Glass Carboy Excitement

[triethylborane]

I wonder if you can just buy a 6.5g big mouth bubbler (or a better bottle), cut the top off, drop the glass one inside, and use it as a glass carboy condom? If the diameters work out, would be a nifty solution for those intent on glass.

just lol if the condoms in your dresser drawer dont work for this

Beer out of plastic cups? OK, you've crossed a line now.

glass is dangerous!

 

[kh54s10]

Is the carboy bag, that they advertised with a video of them dropping it off a roof and no punctures through the bag still in production? I forget what it was called.

 

[MaxStout]

Just spray some of this stuff on the carboy.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Is the carboy bag, that they advertised with a video of them dropping it off a roof and no punctures through the bag still in production? I forget what it was called.

I wondered the same, and wondered why I never saw them drop a full carboy in their demo........

 

[brewcat]

If you start coating glass carboys you may as well switch to stainless steel. I always thought I would use my glass carboy after buying a couple plastic big mouth bubblers. But they made me realize glass carboys are heavy and a pain to clean. Haven't used the glass since.

I will say the glass seems to be thicker than some I'm seeing now. Those probably would have broke with how I used to handle my carboy. Good advice is to set it on a towel. Use a brew hauler or crate to move it. Long sleeves, pants, shoes when moving or cleaning. Check for weak spots (e.g. small hairline cracks).

 

[MaxStout]

I use glass carboys for fermenters and own several. A few 6-1/2 gal, a couple 5 gal (which I almost never use), and some 3 gal for half batches. All are the good Italian-made ones, not the cheap Chinese knockoffs. Never broken one. I give them a good amount of care and respect and I eyeball them frequently. I am willing to accept the risks. That said, I never use those neck-mounted handles. You're just asking for trouble and the side-loading could snap the neck off. I use Brewhaulers (and I carefully inspect the stitching and add a few stitches if necessary). I also have a couple of the heavy-duty plastic milk crates (not the cheap imitations from the home-storage section at Target). I never set a glass carboy directly onto a hard surface--I put a piece of cardboard down before setting the carboy onto it.

Maybe someday I'll buy a couple ss Brewbuckets, but for now the glass will continue to serve its purpose for me.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I actually like my glass and never had an issue. I don’t use them much because I put 12.5 gal in my 15 gal fermenters. I do still use them when I make cider.

 

[jrgtr42]

I have 3 glass ones and 2 Better Bottles.
I don't often use any of them - the glass when I'm aging sours, and usually the plastic when bulk aging brews on wood and so forth. "Standard" fermentations - no extended aging - takes place in Ale Pails.
I take reasonable precautions when dealing with the glass ones - they live secured in milk crates for transport and fermenting, I don't even take them out for cleaning, unless there's a mess that I have to wash the outside, in which case I put it in the slop sink and don't take it out until dry. 2 of them have the neck handles, I almost never touch them (I should just take them off) occasionally use them to tilt the carboy to lift from the bottom.
I wear long pants and heavy shoes when I deal with them, and usually leather work gloves.
I know it's not if but when something happens with them, and I just hope it's empty when it does happen.
So har, I've only lost a 1-gallon jug, that had a sour starter in it. Best smelling mess EVER.

 

[sbsmann]

All good info. I feel like my biggest risk area for an accident is during the cleaning phase. When I have beer in it it is always in a brew hauler and being set down on something soft. When cleaning and rinsing it it's lighter and easier to move around. Also more slippery and dropable. That being said, just being more aware and cautious goes a long way in reducing the odds of a mishap.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

Just spray some of this stuff on the carboy.

I was thinking about the clear flex seal myself.
I may pick up a can and experiment with it to see how it may contain an empty bottle when it breaks. If it performs well might test breaking other glass vessels.
Not sure i will buy a 5 gal just to bust it, but you never know the lengths i might go to further home brew safety. (and i get to break stuff)

 

[Murphys_Law]

I was thinking about the clear flex seal myself.
I may pick up a can and experiment with it to see how it may contain an empty bottle when it breaks. If it performs well might test breaking other glass vessels.
Not sure i will buy a 5 gal just to bust it, but you never know the lengths i might go to further home brew safety. (and i get to break stuff)

Make sure you video the whole process!!

 

[day_trippr]

I expect a one-and-done result.
Please take care!

Cheers!

 

[madscientist451]

I work in a dangerous job, usually surrounded by thousands of violent men that would kill me if they had the chance.
Sometimes I drive fast when the highway is empty, I ski the liftline at high speed and never wear a helmet, and yup, I use glass carboys. I wonder which of the above I should reduce? I'd say fast driving.....

 

[sbsmann]

I work in a dangerous job, usually surrounded by thousands of violent men that would kill me if they had the chance.
Sometimes I drive fast when the highway is empty, I ski the liftline at high speed and never wear a helmet, and yup, I use glass carboys. I wonder which of the above I should reduce? I'd say fast driving.....

I'd start by quitting that job asap!

 

[madscientist451]

Yeah, If I could, I'd be gone, but I'm thankful I can pay my bills and have some money left over for hobbies....

 

[MaryB]

I worked in a feed testing lab back in the early 80's, lots of glass vessels of all kinds. Our number one injury was broken acid carboys causing cuts and acid burns. We all wore acid resistant clothing and gloves but you would still get a nice hole eaten in your leg if a drop finds a way in.

I use plastic buckets right now. Soon as I can afford it I am switching to stainless like the SS Brewtech Brew bucket or Chronical(need to see how many of either will fit in my fermenting chamber) and a clean in place system so I am no longer doing a lot of heavy lifting.

 

[Barath_68]

A few weeks ago, I was giving my 6.5gal primary a final swirl of Star-San while my wort was chilling, when the buckle on the brewhauler gave out. I use those square, 3/8ish inch thick foam excersize mats for working with carboys, and I thought I had eased it down gently enough, but low and behold, I ended up with a Jagged nightmare between my feet. Considering my typical brewing wear involves shorts and Crocs, I consider it not a small miracle that I only ended up with a paper cut type scratch from the clean-up. I love glass carboys, but after having to scramble to get a backup fermenter ready to go before my wort was ready, and the chain reaction of mishaps and mistakes caused by that rush, I am considering going back to buckets, or perhaps a plastic big mouth. On the bright side, I just racked the Stout I was brewing that day into the secondary last night, and it seems to have turned out much better than expected!

 

[shoengine]

I used glass until I got my SS brew bucket. In fact, the only plastic used in my process was the hoses/ racking canes, and the bottling bucket. Plastic has a memory which is why I personally didn't use it. I mitigated breakage issues by wearing PPE and proper handling. My carboys haven't ever lain on concrete.

For what it is worth, I own a small window installation company. I wouldn't suggest using chemicals on glass unless they were specifically made to be put on glass. Unintended consequences and what-not.

 

[sbsmann]

I used glass until I got my SS brew bucket. In fact, the only plastic used in my process was the hoses/ racking canes, and the bottling bucket. Plastic has a memory which is why I personally didn't use it. I mitigated breakage issues by wearing PPE and proper handling. My carboys haven't ever lain on concrete.

For what it is worth, I own a small window installation company. I wouldn't suggest using chemicals on glass unless they were specifically made to be put on glass. Unintended consequences and what-not.

I don't think most people use anything other than typical cleaning and sanitizing agents (pbw, oxyclean, starsan, etc) on their glass carboys. I might buy a plastic carboy myself just to try it out. Is it correct in assuming those same cleaning agents work ok on plastic?

 

[shoengine]

I was speaking about things like Plastidip. I'll have to look at the indications...

But read the product first; the label will tell you what you need to know.

 

[chris000]

glass is a great material, but enough stress will break them. the question is only when and as others said, it is hard to see it coming.
regarding carboys, they are CHEAP. At the same time, I woudn't be willing to pay $300-500 for a simple high quality 23l glass vessel either.
I have still some sitting around; from mouth-blown 54l demijohns down to 19l pressed LHBS junkers. I don't trust anyone of them, but to be fair I only had breakages where I dropped them or really bumped hard into something.
What I don't like about them is the small opening and that I cannot pressurize them (although I have done that before without issue). That's been the major reason I switched to SS.
For other applications like starters, I still use lab-grade glassware (anything from Pyrex, Schott even down to the thin Chinease stuff) - all goes directly on propane, heat-plate or stove without any issue (yet...)

 

[LostHopper]

Is the carboy bag, that they advertised with a video of them dropping it off a roof and no punctures through the bag still in production? I forget what it was called.

https://www.carboy.net/

I have the covers for 3 gallon and 5 gallon. They work well and give you a secure handle. That said, I abandoned the 5 gallon glass and use buckets for 5-5.5gal batches. I still use the 3 gallon glass carboys.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

https://www.carboy.net/

I have the covers for 3 gallon and 5 gallon. They work well and give you a secure handle. That said, I abandoned the 5 gallon glass and use buckets for 5-5.5gal batches. I still use the 3 gallon glass carboys.

So give us a video demo on a 5 gallon.........Full of water....

 

[MaryB]

I had some of the cheap Chinese glassware shatter on the stove as I was bringing a starter to a simmer to sterilize it(I freeze my starter wort). What a mess to clean up! Now I only buy name brand, right now using Klimax and they are twice as thick as the cheap junk.

glass is a great material, but enough stress will break them. the question is only when and as others said, it is hard to see it coming.
regarding carboys, they are CHEAP. At the same time, I woudn't be willing to pay $300-500 for a simple high quality 23l glass vessel either.
I have still some sitting around; from mouth-blown 54l demijohns down to 19l pressed LHBS junkers. I don't trust anyone of them, but to be fair I only had breakages where I dropped them or really bumped hard into something.
What I don't like about them is the small opening and that I cannot pressurize them (although I have done that before without issue). That's been the major reason I switched to SS.
For other applications like starters, I still use lab-grade glassware (anything from Pyrex, Schott even down to the thin Chinease stuff) - all goes directly on propane, heat-plate or stove without any issue (yet...)

 

[chris000]

I had some of the cheap Chinese glassware shatter on the stove as I was bringing a starter to a simmer to sterilize it(I freeze my starter wort). What a mess to clean up! Now I only buy name brand, right now using Klimax and they are twice as thick as the cheap junk.

Recently, I switched to a good labgrade heated stirrer; no boil over (no antifoam needed either), way less stress on the glass since bottom is not much hotter than rest of flask.

 

[paneubert]

I was joking in the other "horrible death from glass carboy" thread that my order for some cut resistant gloves was worded like I was getting a dozen pair at the price competitors were charging for one pair (around 35-30 bucks). This is what showed up in the mail. If anyone wants to buy some for slightly less than retail, let me know....haha!

“PIP 18-SD385 Kut-Gard Dyneema/Steel Slabbers Gloves - Double-Sided PVC Dot Grip”

ANSI Cut Level 5

 

[shelly_belly]

I work in a dangerous job, usually surrounded by thousands of violent men that would kill me if they had the chance.
Sometimes I drive fast when the highway is empty, I ski the liftline at high speed and never wear a helmet, and yup, I use glass carboys. I wonder which of the above I should reduce? I'd say fast driving.....

I would exchange the skis for a snowboard!