reminder to be careful when handling carboys

[El Cazador]

I can't emphasize the importance of safety when handling carboys. PBW can be slimy at times and when cleaning my carboy this weekend it slipped out of my hands and shattered. It was only about 1/2 an inch off the ground, but that's all it took.

I have 7 stitches on the fleshy part next to my left thump to show for it.

Oh well, chicks dig scars!!

 

[Desert_Sky]

Need Pics!!!!!

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

Need Pics!!!!!

second!:rockin:

 

[Lounge Lizard]

While I'm sorry to hear what happened, I'm glad you went ahead and posted about it. Broken glass carboys have inflicted many serious injuries. People darn sure need to be careful...

 

[todd_k]

I've got one of those screw on carboy handles. That thing has saved me a few times from breaking the carboy. The handle only costs a few bucks too.

 

[kornkob]

Watch those neck handles-- using it to move a carboy with anything in it at all puts the glass under a lot of stress-- even dragging or shifting a glass carboy using one of those neck handles can cause issues.

I bought carboy cradles for all my glass carboys--- spreads the weight accross a large area, instead of concentrating it on the neck.

 

[Wolf]

3 letters for you...

P. E. T.

I love my Better Bottles, I can wash them in the concrete washtub downstairs with no fear of breakage.

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

3 letters for you...

P. E. T.

I love my Better Bottles, I can wash them in the concrete washtub downstairs with no fear of breakage.

Actually, those are made out of Biaxially Oriented PET, so you meant to say 5 letters for you...

 

[Wolf]

Actually, those are made out of Biaxially Oriented PET, so you meant to say 5 letters for you...

Yes, thats EXACTLY what I meant

 

[mwessinger]

I use the carboy handles when working with empty carboys. They work especially well when washing them out to keep a good grip on them.

Once full, I keep the carboys in plastic milk crates I picked up from Dollar General. It makes them easy to handle, and supports the weight of the carboy from the bottom.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I hug mine like I'm going to give them a belly-to-belly souflex (I don't, of course) when they're full.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

I hug mine like I'm going to give them a belly-to-belly souflex (I don't, of course) when they're full.

Yeah, me too. It's almost like making love to your beer. Beautiful thing.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Yeah, me too. It's almost like making love to your beer. Beautiful thing.

Whew...that means I'm not a weirdo. Or at least not the only one.

 

[chillHayze]

Yes, the immortal words of Shane Falco: Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory... lasts forever.

Sorry to hear it man. Did you spill any beer? Hope not.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

Whew...that means I'm not a weirdo. Or at least not the only one.

I'd say probably the second choice!

 

[El Cazador]

Did you spill any beer? Hope not.

Didn't get that far, I was just cleaning the carboy at the time.

 

[budbo]

Didn't get that far, I was just cleaning the carboy at the time.

Well at least it is just a lesson not a tragedy. Just think if it had been full of beer.

Though now that I think about it, yeast eat Glucose..human cells eat glucose.. there is glucose in your blood and plenty of oxygen....... That could be a very efficient method of raising your blood alcohol.... Hmmmm :cross:

 

[KopyKat]

A couple of weeks ago I retired all my glass carboys to the attic and replaced them with Better Bottles. I have to carry my carboys up and down stairs and too many times I came close to slipping. The added weight and the possibility of dropping and breaking one finally made me break down and spend the money. I got all my glass ones for next to nothing but it had the potential to cost me dearly.
What a pleasure it is to have carboys I can pick up with one finger and know that the worst that can happen is that I drop it and kill the cat.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

What a pleasure it is to have carboys I can pick up with one finger and know that the worst that can happen is that I drop it and kill the cat.

I'd say that's the best that could happen.

 

[david_42]

No, the worst thing would be missing the cat!

 

[chillHayze]

A couple of weeks ago I retired all my glass carboys to the attic and replaced them with Better Bottles. I have to carry my carboys up and down stairs and too many times I came close to slipping. The added weight and the possibility of dropping and breaking one finally made me break down and spend the money. I got all my glass ones for next to nothing but it had the potential to cost me dearly.
What a pleasure it is to have carboys I can pick up with one finger and know that the worst that can happen is that I drop it and kill the cat.

Why keep them in the attic when I'll take them off your hands for free?

 

[El Cazador]

this is the best I could get. It's not glamorous . . . a little swollen and a little black and blue. Worst part of all is that I'm left handed. The length of the stitches is about 1 inch.

 

[user 574]

Nice gasher!

 

[brewhead]

Worst part of all is that I'm left handed.

that might be more info than we need

 

[Desert_Sky]

Worst part of all is that I'm left handed.

*resisting the urge to make a joke about switch hitting for a while...


At least you missed the tendons and what not. Carboys are thick and heavy glass, and you could of done some serious damage. Glad to see its not as bad as it could have been. You be back to 100% brewing in no time

Cheers

 

[Catfish]

Looks like they did a purty job with the stitching too. Won't have much of a scar for impressing the ladies.

 

[opqdan]

A couple of weeks ago I retired all my glass carboys to the attic and replaced them with Better Bottles. I have to carry my carboys up and down stairs and too many times I came close to slipping. The added weight and the possibility of dropping and breaking one finally made me break down and spend the money. I got all my glass ones for next to nothing but it had the potential to cost me dearly.
What a pleasure it is to have carboys I can pick up with one finger and know that the worst that can happen is that I drop it and kill the cat.

I'm looking to buy my first carboys in a couple weeks (till now I have been brewing with the Brewer's best buckets). Obviously, you like the plastic better. would you recomend tha I went with them instead of glass? I'm looking to do beer, along with wine and mead, so some things may sit in the carboy for a year or so. I can't have any sort of flavor leeching.

 

[Lounge Lizard]

I'm looking to buy my first carboys in a couple weeks (till now I have been brewing with the Brewer's best buckets). Obviously, you like the plastic better. would you recomend tha I went with them instead of glass? I'm looking to do beer, along with wine and mead, so some things may sit in the carboy for a year or so. I can't have any sort of flavor leeching.

The plastic bottles being referred to are PET bottles. Like soda bottles and so forth. Supposedly they don't let O2 permeate through. They probably work fine. If it was me, though, and I was going to have a mead working away for a year or so, I would go with glass. Then assuming you followed all of the other normal precautions, you would KNOW that you wouldn't have a problem down the line.

Just be sure to keep the air lock topped up. I have six gallons of wine aging in a glass carboy, and the level in the air lock has gotten dangerously low a couple of times. One day it is half full, and a few days later it is nearly empty! Maybe that is because I fill it with cheap vodka and it evaporates faster....