# Imploded carboy



## oaksfan (Mar 4, 2016)

I recently got a vaccum brake bleeder and to date had vacuum degassed 3 kits and and really like how well it works. tonite i was degassing a kit that i was making for my father inlaw and had first stirred it for a few minutes with the drill . i then put it under vacuum and slowly built up to 22-23 inhg. I left it like that and after hearing a noise i went to check and my carboy was in pieces in the sink ! 

Luckly it was a cheaper 10 litre kit but now i'll be paranoid putting future wines under vacuum ! This was a carboy i bought with 5 others on a local buy and sell and looked somewhat like the italian ones .Has anyone else had this happen ? Is it just a faulty carboy or to much vacuum ? Now i get to tell the father inlaw the bad news !


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## dralarms (Mar 4, 2016)

Had to be a faulty carboy


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## vacuumpumpman (Mar 4, 2016)

I have never heard of a carboy breaking due to vacuum. I have seen them break and stress cracks caused due to extreme water temperatures, then fail at any given time.


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## Julie (Mar 5, 2016)

I am wondering if there was a small crack in the carboy.


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## TonyR (Mar 5, 2016)

I got rid of all my glass carboys years ago after one shatered with 6 gal of wine, what a mess and what a pain to clean up. Went with better bottle carboys and have been supper happy with my choice . And yes they are good for long term ageing.


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## Runningwolf (Mar 5, 2016)

I think your carboy was already defective. You had everything going for you in your favor! The brake bleeder saved your life. 

1 The carboy was defective
2 it was in the sink
3 cheap kit
4 you weren't carrying it when it shattered
5 neither you or anyone else got hurt

The carboy/better bottle choice has been beat into the ground. They both work. They both have advantages and disadvantages. It's nothing more than a personal choice between which one you use depending on your winemaking practices. Right now I prefer only glass (I own a few better bottles), when I'm much older and less stable I'll probably use Better Bottles. Damn I'll probably just quit making wine then and try to drink up my inventory before I kick over.


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## bkisel (Mar 5, 2016)

I sure hope it was solely due to a defective carboy. I've got 2 glass and 4 plastic carboys. My glass carboys are only used, over the course of 2-3 days, for vacuum degassing using a Vacu-Vin.

Also, agree with Dan's above post.


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## knifemaker (Mar 5, 2016)

A while back there was a thread on Chinese carboys, with bottoms dropping out, cracks, and breakage. I have several Italian made, the ones that were made in Mexico were even good, but I haven't had any experience with the Chinese made ones. Just a thought. Dale.


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## Rocky (Mar 5, 2016)

I have not counted them recently but I must have a total of about 40 carboys of all sizes, 6.5 gallon, 6 gallon, 5 gallon and 3 gallon along with a 54 liter demijohn and another large glass jug of about 13 gallons. I am considering wrapping all of my glass carboys with 2" duct tape as a "just in case" precaution. Any thoughts on this? Anyone tried this?


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## Runningwolf (Mar 5, 2016)

Rock, Rocky, Rocky, would you do this to the windows in your house? Milk crates is the all around most useful solution. You could always line the inside of them with a garbage bag.


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## bkisel (Mar 5, 2016)

Rocky said:


> I have not counted them recently but I must have a total of about 40 carboys of all sizes, 6.5 gallon, 6 gallon, 5 gallon and 3 gallon along with a 54 liter demijohn and another large glass jug of about 13 gallons. I am considering wrapping all of my glass carboys with 2" duct tape as a "just in case" precaution. Any thoughts on this? Anyone tried this?



Rocky, not sure if you're serious... What about a tub or tank into which you set your filled carboys? Maybe even a trash can?


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## vacuumpumpman (Mar 5, 2016)

I agree with Dan - Runningwolf

We really do not have any pictures or data to tell the entire story as of yet ?

Typically using vacuum while racking you will notice that there is air entering the carboy thru the crack and you can usually remove the wine prior to the glass entirely breaking, unless there is some fractures in the glass previously.

How many of us use vacuum to degas or transfer ? alot ! Without any issues.

Yes I broke a carboy this year because I added hot water to a relatively cold carboy and it broke. Lesson learned.


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## Rocky (Mar 6, 2016)

bkisel said:


> Rocky, not sure if you're serious... What about a tub or tank into which you set your filled carboys? Maybe even a trash can?



I realize it may sound a strange idea, but I am serious about this. My objective is not to keep the carboy from breaking or the wine from getting all over the floor (I work in my basement and if that happened, I could relatively easily wash it into a drain or the sump). My intent was to protect myself and family from the broken glass and make cleanup easier. 

I think I will wrap one and take some pics to show what I mean. I am not talking about wrapping the entire carboy, just some strips of tape strategically located. It would not keep a carboy from breaking but it could lessen the danger.

Lastly, your idea of a "tub or tank" has given me another thought. I keep my empty carboys in juice buckets (upside down for drainage). I suppose I could put them right side up in the buckets for aging. I don't know if this orientation with a full carboy would add to the problem if there were a small crack in the carboy, however. It is worth exploring.


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## sour_grapes (Mar 6, 2016)

Rocky said:


> I realize it may sound a strange idea, but I am serious about this. My objective is not to keep the carboy from breaking or the wine from getting all over the floor (I work in my basement and if that happened, I could relatively easily wash it into a drain or the sump). My intent was to protect myself and family from the broken glass and make cleanup easier.
> 
> I think I will wrap one and take some pics to show what I mean. I am not talking about wrapping the entire carboy, just some strips of tape strategically located. It would not keep a carboy from breaking but it could lessen the danger.



For what it is worth, Rocky, using tape to wrap glassware is done routinely in laboratory settings. When there is glass being placed under vacuum, such as during vacuum fractionating or even for evacuated dewars, duct tape is often applied to control any flying glass in the (hopefully unlikely) event of implosion.


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## oaksfan (Mar 6, 2016)

Dan, i hadnt even given thought to what could have happened if it broke while in my hands. scary ! I'm thinking the carboy must have been faulty.I had just degassed a kit in it a week ago .Does anyone have pictures of the chinese made carboys ? like i said this one resembled the italian but wasnt ,this may have been a knockoff . What is the necessary vacuum to sufficiently degas your wine ?


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## TonyR (Mar 6, 2016)

You do know that your wine will degas on its own with time. I have never used a vaccum to degas my wine. And i have made hundreds of gal of wine during the last 20 years and never had 1 bottle of wine explode or the cork to start to creep out. Time is your wines friend


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## oaksfan (Mar 6, 2016)

Tony when making wine for the father inlaw, time is not something i have. He brings me 30 day kits and wants them in that time.... Man of quantity not quality.


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## Floandgary (Mar 6, 2016)

Runningwolf said:


> Rock, Rocky, Rocky, would you do this to the windows in your house? Milk crates is the all around most useful solution. You could always line the inside of them with a garbage bag.



LOL,,,, Dan,, do you realize how many different types/design's exist in the "duct-tape" aisle??? Nearly as many as there are cereals. Rocky could wind up with quite a colorful collection that even the American Pickers might find interesting!!!


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## Floandgary (Mar 6, 2016)

Rocky said:


> I have not counted them recently but I must have a total of about 40 carboys of all sizes, 6.5 gallon, 6 gallon, 5 gallon and 3 gallon along with a 54 liter demijohn and another large glass jug of about 13 gallons. I am considering wrapping all of my glass carboys with 2" duct tape as a "just in case" precaution. Any thoughts on this? Anyone tried this?



Some time back (probably still a topic) there was a suggestion that used/very inexpensive clothing such as sweaters and sweatshirts would make excellent carboy cozy's. Ideal for preventing incidental glass-to-glass contact,,,, the most common cause of breakage. I've used old knit hockey stockings for gallon jugs. Just another thought


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## Johnd (Mar 6, 2016)

Floandgary said:


> Some time back (probably still a topic) there was a suggestion that used/very inexpensive clothing such as sweaters and sweatshirts would make excellent carboy cozy's. Ideal for preventing incidental glass-to-glass contact,,,, the most common cause of breakage. I've used old knit hockey stockings for gallon jugs. Just another thought



I have carboy covers on all of my carboys. A kids medium shirt, black to block light, with the sleeves cut off and sleeve holes sewn shut. Although I've never had to count on them for a broken carboy issue, I guess they'd help with glass containment as well.


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## JohnT (Mar 7, 2016)

Sorry if I have posted this before. 

When I started out, I ended up with about a dozen carboys. My FIL came up with a way to box them out. The carboy can only be removed by breaking the create. 

The crate provides easy hand holds for carrying full or empty carboys "upside down" (for draining when washing) as well as "right side up". 

These crates are open enough to allow for scrubbing the outside of a carboy, fit loose enough so that the carboy does have some "wiggle room" and does a great job in preventing breakage. I remember seeing my brother drop an empty one from a height of about 4.5 feet onto solid concrete and the carboy escaped unscathed. I am proud to say that I have not had a single broken carboy in almost 20 years! 

Best of all, these creates allow me to stack carboys, on their sides (when empty), one on top of the other. This saves a TON of storage space! 

IMHO, these are the absolute best!

Here is a picture..


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## Steve_M (Mar 7, 2016)

@johnt
I like the idea of the crate. How is the carboy nestled in from the bottom?

Steve


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## JohnT (Mar 7, 2016)

Steve_M said:


> @johnt
> I like the idea of the crate. How is the carboy nestled in from the bottom?
> 
> Steve


 
There is a bottom which is just two pieces of 3" stock. 

I will post better pictures tomorrow.


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## cintipam (Mar 7, 2016)

How about attaching one of the top rails via wingnuts so you can remove it when necessary. Would you be able to remove the carboy then? You could still stack them by choosing carefully which side the wingnuts are on. 

BTW just love this idea. Empty carboys are a big issue for me unless plastic better bottles which are easy to stash. And yes, I know filling them would make it aaallll better very quickly.

Pam in cinti


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## danr (Mar 8, 2016)

I too make similar crates with minor differences-Ileave the lower slates up about an inch or so to view sediment easier.A poly finish makes cleanup nice.Also-bottoms are luan with about 6'' hole in center,with 4-1'' feet.When I must use plastic carboys they also get crated-easier to move and less likely to get stirred up.


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## JohnT (Mar 8, 2016)

As promised, here are some more pictures....


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## Steve_M (Mar 8, 2016)

John,
Thanks for the pictures, I have some extra wood on hand so now have a little project this weekend.

Steve


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## JohnT (Mar 8, 2016)

Go for it! They are easy to build and I have not found anything on the market that works as well...

If I can ask, could you post pictures of the build... 

You know the local slogan here.. Pictures or it didn't happen!


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