Down a fermenter; but feeling lucky

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balrog

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Transferred out of a glass carboy today.
Washed per usual.
Saw the following and feel VERY lucky that all volumes of bodily fluids are still on the inside:
20150328 cracked orourke carboy.JPG
 
Is this a "newer" made carboy? It seems the glass I bought in the early 2000s seemed to be higher quality. Some were made in mexico and some from italy. It seems these newer ones are not of the same quality. My 2 cents anyway.
 
Is this a "newer" made carboy? It seems the glass I bought in the early 2000s seemed to be higher quality. Some were made in mexico and some from italy. It seems these newer ones are not of the same quality. My 2 cents anyway.

Ancient carboy, at least 15 yr old, gotten second hand, prior user had it "kicking around in garage" until he gave it to me. Today when cleaning I did "tap" it a couple of times while rinsing, not unusual, against enamelled sink (not granite, not stainless).

At any rate, it went right out to recycling bucket.
 
At any rate, it went right out to recycling bucket.
Where I live, broken glass goes in the garbage, not recycling. Real live people sort that stuff, so it's a hazard to them just as it is to you. Just my $0.02;

Cheers!
 
Where I live, broken glass goes in the garbage, not recycling. Real live people sort that stuff, so it's a hazard to them just as it is to you. Just my $0.02;

Cheers!

Couple thoughts on that:
--I certainly wouldn't want to endanger anyone
--carboy is still a single item, just like any mayonaise jar or wine bottle I recycle
--they collect by roughly dumping the buckets into trucks without regard for maintaining the individual vessel integrity of the bottles, so no matter what care I take, the collection process seems contraindicative to keeping glass containers whole
 
No glass fermenters policy at my brewery. The thought of cleaning up 5+ gallons of blood and beer in the basement turns me off tremendously.
 
Was this one of the "Mexico" (on bottom) carboys? Only reason I ask is that's the kind I have and use...
 
Italy. There is a stylized "V" inside a circle in the exact middle of the bottom. Around the edge is "18.9 LTS" and "MADE ITALY".

That's all I have.
 
Couple thoughts on that:
--I certainly wouldn't want to endanger anyone
--carboy is still a single item, just like any mayonaise jar or wine bottle I recycle
--they collect by roughly dumping the buckets into trucks without regard for maintaining the individual vessel integrity of the bottles, so no matter what care I take, the collection process seems contraindicative to keeping glass containers whole


I agree.

I hear the glass breaking when they dump the containers in the truck. After that I don't think there is much physical contact with the glass.
 
I had the same issue 2 weeks ago. I had the wort chilling, I go to flip my sanitized carboy over and notice a crack running around most of the bottom rim. Quick run to my lhbs, and now I'm using buckets.
 
I've been done with glass for about 2 years now. Never going back. I dropped a half-full better bottle a few months ago. It cracked. All I could think of was 'what if that were a glass carboy?'.
 
Glad you dodged that bullet. Being new I don't have much equipment yet, but definitely thinking plastic now.
 
I wear about an 8" scar too close to the femoral artery from a slippery carboy mishap about 15 years ago. Kept using them for another 4 years before I decided they weren't worth the risk. Using stainless now. If I couldn't afford stainless, I would be using plastic. Please, please be careful fellow brewers!
 
I've seen too many threads like this for comfort. I've got 3 glass Carboys made in Italy. With these it seems everything is fine until it suddenly is not.

Looking to get two SS FV in the ongoing kickstarter from CHapmann brewing to phase these glass vessels out of my setup in the next 6 months.

Thanks for posting the pic. Glad all is well
 
Threads like this make me glad I never invested in any glass carboys. Had an incident when I used to work in a lab once; I was using a nice, thick, heavy, 4-L pyrex rotovap flask, swirling solvent in it to get material out of the flask, and it slipped out of my hand, fell maybe 4 inches onto one of those black chemical-resistant countertops, and it shattered into a few dozen various-sized shards. This was high-quality borosilicate glass. There might have been a tiny crack present, or an invisible imperfection, but I inspected the glassware each day before use, so there was definitely not a large crack that was steadily growing over time. Luckily the flask was moving away from my arms, so I avoided any cuts from the accident. I can't imagine trying to manipulate 5-gallon glass carboys, slick with water, of variable or questionable quality. Just way too hazardous for the advantages of using glass to overcome.
 
No glass fermenters policy at my brewery. The thought of cleaning up 5+ gallons of blood and beer in the basement turns me off tremendously.

But just think, when nearly every other flavor has been tried, you will be the first to market with beer that tastes like blood.
 

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