:shock: After 19 years brewing and using glass carboys almost from the very start I finally broke one. No injuries so all is well. I didn’t drop it, I bumped the bottom of a 6.5 gallon into the upper part of a 5. It kind of collapsed inside itself. Happy the 5 was destroyed not the 6.5 because I have lots of 5’s. BTW it was empty.
Still brave enough to not give up on glass and do have a couple of buckets and a 12 gallon SS conical so no trying to talk me out of the dangerous glass. 
milk crates make great carrier protectors for carboys, might want to consider giving one a try. Good to hear you were not hurt.
That is a fantastic idea.
I’ve made the switch to plastic carboys. Just ordered a couple more from our host. Yeah, they’re a little bit more of a pain to clean, but they sure are light.
Sorry about your mishaps. I broke one few years ago after 10 years of beer and wine making. What a terrible mess to clean up. Luckily mine was empty thank god. After that I used milk creates for little while till I could figure something else out. Now I use few old 8 gallon wine fermenter buckets they work great. Fit right in and can carry them with handle even with full carboy in them.
That’s a great record Mark. When I was with Kodak before retirement, they would get a lot of nitric acid in 6.5’s. After rinsing they busted them up and recycled the glass. I started getting them after their rigorous rinse. I acquired 7 of em’ and this was back in the late 80’s. Only one has broke since and that was dropped on concrete empty. I also have a plastic brewing pail I use, but the bulk is done in the glass carboys. I’m not sure I would be a glass person, but I got all mine free. Just gotta’ be extra careful.
I just broke my first glass carboy as well. It was one of the newer ones, too… the 7 gallon ones with the grooves inside.
While those grooves look nice, they are a terrible idea. It’s just serves a stubborn spot to remove dried krausen/harbor bugs. I was scrubbing one of said grooves with a carboy brush, and a piece of glass the size of a quarter fell onto the floor. There was a hole all the way through the wall, approximately 2 mm wide. I am glad I noticed it before I tried using/moving that sucker!
Those old acid carboys are tough. I still use my 7.5 gallon size, for big beers, purchased in 1987. Still haven’t broken any of the newer lighter ones either. It really helps not to shock them with temperature extremes or bouncing them off hard surfaces.
I still have the same carboys from when I started 16 years ago with no breaks. shizzle happens, just ask Nizzle. I love my 14 gallon heated/cooled conical, but it’s all tied up with about 9 gallons of a sour.
I am playing chicken with my glass 6.5. The metal handle around the neck has a bolt that is getting thin… Although I don’t pick the whole full weight by it, it does help me tip it to get the other hand under it… I have some plastic ones too, but not a big fan of the way the sides are soft. If you forget to remove the airlock you’ll suck the liquid back in!! :blah: Sneezles61
I ditched the glass carboys a couple years ago. I ferment in cornie kegs now. A friend of mine uses milk crates to carry his glass carboys.
Good thing you weren’t hurt, Mark.
Phew, I have 8 and just had to use them again in preparation for my son’s wedding.
For beer I like buckets for primary fermentation (I hardly ever secondary anymore), and dryhop in the keg. I do sometimes use a carboy secondary if adding fruit. Long term maturation I prefer a keg unless I want to monitor clarity - another great reason to use a carboy for secondary.
After 15 years of beer and wine making I still haven’t broken a carboy (I have lots of them), although I’ve scrapped a couple that had hairline cracks. I’ve learned to avoid shocking them with water of a very different temp than the glass, such as cold water to a hot-rinsed carboy. I also am extremely careful carrying them and setting them on a hard surface (concrete, etc.), and try hard to practice situational awareness so as to NOT inadvertently bump one against anything when carrying one.
Pride goes before the fall - I realize I’ve just been lucky! But like not texting or eating when driving, maintaining focus and avoiding that which leads to distraction is a choice and refusal to fall into bad habits.
Mark, I’m glad that the mishap was injury free. It’s obviously more likely than not to happen at some point.
I was really lucky how it broke. Since it got hit on the top where it slopes down from the opening, it kind of collapsed inside itself and very few shards shot out around the room. A broom and dust pan cleaned it right up. I was wearing flip flops of course :shock: [quote=“Beersk”]I ditched the glass carboys a couple years ago. I ferment in cornie kegs now. A friend of mine uses milk crates to carry his glass carboys.
Good thing you weren’t hurt, Mark.[/quote]
The milk crates are a good idea. Wouldn’t have helped here but for moving them around would add some protection. Don’t think a 6.5 would fit though.
I have 2 that I now only use on occasion but have had them for 10 years. I too use milk crates.
[quote=“HD4Mark”]I was really lucky how it broke. Since it got hit on the top where it slopes down from the opening, it kind of collapsed inside itself and very few shards shot out around the room. A broom and dust pan cleaned it right up. I was wearing flip flops of course :shock: [quote=“Beersk”]I ditched the glass carboys a couple years ago. I ferment in cornie kegs now. A friend of mine uses milk crates to carry his glass carboys.
Good thing you weren’t hurt, Mark.[/quote]
The milk crates are a good idea. Wouldn’t have helped here but for moving them around would add some protection. Don’t think a 6.5 would fit though.[/quote]
The 6.5 will fit, but perhaps not with gear (taped probe, fermwrap). For my 6.5’s I use a brew hauler. I started to go plastic but ended up coming back to good ole glass carboys. I now use pumps to eliminate movement when possible, wheeled furniture dolly for extended movement, a carry-harness or milk crate for lifting and a keg washer that recirculates PBW/water/StarSan so I don’t have to pick these dangerous b@st@rds up when they’re full of slippery cleaners.
This greatly reduces risk of injury.
I can use a Harbor Freight small movers dolly to get the carboys from the detached garage where my brewery is out the door, up the driveway and sidewalk to the steps. Then I’m stuck picking it up and carrying it.
The disaster happened because I use two 6.5s and one 12 gallon conical for 20 gallons. I have been filling the carboys, taking them in the house and dumping each one in the conical. Then just refilling each 6.5. I had just picked up and dumped one into the conical that the top is perhaps 5’ above the floor and began to set it down. The bottom hit a 5 gallon on the way to the floor and crash.
My reasoning is I only use the fermentation vessels for transfer so there is less contact with anything that could infect the fresh wort. I’m now thinking of sanitizing a bucket to bring the wort inside to the conical.
I switched away from using glass about 6 years ago, and I don’t miss it at all. Been using the same two buckets ever since then.
The only reason that glass makes any sense to me is if you want to do long-term bulk aging and don’t have a keg to use. For simply transferring wort from the kettle to the conical, a bucket will work better for you (lighter to lift). But I’d think a long hose and a pump would be better yet.
I broke a carboy a couple of months ago while cleaning it. First broken one is 3 years.
I have to carry them upstairs to the kitchen sink to wash them. Usually fill them with water and PBW to soak overnight then rinse a couple of times in the morning.
I was rinsing when the bottom edge clipped the edge of the countertop and broke. I didn’t get hurt at all but it’s made me a bit nervous about the glass carboys. Buckets are so much lighter, easier to carry and clean. I’ve been using buckets more since then.
I often read about people filling the carboy to clean it. I’m very careful now with full carboys since tearing up my shoulder doing something really dumb.
Cleaning can be made a little simpler. Add a gallon of water to the just emptied carboy, slosh it around and dump. This removes the loose gunk. EDIT: After this step I jet rinse.
Then add tepid water to about the one-third mark, add the cleaner and undrilled bung. Slosh the water and cleaner around holding the carboy tight to the body. Lean the carboy in the sink top down. The cleaning solution will cover the krausen ring which is about the only place gunk will still be sticking. After a couple of hours turn the carboy mouth up and give a light brushing to remove any material that may not have fallen off. Dump and rinse with tepid water.
I cover the bottom and side of the sink with rubber shower mats to keep the carboy from sliding or bumping a hard surface.
I never add hot water to a glass carboy. This can start stress fractures.
Hope this has offered some ideas to keep us glass users safe.
