Broken Carboy Club

[H-ost]

Well I just joined the club...

I soaked my carboys with PBW after bottling and when I was rinsing and shaking one out I dropped it. Huge crash! My girlfriend and roommate came running expecting me to be shouting expletives and breaking a wall in anger but I just stood there in silence... dumbfounded.

It would probably have upset me more had it not broken in the bathtub so it was contained or been full of beer instead of cleaning solution. I have read lots of horror stories of this happening so I knew it was only a matter of time before I made the switch to better bottles. But DANG I can see why people are sent to the hospital when they try to cradle them while falling... My bathtub is a lake of razor blades (yeah I needed to wait a day to clean it)

So now I need to get some BBs and only use my remaining glass for sours and long aging...

Anyone else join the club lately?

 

[Firebat138]

I hear ya... we bought a bunch of those handles.... but still they can get slippery

 

[H-ost]

I've heard those handles can be dangerous with putting to much stress on the neck and leading to and eventual crack or break.

 

[stevedasleeve]

Interestingly my only carboy break was a better bottle. Nothing major just a crack from a drop. I now use glass carboys exclusively (!) though the real reason for this is the extra headroom on a 6.5 gallon glass carboy works much better for me. I find it peculiarly irritating not to fill mt kegs a full 5 gallons...

 

[H-ost]

wait... they don't make 6.5 gallon BBs??? This I did not know...

 

[passedpawn]

Interestingly my only carboy break was a better bottle. Nothing major just a crack from a drop. I now use glass carboys exclusively (!) though the real reason for this is the extra headroom on a 6.5 gallon glass carboy works much better for me. I find it peculiarly irritating not to fill mt kegs a full 5 gallons...

Use 6g better bottles. I have 5 of them. I always have more than can fit in my kegs.

 

[Henrythe9th]

Lost one last kegging also, it was stuck to the floor of my ferm camber,I tried rocking, hitting it gently with my palm and cracked it along the top and down, beer leaking everywhere... did learn my chest freezer floor in the new hose slopes toward the wall and not out, now how to clean beer from under a closed wall???

 

[turkeyjerky214]

Happened to me back in February. Ever since then I've been using buckets almost exclusively. When I run out of buckets or use a carboy (mead, cider, etc.), I always have it on a blanket for padding and move it around using a brew-hauler. Took me friggin forever to get all the glass out of the crevasses in the floor.

 

[stlbeer]

Well I just joined the club...

I soaked my carboys with PBW after bottling and when I was rinsing and shaking one out I dropped it. Huge crash! My girlfriend and roommate came running expecting me to be shouting expletives and breaking a wall in anger but I just stood there in silence... dumbfounded.

It would probably have upset me more had it not broken in the bathtub so it was contained or been full of beer instead of cleaning solution. I have read lots of horror stories of this happening so I knew it was only a matter of time before I made the switch to better bottles. But DANG I can see why people are sent to the hospital when they try to cradle them while falling... My bathtub is a lake of razor blades (yeah I needed to wait a day to clean it)

So now I need to get some BBs and only use my remaining glass for sours and long aging...

Anyone else join the club lately?

Pictures! We must have pictures!!!

 

[lustreking]

I have read lots of horror stories of this happening so I knew it was only a matter of time before I made the switch to better bottles. But DANG I can see why people are sent to the hospital when they try to cradle them while falling... My bathtub is a lake of razor blades (yeah I needed to wait a day to clean it)

It's been a long time since I've posted this.

Broken Carboys - Lustreking Brewing

 

[dcHokie]

I'm in the club, with a darn lucky near-miss.

I was on my back patio emptying a carboy full of sanitizer. Lost my grip and that thing showered my bare feet with glass. I stood motionless for a second before I could bring myself to look down, but damn if I only got a few minor cuts and nicks from the tiniest shards. All the dagger-like hunks of glass feel to either side and between my feet.

 

[H-ost]

Yeah even if you didn' get cut by the big pieces, the weight of a full carboy landing on your feet could easily break one...

Pictures! We must have pictures!!!

I wish I could post some but I don't own a camera, my phone is a 15$ "go phone", and I don't have internet at my house right now so I can't take a pic with my computer... sad I know. I'm behind most people as far as technology goes.

 

[millaj92]

Yeah even if you didn' get cut by the big pieces, the weight of a full carboy landing on your feet could easily break one...



I wish I could post some but I don't own a camera, my phone is a 15$ "go phone", and I don't have internet at my house right now so I can't take a pic with my computer... sad I know. I'm behind most people as far as technology goes.

You don't need technology if you have good beer to drink!

 

[chumpsteak]

I got 20 stitches and surgery to repair a nerve and artery in my left middle finger after I was a split second too late catching my glass yeast starter jar before it hit the ground. I now use dry yeast and better bottles only. No more glass in my brewing process. No matter how safe you think you are, freak accidents happen. In my case the neighbors dog ran in my garage and knocked the yeast jar off a stool I had just set it on. Bad stuff always happens fast.

 

[BigUgly]

I have read more stories of people being attacked by sharks than being seriously injured by broken carboys. I still swim in the ocean every year...

I refuse to use plastic.

 

[Jim-wy]

When I started brewing I lived in Minnesota. I thought I had figured out this great cooling method... My beer went from the brew-pot to a glass carboy, then directly to a snowbank in our back yard. Okay - put the 'L' on my forehead now. What's amazing is how many batches I brewed with this method before watching 5 gallons of beer gush and freeze down a sidewalk to our garage... the loss, the shame! I guess I'm fortunate there was no doctor visit in order. Lustreking - wow, I'll be more careful yet after absorbing those horror stories!

 

[H-ost]

I have read more stories of people being attacked by sharks than being seriously injured by broken carboys. I still swim in the ocean every year...

I refuse to use plastic.

I would have been on your side of the fence up until last weekend... Isht happens

 

[bmunos]

Oh ya Im in the club... first brew day i pumped scolding hot wort into the carb and the ground was wet.... SHATTER! Haha its a weird feeling!

 

[millaj92]

I'm not in the club and I still use glass but I also don't drink very much on a brew day until after the beer is in the fermenting fridge. I have heard so many horror stories that I make an extra effort to be super careful. If I do break one, I'll switch to plastic. Until then, I guess i'm living on the edge.

 

[hawgwild81]

I'm apart of the club now! Broke my Carboy cleaning it today. Sliced my finger down to the bone. To top it all off, after I got back from the hospital, I started my sparge. Now I have a stuck sparge. Worst brew day ever!

 

[dmbeck2]

I always thought I was careful enough with my carboys until a month ago when I was finishing up what started out as one of the smoothest brew days ever. As I was placing my carboy full of ESB wort on the garage floor next to the fermentation freezer, it slipped about two inches to the floor, broke, spilled the whole batch of wort on the garge floor and the broken top of the carboy landed on the top of my ankle and sliced through the big tendon on the top. I just had surgury on Friday to repair the tendon and I get to wear a cast for 6 to 8 weeks.

Here are a couple of pics.

At least I have a decent stockpile of beer to enjoy!

Take my word for it, you want to be extremely careful with your carboys!
DB

 

[H-ost]

daaaang....

 

[PTBYOOJ]

Does anyone know why the hell they don't make glass carboys out of safety glass ???Toughened glass - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[H-ost]

I like to call it tempered because its not made tougher by the heat treatment it if anything I feel it to be weaker since it breaks into more and smaller pieces.

I could be wrong but I doubt tempered glass could hold up to 40 pounds and if it could you would have to be extremely delicate in setting it down when it is full. Tempered glass is a safety feature to prevent injuries but I would never expect to see used in any load baring situation. Glass tables are not tempered to my knowledge.

 

[krenshaw]

no matter how careful you are accidents can happen.. SWMBO is an occupational therapist and only supports my "hobby" (she calls it a hobby i call it a lifestyle) is if i don't use glass carboys in my brewing.. she's seen to many injuries similar to those that can happen with shards of glass make the lives of people forever changed

 

[nostalgia]

I like to call it tempered because its not made tougher by the heat treatment it if anything I feel it to be weaker since it breaks into more and smaller pieces.

I could be wrong but I doubt tempered glass could hold up to 40 pounds and if it could you would have to be extremely delicate in setting it down when it is full. Tempered glass is a safety feature to prevent injuries but I would never expect to see used in any load baring situation. Glass tables are not tempered to my knowledge.

Yes, I believe you are wrong Tempering is also called toughening.

Toughened glass is physically and thermally stronger than regular glass.

Tempered carboys would likely be a lot more expensive. I also found this quote from a glass tabletop company's FAQ (emphasis mine):

4. Does the glass need to be tempered?
We feel that ½” and ¾” inch thick glass tops do not need to be tempered. We do however; recommend 1/4" and 3/8” thick glass tops to be tempered for extra strength. All of our 1/4" and 3/8” thick glass tops are tempered.

Every try to break the side window in a car? Those are tempered. The windshield is not, which is why it's so easy to get cracks. I punched a winshield once and spiderwebbed the whole thing. The only reason windshields don't turn into a pile of razorblades when broken is the layer of plastic sandwiched between the two layers of glass.

Someone on here tried coating their glass carboy in plastic. I'll have to find the thread, it seemed pretty cool.

I have read more stories of people being attacked by sharks than being seriously injured by broken carboys. I still swim in the ocean every year...

I refuse to use plastic.

While I can understand your sentiment on not wanting to use plastic, I can't agree with your argument. Yes, accidents are rare, but it's not the point: the point is it's easily preventable, and the injuries can be severe. You could make similar arguments about a lot of rare but easily preventable things. Not waving around a golf club in a lightning storm, looking both ways when crossing the street, etc.

-Joe

 

[H-ost]

Thank you very much for the clarification Nostalgia.

I would much rather be wrong and corrected than walk around thinking I'm right.

 

[david_42]

Had a pitch explode on me when I was about 5 or 6. Never trusted large glass containers since.

 

[rjsnau]

I have read more stories of people being attacked by sharks than being seriously injured by broken carboys. I still swim in the ocean every year...

I refuse to use plastic.

Just a quick count, There are several people who have been injured by glass carboys, even if not seriously... How many people on here have been attacked by a shark.... I thought so.

I am sticking with plastic. Tried glass one time and scared the crap out of me. Maybe it is the tile floor I move my carboy back and forth over but it is not worth it.

 

[BigUgly]

Just a quick count, There are several people who have been injured by glass carboys, even if not seriously... How many people on here have been attacked by a shark.... I thought so.

Well, this isn't the 'I love to swim in the ocean every day' forum now, is it?

This is not the correct demographic to poll for that data...

Hunter

 

[JoeyChopps]

I'm part of the broken carboy club as well. I broke my first glass on my first ag. It was full of one step and it slipped fell a few inches and shattered. You know its been a while since it happened like a year and I'm not scared of glass I'm pissed I dropped one. Will continue using glass. Question do u think if u dropped a full carboy in a plastic mike crate would the glass break?

 

[AUEnder]

I was cleaning a carboy in a tiny apartment bathroom years ago. While drunk. And butt naked. Shattered the carboy on the side of the solid iron 1920s bathtub. I don't know how I didn't cut my manhood off or even draw blood anywhere else. I still have nightmares about it.

 

[PTBYOOJ]

Then again, this is a forum about homebrewing, not surfing or sea diving. But your point is well taken.

 

[hypergolic]

I got rid of my glass and only use better bottles now. I still remember as a kid carrying a 2 liter of coke(glass) up from the basement for my parents. I dropped it on the concrete floor, it broke and I fell in it. Not a good day.

I also shake my head every time I see my buddy carrying his carboy by just the handle. He is an accident waiting to happen.

 

[kh54s10]

I for one will never join the club. I cannot stand the sight of blood - especially my own!
So when I started this summer I opted for Better Bottles and added a bucket.

If you get injured from glass you will probably switch to plastic.
If you get bitten by a shark you will probably stop swimming in shark infested waters.

 

[krenshaw]

If you get injured from glass you will probably switch to plastic. If you get bitten by a shark you will probably stop swimming in shark infested waters.

just like a hockey player not wearing a visor.. the first time they need stitches and/or surgery to repair what could have been prevented with a visor, they'll never go back to not wearing one..

i know, this isn't the hockey forum either.. i just like analogies

 

[bctdi]

I don't use the better bottles for primary because it needs more head space so I can end up with a full 5 gallons in the keg. I will use them if I need to secondary though. I still like my buckets....they are just so easy to deal with , and I haven't had any infection issues since my first home brew. The only downside to buckets is not being able to see what's going on.....now if somebody would come up with a see through plastic lid for my buckets , that would be cool.

 

[NoCornOrRice]

I've been fermenting in kegs exclusively for the last six months, except once a couple of days ago, filled a carboy. Lost my grip with it full of beer, but I always cradle it so that if the bottom hand slips its at an angle to it falls into me so I can catch it in theory. That one was close. Only issue was the star-san slippery airlock went flying and smashed on the tile floor... beer is safe, and so am I. I'm going to keep my carboys for now, but fermenting in kegs is the plan from now on.

 

[Norlin]

Broke my first carboy about a week ago, I think. Basically, I had just sanitized it in preparation to receive a new batch of beer. I left it on the kitchen floor, and when I came back about half an hour later, it had a spider crack in the side of it. Can't figure out if my son threw something at it (he's 3) or it got hit by a kitchen cabinet handle when someone tried to access a cabinet. Maybe it was already cracked previously and I didn't notice while sanitizing it, but seems less likely. Recycled it and bought a new glass one.

 

[passedpawn]

I don't use the better bottles for primary because it needs more head space so I can end up with a full 5 gallons in the keg.

I see this a lot. All of my better bottles are 6 gallon. I'm not sure why anyone would buy the 5g one.