Glass carboy explosion

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after having a carboy explode because it was clogged (blueberry mead where a blueberry clogged the airlock) and having plastic buckets pop their lids and ferm locks) here are my thoughts:

1) did you lick the floor?

2) i ALWAYS use plastic buckets for primary fermentation.

2.5) if i'm fermenting a big beer, i split the batch between 2 buckets. after major fermentation subsides, i combine them in one bucket for a couple of weeks, then rack to secondary to settle and clear.

trial and error. bummer your beer blew like that. :(
 
Buy some 17 gallon 'rubbermaid' style tubs and put the carboys in those. If they pop, you contain the mess at least. I use them for washing gear, and for making an icewater bath to pump through my immersion chiller. They are also great for filling with ice and soda/beer in the summer on the patio.
 
this was a belgian abbey yeast (white labs)

my floor has radiant heat under most of it. where the heat stops the fermenter stays at 66 and this brew was somewhat dormant at 66, moved it to the heated area and it went up to 72, thats when the fun started.

I'm no physicist, but I wonder if setting a 66-degree 5 gal. glass vessel of pressurized beer on a 72-degree heated surface may have had *something* to do with this event. Is this asking glass to adapt under conditions beyond its capabilities, like when someone pours warm water on a frozen windshield?
 
i love my carboys, but i'm afraid of em. i'm thinking about plastic too.
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Ive been fermenting in glass for the better part of six years and never had a problem. Like stated before, always use a 1.25" blow off tube at least for the first few days and keep an eye on the airlock to ensure that it isnt clogging up. I also only use 6.5 gallon carboys for 5 gallon batches to ensure that there is optimal room between the krauesen and mouth of the carboy.
 
Here's my theory to go along with the temp change on the glass.

Even putting a carboy down gently on the bare concrete of my unfinished basement, it gives a good thunk due to the weight. I bought a carboy carrier and now the straps cushion that.

How many 'thunks' would it take to weaken the glass, and then temp change+pressure hits against already weakened glass and it simply pops...

I have had bottles carbonate, be opened and consumed, and only after realize there are spidery cracks in the glass. The next beer in that bottle would have likely become a bottle bomb even if it were properly carbonated due to the weakened state of the glass.
 
after having a carboy explode because it was clogged (blueberry mead where a blueberry clogged the airlock) and having plastic buckets pop their lids and ferm locks) here are my thoughts:

1) did you lick the floor?

2) i ALWAYS use plastic buckets for primary fermentation.

2.5) if i'm fermenting a big beer, i split the batch between 2 buckets. after major fermentation subsides, i combine them in one bucket for a couple of weeks, then rack to secondary to settle and clear.

trial and error. bummer your beer blew like that. :(



if there wasn't so much glass on the floor I may have been tempted to pull out the straws at least!! yep. gonna switch things up a bit in that department.
 
I have a bucket fermentation and has a tight lid... Takes some effort to get it off... The bubbler got clogged and found the lid blew of and sprayed the interior of the ferm fridge. This was also nearing the end of primary as well... I most deff worry about glass carboys.. Not so much for this.. But yes another worry then. But I worry of dropping it or set it too hard on the ground.
 
Not sure duct tape would stand up to constant contact with water/detergent. Seems like the better solution would be a heavy nylon zip-up carboy jacket. If the glass exploded, it would be contained and the jacket could be de-glassed and washed.

For sure! I love the ease of cleaning/sanitation and the observation of fermentation that my glass allows. I picked up some heavy nylon covers to protect me/my stuff from when I get clumsy or decide to make a bomb. They're also great for shielding from the sun and general handling of the carboys.
 
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