Damn, broke a carboy today

[ratflinger]

Not a bad way of doing things at all.

 

[winemaker81]

Last year one of the guys in our grape purchase group had a primary split along the bottom. He caught it quickly and I had an extra with me that I lent him. His loss was minimal

 

[ratflinger]

Last year one of the guys in our grape purchase group had a primary split along the bottom. He caught it quickly and I had an extra with me that I lent him. His loss was minimal

@winemaker81 - Bryan, what kind of primary was he using?

 

[winemaker81]

@winemaker81 - Bryan, what kind of primary was he using?

It was a typical 6.5 gallon primary -- I've got a couple of these in 6 and 6.5 US gallons. My guess is that it was fairly old.


I've posted the following picture before. A few years back I accidentally dropped one of my oldest fermenters off my truck onto concrete. It was a 16 gallon unit I purchased in the late 80's, and it had been in my attic for decades as I had not needed it.

It shattered. Thankfully it was empty, else I'd still be crying.

The red line indicates the original height.

I still have a 6 gallon primary that I purchased in 1984. It's currently full of rice hulls, as I'm cautious about using it for wine. Once a fermenter hits 20 yo, I'm replacing it.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

It was a typical 6.5 gallon primary -- I've got a couple of these in 6 and 6.5 US gallons. My guess is that it was fairly old.


I've posted the following picture before. A few years back I accidentally dropped one of my oldest fermenters off my truck onto concrete. It was a 16 gallon unit I purchased in the late 80's, and it had been in my attic for decades as I had not needed it.

It shattered. Thankfully it was empty, else I'd still be crying.

The red line indicates the original height.

I still have a 6 gallon primary that I purchased in 1984. It's currently full of rice hulls, as I'm cautious about using it for wine. Once a fermenter hits 20 yo, I'm replacing it.

View attachment 104670

Damn that’s an old fermenter 1984 oldest gear I have is like 10 years old lol.

 

[Jovimaple]

After reading this thread, I have decided to write the year on all of my carboys and fermenters!

I am already marking the ingredients to keep track of effectiveness, especially sorbate. And yeast, although with my current protocol of making yeast starters, I am not as concerned because if it doesn't kick in, I can replace it with a viable starter.

 

[winemaker81]

Damn that’s an old fermenter 1984 oldest gear I have is like 10 years old lol.

I don't have a lot of my old equipment left. I had a pair of 11 gallon fermenters -- I junked them a decade or so ago, as they were welded together, I tore them trying to separate them. I suspect that they were just food grade trash cans, much thinner plastic than current 7.9 gallon fermenters. In the early 80's the home winemaking market wasn't as solid as it was a decade or two later, and there was not as much purpose manufactured items.

My younger brother gave me his stuff a while back -- he hadn't made wine in 20 years and admitted he was done. This included his 11 gallon fermenters, which I immediately junked, as they were in nearly as bad shape as mine.

Some of my airlocks are from 1980's, as is my double lever corker -- it's rusty, but it still works, although I've rarely used it since getting the Italian corker. I've also got my capper, which also works fine -- last night I bottle kombucha in 12 oz beer bottles.

I also have mine and my brother's hydrometers. I suspect they were made tougher than today's models, as they've survived rough handling.

After reading this thread, I have decided to write the year on all of carboys and fermenters!

This is a great idea. Some of my carboys are 35+ years old and are fine -- well, so far anyway. As long as I don't tip the over! Not sure it's possible to permanently mark a carboy -- maybe painter's tape on the bottom?

When we buy appliances, I write the month/year on the book and put it in a filing cabinet. This is helpful when having thinking about replacing it, or deciding to pay for repairs. I do my own as much as I can, but have reached the limits of what I can do on a few occasions.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

I keep my carboys in milk crates - it makes them easier to move around and provides some protection. And they're sitting on plastic trays which I think are supposed to be dog crate liners, but which will (hopefully) catch any minor spills. But any catastrophic failure and I'm going to have an almightly mess

The only breakage so far is when I cleaned one using water that was too hot - fortunately just cracked while it was empty of wine...

 

[Nebbiolo020]

I keep my carboys in milk crates - it makes them easier to move around and provides some protection. And they're sitting on plastic trays which I think are supposed to be dog crate liners, but which will (hopefully) catch any minor spills. But any catastrophic failure and I'm going to have an almightly mess

The only breakage so far is when I cleaned one using water that was too hot - fortunately just cracked while it was empty of wine...

I picked up a 5 gallon carboy and it snapped in half one time another I had sitting on the ground and it just exploded and threw glass all over my driveway and was a huge mess.

 

[Raptor99]

It sounds like quite a few of us have had carboy disasters. I have been fortunate so far. Last year I picked up some nice 3- and 5-gallon Italian carboys on Craigslist. I inspected them carefully for visible cracks, and they look good. When I buy used carboys, if there is anything that looks or feels questionable, I pass on them.

I am very careful handling my glass carboys. They sit on my wine counter and I use my AIO pump to transfer wine. That means that I never have to pick up a full carboy (except for 1-gallon sized). My sink is big enough to turn them sideways, so I don't have to lift them out of the sink when washing them. I have a silicon drain pad in the bottom of my sink to provide padding. The biggest risk is probably while washing them and turning them upside down on the carboy rack for draining because they are wet and slippery.

 

[wineview]

Damn that’s an old fermenter 1984 oldest gear I have is like 10 years old lol.

I am still using an Owen’s Glass carboy from 1965. My dad used it.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

I don't have a lot of my old equipment left. I had a pair of 11 gallon fermenters -- I junked them a decade or so ago, as they were welded together, I tore them trying to separate them. I suspect that they were just food grade trash cans, much thinner plastic than current 7.9 gallon fermenters. In the early 80's the home winemaking market wasn't as solid as it was a decade or two later, and there was not as much purpose manufactured items.

My younger brother gave me his stuff a while back -- he hadn't made wine in 20 years and admitted he was done. This included his 11 gallon fermenters, which I immediately junked, as they were in nearly as bad shape as mine.

Some of my airlocks are from 1980's, as is my double lever corker -- it's rusty, but it still works, although I've rarely used it since getting the Italian corker. I've also got my capper, which also works fine -- last night I bottle kombucha in 12 oz beer bottles.

I also have mine and my brother's hydrometers. I suspect they were made tougher than today's models, as they've survived rough handling.


This is a great idea. Some of my carboys are 35+ years old and are fine -- well, so far anyway. As long as I don't tip the over! Not sure it's possible to permanently mark a carboy -- maybe painter's tape on the bottom?

When we buy appliances, I write the month/year on the book and put it in a filing cabinet. This is helpful when having thinking about replacing it, or deciding to pay for repairs. I do my own as much as I can, but have reached the limits of what I can do on a few occasions.

I have broken like 10 hydrometers they crack right at the neck from literally nothing sometimes but I need one post fermentation starting otherwise I use refractometer.

 

[winemaker81]

I have broken like 10 hydrometers they crack right at the neck from literally nothing sometimes but I need one post fermentation starting otherwise I use refractometer.

Wow. I've owned 2 and never broken one. This makes me believe that manufacturing has reduced quality.

 

[wineview]

Wow. I've owned 2 and never broken one. This makes me believe that manufacturing has reduced quality.

Never broke a hydrometer. Probably testing the vintner gods right now.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Wow. I've owned 2 and never broken one. This makes me believe that manufacturing has reduced quality.

Like everything unless it’s pro grade it’s going to break often.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

Like everything unless it’s pro grade it’s going to break often.

And even if it's pro grade, the +/-5 brix hydrometers break if you just look at them funny. Ask me how I know...

 

[idahorevbob]

I keep my carboys in plastic milk crates. That way I can move them with the handles on the milk crates and never stress the neck. I used to use the handles that attached to the neck but they always made me nervous. Too much sideways stress on the neck.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

And even if it's pro grade, the +/-5 brix hydrometers break if you just look at them funny. Ask me how I know...

That is true lol, honestly the sketchiest gear in a pro winery is the lab gear specifically ph testers those things die just from looking at them. I have had gear that just won’t break though.

We have an Anton Paar meter at the winery it’s a very expensive piece of gear like $4000. Which is why I’m the only person that gets to use it someone breaks it and I’m going to be very pissed off lol.

 

[Peggy Billingsley]

I'm glad the damage was minimal with only a broken carboy and no lost wine. Probably would have scared the bejesus out of me!

My brother in law had a plastic fermenter fail which split in the middle causing juice to spill over his tile floor staining the grout. Dave (Vinny) knocked over a carboy maybe last year so it happens. I bought a few over size fermentation buckets to put my carboys in and use a tote (8 gallon) for my plastic fermenters. Yeah .. might be over cautious but I've sorta lived my life by "plan for the worst and hope for the best". I've not had very good luck buying used carboys. Bought two advertised at 6 gallons but when I got them home they were 7 gallon and another purchase was not 6 but 5 gallon. Tried to buy some 3 gallon from my local shop but all four they had in the boxes were cracked.

All the 3 gallon glass carboys from Italy I have seen lately seem to have a crack in the bottom. Everyone says it is a seam, but just doesn't look like it. Anyone have any knowledge about whether this is so?

 

[sluff]

All the 3 gallon glass carboys from Italy I have seen lately seem to have a crack in the bottom. Everyone says it is a seam, but just doesn't look like it. Anyone have any knowledge about whether this is so?

Yes! I recently purchased three new Italian carboys from two different suppliers that all have this “crack“ on the bottom. None of my older carboys have this “crack” on the bottom. I asked Matt from Label Peelers to look into it - here is the response from his Italian supplier:
—————————————-
Hey Matt – We heard this complaint last year, so we had our manufacture test some samples. Below was their reply. Please let me know if this helps or if you need anything else. Cheers!

With reference to your report evidencing the presence of a sign on the bottom of the item in the subject, we confirm you that we received 2 intact samples. After an in-depth analysis of these bottles, we can confirm you tha the sign noticed belongs to the scissors mark (technically known as shear mark) that are employed to cut the glass gobs. As you may probably know, this operation is part of the industrial glass production process and the shear mark noticed is present on all items produced with this process to a bigger or lesser degree. Please be informed that this blemish is purely aesthetic and does not compromise at all the mechanical properties of the bottles that can therefore be employed without no restriction and according to the data sheet indications. The drawing present on the bottom of the bottle was realized to lessen such blemish.
Please feel free to ask should you have any further query.

Best regards,
Federico Agosta