# glass marbles



## ForzaItalia (Nov 11, 2013)

Hi all

I recently purchased glass marbles from Michaels craft store and was going to use it to help fill head space in my carboys. The package says they are glass marbles but to be used only for decorations. It doesn't say anything about containing lead or anything. Do you think these are safe for wine? 

Thanks

Ilario


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## plowboy (Nov 11, 2013)

Odds are if there glass, fit though the bung hole and will not break/sliver your good to go. I just use stuff from Walmart that is meant to fill flower vases.


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## vacuumpumpman (Nov 11, 2013)

I will usually top off with a similar wine or use the air bladder


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## seth8530 (Nov 11, 2013)

I use glass marbles which are certified to be lead and paint free.. But that is just me.


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## ou8amaus (Nov 12, 2013)

I would venture to say that it depends on how long you plan on keeping the wine in contact with the marbles. I did the same thing a while back, but between worrying about potential lead in the marbles and that the marbles would somehow break the carboy I decided to follow the top-up method. Speaking for myself (but I know there are more of you out there!) for most aspects of wine making I somehow feel the need to try them and experiment, regardless of what direction research points in. Give the marbles a try in wines you plan to age for only a short time and see how you like them. At that point you could make the decision to invest in something guaranteed to be food grade.


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## TommBomb (Nov 12, 2013)

you can buy the glass marble at morewineflavor.com. They are safe to use in the aging of wines according to the description.


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## bkisel (Nov 12, 2013)

TommBomb said:


> you can buy the glass marble at morewineflavor.com. They are safe to use in the aging of wines according to the description.



I believe the link should be... http://morewinemaking.com/. I did find marbles @ this site. I could not find a morewine*flavor*.com site.

Thanks...


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## ForzaItalia (Nov 12, 2013)

Thanks for all the feedback! For now I will boil the marbles I have and give it a try. In the future I might buy some certified ones or maybe just go with topping off with a similar wine. 

Thanks again!


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## michjen (Nov 12, 2013)

I boiled them up and tossed them in! So far so good!


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## michjen (Nov 12, 2013)

Using the marbles from micheals that is!


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## jethro (Nov 12, 2013)

I looked at the same glass marbles from Michaels and thought about buying them for the exact same purpose I put them back when I saw made in China. I remember McDonalds recalling plastic Happy-Meal toys that were made in China. Turned out they contained lead. Maybe it is impossible for lead to leach out of glass. I don't know. I just don't care to experiment with something I am going to eat/drink. OTOH, didn't high-quality wine glasses used to be made from glass containing lead?


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## Floandgary (Nov 12, 2013)

I prefer either downsizing the vessel or topping with compatible wine. However there is something to be said for all who use marbles,,,,, at least you know where they are!!


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## wineforfun (Nov 12, 2013)

jethro said:


> I looked at the same glass marbles from Michaels and thought about buying them for the exact same purpose I put them back when I saw made in China. I remember McDonalds recalling plastic Happy-Meal toys that were made in China. Turned out they contained lead. Maybe it is impossible for lead to leach out of glass. I don't know. I just don't care to experiment with something I am going to eat/drink. OTOH, didn't high-quality wine glasses used to be made from glass containing lead?



This is what I was told also, when I asked the same question about using marbles from the local chain stores. To stay away from "Made in China" as it is possible/likely they contain lead. 

I too, now go with downsizing or using a like wine, when racking and needing to top up.


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## ou8amaus (Nov 12, 2013)

Not to fear monger, but I found this on Wikipedia... 

In a study performed at North Carolina State University, the amount of lead migration was measured for port wine stored in lead crystal decanters. After two days, lead levels were 89 µg/L (micrograms per liter). After four months, lead levels were between 2,000 and 5,000 µg/L. White wine doubled its lead content within an hour of storage and tripled it within four hours. Some brandy stored in lead crystal for over five years had lead levels around 20,000 µg/L. To put this into perspective, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's lead standard for drinking water is 15 µg/L = 0.015 parts per million. Citrus juices and other acidic drinks leach lead from crystal as effectively as alcoholic beverages. Under conditions of repeated use of the decanter, the lead leaching steeply decreases with increasing use. This finding is "consistent with ceramic chemistry theory, which predicts that leaching of Pb from crystal is self-limiting exponentially as a function of increasing distance from the crystal-liquid interface." Lead leaching still occurs, but the quantity that leaches into a glass of wine or other beverage let stand for a few hours is much smaller than the quantity of lead consumed daily in ordinary diet. An ordinary diet contains about 70 µg of lead per day.


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## Bartman (Nov 12, 2013)

I use marbles all the time, never had any issue or question about the chemical make-up of the glass used. It's been pointed out in previous threads that we never ask whether the glass of the carboy is "food-grade", so why worry about the glass of the marble?


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## wineforfun (Nov 12, 2013)

Bartman said:


> I use marbles all the time, never had any issue or question about the chemical make-up of the glass used. It's been pointed out in previous threads that we never ask whether the glass of the carboy is "food-grade", so why worry about the glass of the marble?



Good point, I never thought of it that way. And the more I think about, for me anyway, my wine would probably only be on the marbles for no more than a month or two.


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## seth8530 (Nov 12, 2013)

Actually, I would consider it worth looking into rather than simply taking it for granted. The reason why certain decanters leach lead into wine or scotch is because they are made with leaded crystal which changes the index of refraction giving the wine a really cool appearance. It is perfectly possible that carboys are not leaded because they do not need to look all that pretty.. However, I would certainly check to make sure your marbles do not have lead in them before I go chucking them in your wine.

Of course, it is always your own choice.


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## tonyt (Nov 12, 2013)

ForzaItalia said:


> Hi all
> 
> I recently purchased glass marbles from Michaels craft store and was going to use it to help fill head space in my carboys. The package says they are glass marbles but to be used only for decorations. It doesn't say anything about containing lead or anything. Do you think these are safe for wine?
> 
> ...


Drug stores have lead test kits cheap insurance.


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## tingo (Nov 12, 2013)

Ok first off, always avoid "made in china". As Americans we need to support our economy. I mean no disrespect to nonAmericans (in fact my wife is from Japan). 

Ok now to my question (sorry for the soapbox speech):

I have never used marbles. I have made a ton of wine and usually downsize a container or "experiment" with extra wine. For example testing fining agents or techniques on. Im interested in getting some marbles however just to have incase. When you add them to a carboy, how hard do they hit the bottom? Obviously you put them in after its full of wine but do I need to be concerned with cracking or chipping?


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## Gwand (Nov 12, 2013)

tingo said:


> Ok first off, always avoid "made in china". As Americans we need to support our economy. I mean no disrespect to nonAmericans (in fact my wife is from Japan).
> 
> Ok now to my question (sorry for the soapbox speech):
> 
> I have never used marbles. I have made a ton of wine and usually downsize a container or "experiment" with extra wine. For example testing fining agents or techniques on. Im interested in getting some marbles however just to have incase. When you add them to a carboy, how hard do they hit the bottom? Obviously you put them in after its full of wine but do I need to be concerned with cracking or chipping?




Three pounds of marbles displaces about a liter. Before racking I place the empty carboy on its side and add marbles that way so as not to risk cracking glass. If three pounds is not enough, I top off with a similar wine. But at least I minimize the amount of foreign wine I add to my creation.


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## seth8530 (Nov 12, 2013)

I use better bottles, therefore it does not matter for me how the marbles hit the bottom.


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## ForzaItalia (Nov 12, 2013)

I just tested dropping a couple marbles 5 feet in the air to check if they easily crack and they held up pretty well. Also tested in a glass carboy filled with water and didnt look like they can cause much harm. Anyone have any experiences with chipped marbles or damaged carboys from using marbles?


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## LoneStarLori (Nov 12, 2013)

How do you know if a marble has lead? I bought 10 lbs of used marbles from a person on Ebay. They are the non-collectible leftovers from sifting through garage sale finds to find the good ones.


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## michjen (Nov 12, 2013)

I like where your heads at! And, I must say a ton of work went into that pear wine!!!! I am drinking it! Ha!


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## ForzaItalia (Nov 13, 2013)

Morning All,

Just contacted the supplier of glass marbles for Michael's and they confirmed that their marbles are made from 100% glass and do not contain any lead. So some good news there...


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## michjen (Nov 13, 2013)

Oooooooh that's great news!!! Thank you for looking into it I was a bit worried about that after reading these posts!


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