for years and got me into brewing. I recently told him what I had learned from the LHBS and he was like, "No kidding?" Apparently, though, from an engineering standpoint, the neck of the carboy is the weakest point and if you have a full five-gallon brew in it you can easily snap the neck by carrying it by the handle. I'm a huge fan of empty milk crates.

GalenSevinne said:

Why do folks avoid using ale pails? They are cheap, light, easy to clean, easy to pour wort into, easy to dry hop, easy to oxygenate wort in.

Sorry to hear about the mishap. That truly sucks.

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Probably the fear of it harboring bacteria in scratches and the oxygen permeability (not a problem for primary, but not good to secondary in for a long period of time).

RIP Oktoberfest. You were my one and only true love.