Broken Glass Carboy Horror Stories Compendium

[choosybeggar]

So I'm looking around for mik crates to more safely handle carboys. I found this on Amazon. No sure if it's sturdy enough to carry a carboy, though. Can anyone link to a product they purchased and are happy with?

 

[phoenixs4r]

I had mine slip while lifting it up full of oxiclean/hot water. Rested it on the plastic garage/janitor style sink in the garage, felt the bottom edge slip out, didn't even try to save it just moved my hands out of the way and turned my head.

Still finding shivers of glass weeks later

 

[Arrheinous]

"I am typing this very slowly as I recently dropped a full 6 gal carboy on my hand..."

Is... is that a wedding ring?

 

[passedpawn]

Is... is that a wedding ring?

Click on the picture. All pictures in this thread are linked to the original thread. Oh, I think the answer is yes.

 

[Arrheinous]

Click on the picture. All pictures in this thread are linked to the original thread. Oh, I think the answer is yes.

Aha! Tricky links...

 

[highgravitybacon]

It seems like a lot of the ones that break are the Made in Mexico ones with the four ridges on the side. I had one of those break at when I poured cool water into a warm carboy. The glass is fairly thin and they always seem to break right at the bottom where the sides meet the floor of the carboy.

I use old glass water jugs. The ones from the 50s, 60s. They were intended to be swapped out, washed, and refilled. They seem quite a bit heavier, thicker, and more robust. You can find them for sale on Craigslist in most larger cities. Most people sell them for $20 or so. They're entirely smooth on the outside and often have a funky neck on them. One I have is threaded even.

 

[passedpawn]

Yesterday was going great, until I had to take a trip to the ER. I had a 1 gallon carboy explode on my leg. I forgotten about it in my garage, and it had some pear wine overflow in it from winter. I stupidly capped it with the provided screw top. All it took was the slightest bump and BOOM! glass shrapnel everywhere, including my left leg.

5 stitches and a walking boot later, I'm all good.

The main laceration went deep enough to slice part of my calf muscle, just above my achilles tendon. I'm very lucky my 2year old assistant was napping inside when this happened.

Just a reminder to all, ALWAYS let your glass vessels vent via airlock!

I store my washed yeast in glass jars, and I will always let them vent when I remove them from the fridge!

On a side note, I think I'll be removing all glass from my brewhouse. Buckets and kegs from now on for me.

 

[loudmouthbrewer]

Gross- this tread just encouraged me to join the forum and chime in. I just built a prototype carboy crate (nothing fancy) and feel a lot of these hospital trips could have been avoided. Check out the write up here:

DIY Wood Carboy crate

-cheers

 

[m3n00b]

I have 4 carboys and they're starting to scare the shiet outta me now.

 

[greatschmaltez]

Wow, scary, at the same time, as mentioned above, the right PPE and lifting these things from the bottom and not having so much stress in the neck is probably good enough for mitigation.

My carboys were manufactures in Italy and they are pretty thick. These ones that are described as a "spontaneous combustion" type design are probably super thin.

 

[m3n00b]

Wow, scary, at the same time, as mentioned above, the right PPE and lifting these things from the bottom and not having so much stress in the neck is probably good enough for mitigation.

My carboys were manufactures in Italy and they are pretty thick. These ones that are described as a "spontaneous combustion" type design are probably super thin.

Mine are all thick Italians too. Hopefully they hold together because I love using them. Anytime I move them I plan ahead. I lock all of my animals out of the area I'm using and make sure no one is home.

 

[highgravitybacon]

Mine are all thick Italians too. Hopefully they hold together because I love using them. Anytime I move them I plan ahead. I lock all of my animals out of the area I'm using and make sure no one is home.

Change the forum, but leave the post the same and you might get some rather interesting responses. You definitely need context here.

 

[BobG]

My first and hopefully last......

 

[highgravitybacon]

My first and hopefully last......

What is the giant metal thing?

 

[raouliii]

Moveable, spinning, metal blades inside of glass? That was an accident just waiting to happen.

 

[bleme]

What is the giant metal thing?

And whose bright idea was it to put it in a glass carboy?

All that goes in mine is beer, water, OxyClean, StarSan, and washcloths.

 

[jmcquesten]

Gross- this tread just encouraged me to join the forum and chime in. I just built a prototype carboy crate (nothing fancy) and feel a lot of these hospital trips could have been avoided. Check out the write up here:

DIY Wood Carboy crate

-cheers

Haha...about time. I knew you couldn't stay away.

 

[passedpawn]

My first and hopefully last......

Haha. Thanks for posting (you knew you'd take some ribbing and did it anyway - awesome).

 

[Arrheinous]

Whenever I see passedpawn at the top of my subscribed threads list I get a shiver.

 

[passedpawn]

Whenever I see passedpawn at the top of my subscribed threads list I get a shiver.

Just for you:

 

[BobG]

Aerator wand. I've used it for eight years now without a issue. This was operator error. Luckily pride was the only thing hurt.

 

[BobG]

And one more....it made me feel a little better.

 

[smccarter]

And the moral to THIS story is..... (drum roll)....

DON'T BREAK YOUR CARBOYS.....

I have eight 6 gallon carboys, and one 3 gallon carboy. Have had them for over 10 years and no mishaps....

Now watch, I'll break one tomorrow. EEK!!!!!

Seriously... hate to see all of that. Has to really suck. Hope everyone healed properly.

 

[BigFloyd]

I considered using glass carboys but decided against it mostly due to the fact that I brew on the main floor of our house (now E-BIAB in the garage), but my fermenter fridge is down in our little 10x20 basement. The thought of of what might happen while toting a full glass carboy down a flight of outside concrete stairs is frightening.

 

[loudmouthbrewer]

Haha...about time. I knew you couldn't stay away.

Guilty as charged.

 

[passedpawn]

2nd hand story. Buddy is living Final Destination. haha.

A buddy broke his 2ND carboy last weekend without injury. He still won't get rid of the rest of his glass. Both that broke were old blue glass water jugs, and the rest of his are new brew carboys, but damn.

EDIT: Same buddy as my previous post.

This one just fractured up the side after filling it with chilled wort. It was the last of 6 batches over the last several days filling his last carboy. I got a frantic call at 11:30pm that his beer was leaking out and he needed to borrow a carboy. I told him he had to come get it. When he got there I offered an autosiphon, and he tried to tell me he was going to lift this full, cracked carboy onto a counter to gravity feed. I told him he was taking the autosiphon, and transferring it where it sat or I was disowning him. I wasn't there to see how he cracked it, but he swears it was room temp, and he didn't bump anything to break it. This guy is like the main character in Final Destination with these carboys.

 

[passedpawn]

 

[passedpawn]

Reminder: Click on any picture in this thread to be taken to the original thread in which I found it. Enjoy!

 

[CBMbrewer]

Scary Sh!t man.
The first link. "carboy danger and potential death" is particularly disturbing.
Be safe everyone.

 

[mpcluever]

Better Bottles are cool. Wrong size, but cool!

Wrong size for what? A 5 gallon batch works perfect in a 6 gallon carboy. Never used a 6.5 in my life, nor have any of my friends.