Glass Varboy Issue

RIP

That sounds like some Poltergeist type of stuff.. Id reccomend a priest.

 

So you were picking it up by the neck (out of the crate)? Why didn't you just move the crate to where you were going to rack to the keg? Or maybe I missed something.

I have read way too many stories like this to want to use glass, at least yours doesn't involve a truckload of blood and a stop at the ER. Sorry for your loss

 

For years I was a completely content and sometimes happy user of glass for fermentation. Then after about 5 years of accident free brewing, "it" happened. I switched back to buckets, in part to avoid these mishaps, in part so I can just dump and filter a bit easier.

 

Another reason to not go glass.

 

Used to happen quite often, too, to the people who "borrowed" the old glass "water cooler" carboys from work, and brought them home and filled them with pennies. Half way to the top, somebody tries to move the thing and the bottom busts out and cents go rolling all over the floor...

I used to see them occasionally in the garbage. I'd stop, figuring I'd return them to the bottled water dealer for the $5 (I think?) deposit only to find the bottom missing. (Those are still good for creating a terrarium).

 

Had to chuckle... This is true - had that happen to me with the coins. Of course, it sort of forced me to count them, but very carefully! I've also blown out terrariums trying to move them.

Back in the ancient days, we used to run glass gallons of juice with the ring handle, hot fill. One supplier in particular was notorious for "bottom blow outs", and incoming materials inspection could not find a definitive defect. So we never knew one way or the other what to expect, other than Supplier X meant a potentially long day cleaning up glass (a major PITA in filling operations) and avoiding injury. I was working quality assurance on the line - we were trained how to hold the gallons so when this happened, we wouldn't end up in the ER with burns. Polyester uniform pants and scalding hot fruit juice plus skin - not pleasant. That's kind of extreme, but it's no joke under any circumstances.

Thankfully you can cry over spilled beer rather than stitches.

 

Better Bottles. Love mine. Got the racking port and valve on my 6 gallon. Awesome.

 

Has anyone ever had this happen when lifting the carboy from the bottom? I have a brew hauler and it seems like an extremely safe way to handle glass carboys.

 

People have actually died from glass carboy accidents. I'm sticking with plastic for now. Next step is steel.

 

@MarkAvery sorry for your loss, man... I use the wide mouth bubbler from Northern Brewer for most of my ferments, but now I'm gonna be thinking about this every time I go to move it! I dropped a few Palo Santos on the ground one time and about cried. Plus cleaning up all those itsy bitsy shards of glass and good beer was a pain in the ass. I can't imagine how that would be with 5 gallons of good beer and hard work.

 

@MarkAvery, I am sorry to hear that you lost 5 gallons of beer but I am very glad to hear that you did not get hurt.

Plastic is indeed 'better'.

Cheers!

 

I remember reading one first hand account* of a death by carboy, and lots of general statements (like yours) that "people have died." Can anyone actually cite anything other than urban legend on this?

I don't want to imply that there are no risks, but I think the risk has been often overstated.

*The first hand account I read was from a guy who asked about glass carboys on a forum, and then, after being "reminded" that they are dangerous, he remembered that his own brother had died from falling on one. Ummm...okay.

 

The linked newsletter details one case of death but for a worker vs. a homebrewer:

“At least one person has died when a carboy storage rack collapsed and a piece of falling glass sliced his head off.”

The higher probability risk for homebrewers is loss of beer as detailed by @MarkAvery and cuts from broken glass (needing a visit to the emergency room for stiches).

Some gruesome photographs here: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/broken-glass-carboy-horror-stories-compendium-376523/

Cheers!

The link to the newsletter: http://www.mashers.org/newsletters/09-Feb.pdf

 

We need to get Mythbusters involved here. Snopes.com does not have any 'juicy' stories on this topic to say yea or nay.

 

I use a brew hauler for both my glass and plastic carboys. For those not familiar:

 

It's not the glass that bothers me so much, it's the narrow neck with the associated racking/cleaning clusterfuck and expense that has led me to simple, inexpensive buckets with spigots for primary fermenters.