Exploding carboys

[rlewisedu42]

Hi all,

I just read and article from the Bend Bulletin newspaper about a fellow who just picked up a new glass carboy and was in the process of sanitizing it. He claims that he was dumping the sanitizer out of the carboy when it exploded and glass tore into his arm.

Has anyone else had this happen to them or have heard about it? This guy is now advocating for the use of plastic carboys.

I would love to hear any comments as I was just considering purchasing a carboy for my third batch. My first two were huge successes by the way.

 

[DanH]

There are tons of stories.

 

[kh54s10]

I have never had a glass carboy. I decided when I bought my kit that I didn't want the weight or the danger of glass. After getting started and reading horror stories on this site I will never own a glass carboy. To me the minimal benefits (if any) do not outweigh the danger.

 

[snowtires]

Some threads here started to make me afraid of glass carbons then I watched moonshiners and how they treat their glass carboys and I realized, no if those guys aren't breaking them tossing them into the pickup tossing them onto the ground on rocks knocking them over. Don't drop them, don't temp shock them too bad and don't put your arm underneath them with 5 gallons of hot water inside all the weight resting on the neck. I place mine on its side and drain the water out.
Treat your carboy like a baby, I wouldn't drop a baby I wouldn't drop a carboy, I wouldn't shake a baby, but I shake the crap out of my carboy

 

[Jerico]

I have only had 2 carboys break in 15 years. One was from thermal shock, hot wort in the carboy dipped in bathtub full of ice. The second was recently I was shaking vigorously rinsing after sterilizing and it slipped out of my wet hands and hit the concrete driveway.

As snowtires said treat it like a baby and it will be fine.

 

[Walking_Target]

if you have one randomly break, that's terrible luck. I'm currently using one carboy that has to be at least 10 years old, and when I used to brew on my father's equipment, i was using a carboy almost as old as I am.

Despite the horror stories, if you remember a few simple rules (no temperature shocks, don't place them right on concrete, etc) they'll last practically forever.