Add me to the "cracked carboy" clan

[adamjackson]

Well..4 months after my first batch, I've done about 15 batches. I looked and one of my carboys has a hairline crack running a full circle around the top of it just above the top fill-line. I'm pretty afraid it's gonna break...I just racked a honey porter so no turning back now but don't want to carry it.

these things scare me.

 

[lumpher]

wise decision. let it finish, siphon off, and move it outside into the neighbor you don't like's yard. spin vigorously, and when it pulls apart, hope it's heading AWAY from your rear windshield

 

[sweed]

Ya, I'd toss it. You dont want another, "Got stitches from another broken carboy" Thread! Do you know how this happened??

Also, 15 beers in 4 months... you're a freakin champion man!

 

[Firebat138]

Yup... we cracked one too... noticed it this week during racking another brew... So we chunked it...

 

[wildnout14]

Try putting some JB Weld over the crack...Might work for a little while.

 

[adamjackson]

Ya, I'd toss it. You dont want another, "Got stitches from another broken carboy" Thread! Do you know how this happened??

Also, 15 beers in 4 months... you're a freakin champion man!

It hit against a door panel when I was moving it last month. Didn't notice a crack then but I'm guessing that's where it started. I don't use a carboy carrier that covers the whole body..just one of those handle things that goes around the top..that's a lot of address stress to that one part of the body. I'm guessing I should get a proper full coverage carrier.

----

Yeah, I've been brewing like crazy. Kegging and bottling and a lot of friends drink what I brew. I'm finally all grain and just did my first sour beer. 2 more batches last night and 3 more this weekend on deck.

 

[mtk6006]

Jb weld? He doesnt want to be drinking beer that taste like a 1980 car manifold. I say ditch it and goto grocery store ask the bakery what they do with their old frosting buckets drill a hole get a few airlocks and grommets and bingo! I have a bunch of 5 gallon buckets from them and 3 gallon. Supposed to be food grade i mean frosting comes in them right? They chase me down in store i get 10 at a time! Just a thought and becareful throwing away if it breaks big glass!

 

[RC0032]

PLEASE tell me you are using this

and NOT this

I dont even know why they make the second ones....

 

[adamjackson]

...the 2nd one. Like I said, I'm guessing that's a lot of my problem. Less stability and more stress on the top.

 

[RC0032]

Go home and throw that thing away.

Sorry they anger me.

 

[Homercidal]

Those small neck handles are not meant for carrying a carboy with stuff in it. They explicitly state that. they are only meant to make it easier to carry empty.

I have a brewhauler and like it. A milk crate works pretty well too.

 

[bja]

these things scare me.

Clowns scare me...

Oh, and get yourself some milk crates.

 

[Firebat138]

we have been using the handles for a while... cant see it breaking unless there was already a flaw... but ya never know...

 

[bja]

we have been using the handles for a while... cant see it breaking unless there was already a flaw... but ya never know...

Let us know how that works out for ya.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I recently noticed the same thing in my 5 gal carboy. Went to rack a beer for bottling and noticed a hairline running from about 2/3s of the way up all the way down under the base. I carefully racked the beer out of it and carried it out to the trash in the alley without even trying to clean it.
As for the handle vs. BrewHauler thing, the handles aren't meant for a full container, the packaging says that, and to those of you who use it to carry full carboys, it's only a matter of time before the neck snaps. BrewHaulers are great, I have one for each of my glass carboys, including the one that cracked. It's great for carrying full carboys safely and easily., but it will not prevent cracking from wear and tear.

 

[TopherM]

Add me to the club. We did a group brewday at a new local microbrewery last week, and there was only one hose, and I was about 10th in line to use the hose for my plate chiller. I just let the wort sit, and it got down to about 160F, which I thought the carboy would handle, but about 1/2 gallon into filling it cracked. Luckily, it was still watertight, so I transferred to a bucket before it shattered, but still $38.00 straight into the trash.

 

[Firebat138]

i'll be sure to...

Let us know how that works out for ya.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

5 Better Bottles
No cracks
Free brew hauler(my arms)

I really don't understand the fascination with glass people in this hobby have.
I mean if thats what was given to you or whatever thats one thing, but so many people seem to go out of their way to get glass, or replace broken glass with more glass.
Add to that the fact you can nearly get 2 better bottles for the same price as one glass.

The thought of a carboy shattering scares me, but what scares me even more is the thought that i may be feeding people microscopic shards of glass in my beer from a cracked glass carboy, people can seriously get injured.
And having to dump a whole batch because of a equipment failure that's 100% preventable seems dumb.

 

[bja]

5 Better Bottles
No cracks
Free brew hauler(my arms)

I really don't understand the fascination with glass people in this hobby have.

9 glass carboys
No cracks

Everybody has their own reasons and makes their own decisions.

 

[sww35]

1 Glass carboy, came with the initial kit that I bought and it is duct taped to the point that it cannot shatter and cut me.

 

[RC0032]

1 Glass carboy, came with the initial kit that I bought and it is duct taped to the point that it cannot shatter and cut me.

Interesting idea...

 

[TopherM]

1 Glass carboy, came with the initial kit that I bought and it is duct taped to the point that it cannot shatter and cut me.

And a gorgeous museum-quality display piece!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

......Free brew hauler(my arms).....


.......you can nearly get 2 better bottles for the same price as one glass.

First off, a full Better Bottle is still heavy and awkward, and even though it won't shatter and hurt you, you can still drop it and lose a batch of beer. Second, last I checked (about 30 seconds ago here) BB's were ~$6 dollars less than their glass equivalents from the same supplier.
I do get the point, and I've seen what a shattered carboy can do, it's scary. I'll definitely be replacing my cracked 5 gal with a Better Bottle. But let's be real, the reason for plastic over glass is that of safety, not because it's significantly cheaper or because it's any less likely to be dropped. It's simply safer, all you lose if you drop a Better Bottle is beer, not a phalange, limb or worse.

 

[janivar123]

I been using glass demijohns for most of my brews, all with there own basket for carrying
Why? well there a little less then half the prize of a bucket fermentor and much easyer to keep clean(and the carboy cap means i dont need that crappy autosiphon anymore)

Better bottles are expensive and pretty small so my new fermenters are 50 litre buckets(still not cheap but what can i do?)