Your carboy is trying to kill you!

[bearriver]

If this has been posted before, maybe a mod will ghost it for me?

Here is an article I found, with examples of why carboys "are trying to kill you". Essentially it shows us pictures, with links, of various instances where home brewers were injured using a carboy. Enjoy.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/broken- ... um-376523/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

This link brought me to the above one: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/carboy-trying-kill-you.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[skow69]

There's some hilarious and really scary shit goin on there.

[heartcut]

My wife lost 6 gallons of really nice 3 month old, just fined Merlot, got a few superficial (lucky) cuts and was in a really foul mood for a few days. That carboy shot glass up on shelves and off the ceiling.

[Bushman]

And people wonder why we don't recommend glass thumpers!

[heartcut]

And people wonder why we don't recommend glass thumpers!

Trying to put out a fire while controlling arterial bleeding just sounds ugly.

[RevSpaminator]

And people wonder why we don't recommend glass thumpers!

Trying to put out a fire while controlling arterial bleeding just sounds ugly.

Just bleed in the direction of the fire.

[DAD300]

For those that remember glass liter soda bottles...in the 70's I used to bottle wine in them. They had aluminum screw on lids.

Bottled some early with out finishing yeast...weeks later six exploded within hours of each other and took out an empty room. Covered it in cheap red wine...and shards of glass.

[Halfbaked]

And people wonder why we don't recommend glass thumpers!

Glass thumper, Natural Selection. Need I say more. Sorry, I think I got off topi c.

[bearriver]

With reports of spontaneous failure, and reports of injury, I wonder about even standing next to one of those things.

Just imagine sitting there, drink in hand, staring at your 5 gallons of whiskey you worked so damned hard for. It's almost done aging as a matter of fact. Then it just explodes for no apparent reason, and cuts you bad enough to cause nerve damage surgery. Obviously adding injury to insult...

[RevSpaminator]

I'm not sure the failure of carboys is spontaneous. A lot of people think carboys are like tempered glass and try to pour boiling hot liquid in them. You could see that in the slideshow posted earlier. Also, if they've been mishandled they could develop hairline cracks that are just waiting for the right amount of pressure or rapid change in temp to shatter. I treat them like any other glass container...carefully.

[Tal]

bought myself a real nice glass carboy with 60 litre capacity....put it in the shed so it wouldn't get damaged. Went out to the shed about 15mins later and cut some kindling and wouldn't you know it?...a piece of wood shot out....skidded across the concrete floor and BOOF, straight into the bloody carboy which promptly fell in half!...SHITBAGS!

[cranky]

Oh great , GMO food, chemicals in plastic, Lead in my decanters, Arsenic in my dirt and now I have to worry about my carboys plotting against me and exploding!!! This stuff could make me paranoid if I wasn't already

[heartcut]

The paranoids are after me.

[W Pappy]

The paranoids are after me.

It's a damned conspiracy I tell ya.

[bearriver]

Just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean they are not after you.

[Tal]

Fixed my bastards!!!!...filled them with wine!....see how they like that!!! yeahh!!

[RevSpaminator]

The paranoids are after me.

It's a damned conspiracy I tell ya.

You're right. It is a conspiracy. What do we really know about fluoridation? Have you ever seen a commie drink a glass of water?

[W Pappy]

The paranoids are after me.

It's a damned conspiracy I tell ya.

You're right. It is a conspiracy. What do we really know about fluoridation? Have you ever seen a commie drink a glass of water?

[ga flatwoods]

Back injuries waiting to happen!
Ga Flatwoods

[cranky]

Just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean they are not after you.

That's what I always say!
But a few years ago I was lifting a carboy full of wine and lost my balance, slamming it into the wall taking a big chunk of drywall out then plunking it on the floor and splashing wine all over the place. I believe this was actually the old Italian one I have rather than one of the Mexican ones and it and I survived the incident unscathed. Ever since then I try to handle them with even greater care but most of those stories are the result of losing your grip, handles breaking or negligence by trying to put hot liquid in a cold carboy, A cheap carboy cant handle that, a Pyrex one, maybe but not a plain old glass one. (I've actually used a similar method to cut a bottle and make a glass funnel) However after reading those stories I'm thinking maybe it would be a good idea to wear welding leathers and gloves whenever I handle these things

[Swamp_Donkey]

I thought flouridation was what happened to some one when they retired from up north and moved to Florida.

[RevSpaminator]

No, that's fluoridation with three R's. Just ask Slim Pickins. "Wahooo!"

[bellybuster]

Put your carboys in milk crates, no more worries.

[jedneck]

Put your carboys in milk crates, no more worries.

And my 3 gallon ones fit in a five gallon bucket.

[pinkfloyd6488]

Plastic carboys are cheaper, lighter, and most importantly have never never severed any of my arteries.

[bearriver]

Plastic carboys are cheaper, lighter, and most importantly have never never severed any of my arteries.

Suitable for fermentation, but not storing spirits.

[Swedish Pride]

Plastic carboys are cheaper, lighter, and most importantly have never never severed any of my arteries.

Suitable for fermentation, but not storing spirits.

Are you saying the Glass carboys explode just sitting on a shelf with cool distilled product it?
I thought the safety issues were related to the fermenting of the mash and it was the pressure buildup was what makes it so dangerous.

So are we to age in stainless copper or casks to be sure of our safety?

[heartcut]

In my circle of friends and family there's never been a carboy failure that wasn't associated with an impact or a fast, extreme temperature change. I still use them for wine but plan on switching to kegs for that. Breaking a carboy full of whiskey would be a major source of depression, even if you didn't end up in the eroom.

[Tokoroa_Shiner]

It is possible. Yes. When sealed up. Heat and cold causing the spirits to expand and contract can worsen any hairline cracks. Pressure behind those cracks can cause it to "explode"

[NZChris]

So are we to age in stainless copper or casks to be sure of our safety?

No, but don't over fill on a cold day, screw a lid on tight, and expect it not to burst on a hot day. Use a cork or wooden bung that can be pushed out under pressure, and will allow it to breath to help aging.