Carboy explosion

[andy32pinkerton]

So I made a heady topper clone yesterday and double pitched WLP008 at about 6pm. I originally had it in my Mini-brew conical fermenter with a small blow off attachment. At 3pm today I checked on it and it had lifted the top off of the conical as it doesn't seal super tightly, so I transferred it to a 6 gallon glass carboy with a 1" ID (1.25" OD) tubing for a blowoff.

Fast forward to 8pm, I'm out of town and a buddy is staying with our dog as I'm out of town. He calls me and tells me he heard a crash downstairs...my carboy apparently exploded into a million pieces, spraying glass all over the basement.

That's scary to me...if someone or a pet were down there, they could have gotten hurt. Is this normal? Could there have been an issue with the carboy itself?

 

[CA_Mouse]

Most likely you had a severe blow off that clogged the hose. Carboys are not designed to be pressurized, so if it was blocked and unable to relieve the pressure, it could very easily have exploded from the pressure.

 

[andy32pinkerton]

Yeah I'd assume the only explanation is the tube got clogged, I was just surprised a 1" ID tube could clog. Sucks

 

[CA_Mouse]

It doesn't take that much. The blow off is usually a very thick yeast and protein solution. If there is enough of it, it can be like cement and plug even a 1" hose.