Crack in glass carboy

[ohiowino]

I just noticed there is a small crack on the bottom of my glass carboy. Its not all the way through or leaking but does feel rough to the touch. I have no idea how it happened. Is there anything to do to seal it and save from getting worse? Its my only carboy.

 

[Johnd]

I just noticed there is a small crack on the bottom of my glass carboy. Its not all the way through or leaking but does feel rough to the touch. I have no idea how it happened. Is there anything to do to seal it and save from getting worse? Its my only carboy.

Hate to say this, but get rid of it, you just can't take the chance.

 

[BernardSmith]

I completely agree with John. The risk is great and the cost to you if the carboy leaks when full or disintegrates is large. And I don't mean just the loss of the wine but the mess it could make to your home. The broken glass could also result in injury to you too. I would get rid of it and buy a new one. Sorry.

 

[bkisel]

I've already been cut by carboy glass; not seriously but enough to have had me thinking what could have happened. I'd discard that carboy ifin it were mine.

 

[AkTom]

/\ this. I love my glass carboys. I wouldn't risk my wine all over the floor. You might get by for a while... but I think sooner than later it'll go boom and not as in Chaca Laca.

 

[Julie]

I agree with the others, you need to stop using it.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I strongly agree - like the others have stated is to stop using this carboy.

You may want to find out - what was the cause to create this stress crack

excessive temperature changes - mainly when cleaning -or adding water to carboy

keeping the carboys on straight concrete without any padding

possibly bumping them or setting them down on it's edge , rather than flat - this applies to mainly empties as you are in usually in a hurry to clean.

 

[NorCal]

Time to hit Craigslist. Here is one in Columbus OH.
5 Gallon Carboy for sale - $30 (West Alexandria)

 

[Boatboy24]

Yep, I'd be walking that soldier to the recycling bin with a tear in my eye. Continuing to use it will result in a big mess, an injury, or both.

 

[Floandgary]

"The top choice by unanimous decision" ,,,,, Start thinking about how to get rid of it before it hurts you!!!! It's not a car...

 

[Julie]

Not sure how close you are to Pittsburgh but ffemt128 had some carboys for sale and a very reasonable price.

 

[jburtner]

I found a crack in a carboy - After 6 gallons of my special chardonnay wine made it to three months or so then ended up all over the cellar floor. It was a WE Eclipse kit and I had already added oak and a bunch of apricots to secondary... Close enough to $200? And the 200 was not the worst of it... I had spent those months stirring lees daily for battonage processing... Degassed by vacuum racking several times.... Finally cleared and started oaking with french oak spirals - added the dried apricots for a little flavor kick... It was at a point where it was really ready to just sit there for months and attempt to keep me from thieving.... I had raised my beautiful little wine-baby straight from the box and was so excited it was going to be downright yummy with very high hopes!

I have since implemented the home winery carboy inspection policy to always inspect all carboys before and after you use them every time.... Look for cracks and above all please be careful and go slow!

Cheers!
-johann

 

[Sourgrape]

I concur with the others. You must assume that the crack will get bigger, your carboy will fail, and it will do so at the most inopportune time. When it fails, there will be no chance of salvaging the contents. Now factor in the risk of injury from shards of glass, and the possible property damage from 6 gallons of wine. The potential costs of keeping that carboy around far outweigh the costs of replacing it. Get rid of it, and do it today.

 

[Stevelaz]

Look into getting plastic pet carboys. I love them and have 5 six gallon and one 3 gallon already. You can juggle with them when empty and are a breeze to clean. They are also easy to lift when full, well at least easier than a full glass carboy. Vintage shop makes them and also Better bottles. You can get them in 3, 5 and 6 gallons.

Better bottle:
https://morewinemaking.com/products/bottle-plastic-carboy-6-gallon.html

Vintage shop
https://morewinemaking.com/products/plastic-pet-carboy-6-gallon.html

 

[Minnesotamaker]

I keep all my carboys (both full and empty ones) covered with a bump guard. I use old sweaters because they are provide cushion and stretch well around the glass. My wine making room has a cement floor, so I always keep a few carpet samples and cardboard pieces for when I need to set a carboy on the floor. Simple instructions for carboy covers here: http://skeeterpee.com/carboy-cover

 

[hounddawg]

Get it gone sadly, I put mine in milk crates, and none made in China,,thin,, Italy or old USA carboys dont know. About other country's
Dawg

 

[Rocky]

Remember what Professor Murphy postulated:

1. Nothing is as easy as it appears.

2. It will take longer and cost more than you think.

3. Anything that can go wrong, will. Corollary: It will "go wrong" at the worst possible time.

 

[dralarms]

I agree with everyone else here, but before you trash it try an experiment. Get some 2 part epoxy and put the carboy under vacuum and see if it will suck some epoxy into the crack. Just to see if if it's actually a crack all the way through or if it's a surface crack or just and imperfection.

 

[ohiowino]

Thanks all, I'll plan to rack into a plastic water jug today!

 

[jmac]

Open up a Google images search on "carboy injuries". I would probably use a clean, plastic drain-o jug b4 i use a suspect glass carboy ever again.