Can this carboy be saved?

[Rugrad02]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432861087.269665.jpg

My father passed away in 2006 and my mom has been slowly packing away his belongings. His hobby was relic hunting for Civil War relics with a metal detector. Years ago, he purchased this Carboy for the purpose of displaying some of his found bullets. It is way too heavy for my mom to move and she asked me to pack away the bullets and remove the Carboy the next time I visit. So the Carboy has been filled with 150 year old lead bullets. I would like to salvage the Carboy of possible. If it's not too terribly scratched on the inside, could this be saved?

 

[b-boy]

That's pretty cool. I'd keep it just the way it is, but I'd be really careful moving it.

I don't think I'd want to use something with that much lead in it. just my opinion.

 

[ChemEng]

Those bullets likely deposited lead onto the glass walls just by rubbing agains the sides. It would be very difficult to remove without using agressive acids (Like concentrated sulphuric acid).

That lead would leach into your beer And would end up being deposited in your brain.

I think it's cool like it is. Sell it for $180 and buy 3 new carboys with the proceeds.

 

[MaxStout]

I think that is a cool conversation piece that goes far beyond the value of the carboy itself. Keep it as a memento of your dad and just buy a carboy for brewing.

 

[meatcleaver]

Those bullets likely deposited lead onto the glass walls just by rubbing agains the sides. It would be very difficult to remove without using agressive acids (Like concentrated sulphuric acid).

That lead would leach into your beer And would end up being deposited in your brain.

this is what I would worry about.

 

[Hello]

I would definitely want to keep it as is.

 

[ImNoExpert]

Very cool!

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Sell it?

You'd play hell shipping it!

 

[ChemEng]

Is that a 5 gallon carboy? If so, 5 gallons of lead weighs about 473 lbs... assuming about 50% void space, i estimate that you are still talking about ~235 lbs of lead.

You will want to be VERY careful moving that thing, i'm not sure how you would go about picking it up. There is a good chance it will shatter if you try to tilt it on that brick...

I have enough of a hard time carrying around a carboy full of wort (~41 lbs).

 

[hunter_le five]

Another vote for keep it as is.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

I too would keep this as a memorial to my father and a pastime that made him happy. carboys are cheap, memories are priceless.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

What is the cork for?

Was he afraid the bullets would get infected?

 

[GHBWNY]

This is very cool! Obviously, your family lived near a battlefield(s). My Dad collected Indian artifacts and when he died, we were left with hundreds of them. As we all had our own collections, we gave them to a family friend who did the collection justice by setting aside a special room in his house and displaying them both historically and aesthetically. Aside from something like that, and although your Mom would like to see them out of the house, I would vote to keep them in the family.

On the other hand, if it ever came to emptying the carboy and brewing a beer, you could call your brew, "The Silver Bull..." Shoot (npi), it's been done already.

Thanks for posting. Very interesting.

 

[MaxStout]

Do a testimonial for Brewhauler and see if you can hoist it up.

 

[atoughram]

WAY COOL! Leave it as is...

or sell me a few of those mini's...

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Park it where you want it, fill with clear resin.........

 

[christyle]

You're talking about trying to save like $30-40 on a carboy here....keep it as is. Again, good luck on trying to move that too haha.

 

[day_trippr]

Seeing some of the apocryphal episodes others have experienced with large glass vessels over the years, my philosophy on carboys is to not take on used ones.

Period.

I do all my fermentation in 6.5g Italian carboys that were new-to-me many, many years ago. And while one never knows what happened to them between the moment of production and the moment I took them home from my lhbs, from that point on they've been treated like small, armed, thermonuclear devices with hair triggers.

No mechanical shock, no thermal shock. Ever.
And so I trust them enough to keep using them.

It's really the only reason I haven't switched to something non-lethal

An ancient vessel once filled with lead and with an otherwise unknown history is probably not something you want to be carrying around full of wort, imo...

Cheers!

 

[Rugrad02]

Thank you all for the replies. I believe I will keep it as is. If the Carboy breaks or shatters when I move it then so be it. I will buy another and put all of those bullets back in it.

I grew up in the Fredericksburg, VA area, a stones throw away from Salem Church. These bullets came from both Spotsylvania and Stafford counties all on private lands and never on public or park property. As a kid we'd find bullets and buttons among other things in my back yard.