# carboy cracked?



## Dutch (Jul 11, 2015)

I suddenly noticed a diagonal line in the glass of my carboy.
Its hard to see on the photo's but I wonder if it is cracked (by applied vacuum?) or if this is just a line in the glass.

Do others have these lines?


----------



## dralarms (Jul 11, 2015)

If you're looking at the line that I see in the second picture, that looks to be a casting line not a crack. Oiw, a flaw in the glass


----------



## pjd (Jul 11, 2015)

I don't think its a crack, it looks to me like some sediment is collecting around that ring. Just grasp the carboy firmly on each side and give it a quick twist, I am guessing the sediment ring will fall and it wont appear as a crack.


----------



## Dutch (Jul 11, 2015)

No it really is in the glass.
I guess it is some sort of castingline.
Hope it doesn't weaken it...

I don't think it will, I have a couple carboys with imperfections in the glass and I have been using them for years.


----------



## Bartman (Jul 11, 2015)

Aw, what's the worst that could happen? 

Of more immediate concern, you have a lot of headroom in that carboy in the top photo. You might want to top it off or rack to a smaller vessel.


----------



## Dutch (Jul 11, 2015)

Bartman said:


> Aw, what's the worst that could happen?
> 
> Of more immediate concern, you have a lot of headroom in that carboy in the top photo. You might want to top it off or rack to a smaller vessel.



Its been in there for just a week to clear.
I racked it today to a bucket with the intention of bottling it.
Unfortunatly the racking made the wine cloudy again because of the yeast falling of the sides of the carboy.
So its in another (plastic) carboy now and I topped it off with a complete bottle of commercial wine.
Still some headspace though, should I fill it further?


----------



## terrymck (Jul 11, 2015)

_Still some headspace though, should I fill it further?_

No, just buy an All In One headspace eliminator. Cheaper than commercial wine and won't change the character of your wine.


----------



## Dutch (Jul 11, 2015)

Don't think that would be a success on the plastic carboy.

p.s. I filled it up to the neck now with a Chablis'ish I made last month.


----------



## Runningwolf (Jul 11, 2015)

pjd said:


> Just grasp the carboy firmly on each side and give it a quick twist, I am guessing the sediment ring will fall and it wont appear as a crack.





Dutch said:


> Unfortunatly the racking made the wine cloudy again because of the yeast falling of the sides of the carboy.
> 
> Still some headspace though, should I fill it further?



Lesson Learned! Yes fill up your carboy as the others have mentioned. After primary fermentation you should never have headspace.


----------



## Dutch (Jul 12, 2015)

Sorry to get back to this but it is still bothering me.

Glass carboys are abolutely impossible to get here so I imported one from the UK that cost me the equivalent of $65,- just to be able to degass under vacuum.
Now I used it once and don't know if I can still trust it 

The line that is hard to see on the posted photos does not look natural to me, it ends in multiple smaller lines like you would see on a crack.

Also when I got it I noticed the glass contains quite some 'air bubbles', is this normal?
Did I get some inferiour 'chinese' carboy type from the UK brewshop? 

Or do I worry too much


----------



## Julie (Jul 12, 2015)

lol. I'm thinking you are worrying too much. Is it smooth when you run your hand over it? And if you are that concerned about why don't you fill it with water and then put it under pressure?


----------



## vacuumpumpman (Jul 12, 2015)

Julie said:


> lol. I'm thinking you are worrying too much. Is it smooth when you run your hand over it? And if you are that concerned about why don't you fill it with water and then put it under pressure?



I agree with Julie ^^

If you put it under vacuum while the carboy is full and if you indeed have a crack - you will see bubbles coming from the crack to the inside of the carboy.

A typical carboy is quite strong - just don't go from extreme temperature differences and keep some sort of a mat or milk crate to keep it off the cement floor.


----------



## Dutch (Jul 12, 2015)

The line feels slightly indented.
It is also normal that there are air bubbles in the glass?

Before putting wine in it again I will test it with water and put it under vacuum (outside )...


----------



## ffemt128 (Jul 13, 2015)

From what I see it does not look like a crack. I have several carboys that have odd marks in the glass most likely from manufacturing. I wouldn't worry about it.


----------



## JohnT (Jul 13, 2015)

I agree with the others. From the pics, it looks like a deformation of the glass and not a crack.

If you are truly worried, toss out the carboy and get a new one. It would be a small price to pay for having one less worry in your life.


----------

