big garage sale fine

[seth8530]

No worries there is no lead in that glass.
The thick base is how they made the carboys back then. Clean it up real good.

Good to hear their is no lead in it. BTW, just curious how do you know this?

 

[Fordguy]

Wow, that is great. My mom had a garage sale after my dad died and sold all of the carboys.....then she found one left over....I grabbed it fast!

And the carboy I got was from the 1970s. I just love hearing those "great find" stories.

 

[Fordguy]

Also, not to derail this thread but she just found his hydrometer a few weeks ago.

He passed away in 2001.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I wonder why they have the crackle bottom...not a lot of info on them

I also have a couple as well - I always wondered why they looked different from the rest of them

Thanks for the info !

 

[jamesngalveston]

what i have found is that the crackled bottom was done when a flaw was found, they heated the bottom then summersed in cold water, then heated again and layered more glass on the bottom to hide the imperfection.
resulting in a crackled look, but smooth bottom.

 

[jswordy]

was going down the street this am, when I saw some glass bottles on a table for sale, I thought they were 1 gallon.
they were like 1/2 gallon, I told the lady I was looking for bigger ones.
she said she had 4 that were really big.
when she showed them to me, i ask how much, she said she could n0t use them for water, because they would not fit, and I could have all of them for 10.00
when I got home I looked them up, they are all, OWENS ILLINOIS #5250 5 gallon carboys,with the crackle bottom.. and sale for 89.90 each, and are 70 to 80 years old...
nice find...

Now THIS is what I'm talking about when I talk great deal! Never see that kind of deal around here. Good score, James!

 

[jamesngalveston]

i got lucky.....

 

[clight385]

Good to hear their is no lead in it. BTW, just curious how do you know this?

The carboy is soda-lime glass, where lead crystal or lead glass is used for table ware.

 

[clight385]

I wonder why they have the crackle bottom...not a lot of info on them

The crackle on the bottom happens when the bottle is removed from the mold and placed on a dead plate (cooling pad). As you can imagine with that really thick bottom there is a massive amount of heat and when the outer glass cools quickly it induces stress into the glass and checks (cracks in the glass) are formed. If you look real close they only go about 5% into the base as the other 95% is still very hot. The carboy is then feed into a lehr for conditioning where it is re-heated and then controlled cooled. With advanced forming techniques over the years and carboy design they have been able to significantly reduce the weight of the carboy.

 

[jamesngalveston]

well my resident glass expert, will this hold up to degass with vacuum pump...
thanks for all the really good info..
you must be a glass maker.

 

[clight385]

I’m far from an expert…lol. The company that I work for distributes glass containers so I have picked up some info along the way. To answer your question possibly. We don’t know the condition of the glass or what pressure you looking to hold. I have never heard of anyone breaking a carboy with vacuum while degassing wine. If there is a concern I’d test it with water first.

 

[JoyofWine]

Very cool find!

 

[seth8530]

The carboy is soda-lime glass, where lead crystal or lead glass is used for table ware.

Thanks, I should of remembered that from my material science course last summer.

 

[reefman]

I have two 5 gallon carboys with the same crackle bottom. They also have water company names on the side. I got them from one of the local wineries, when he was going from amateur wine maker to commercial pro. He sold off most of his carboys and went with large ss tanks.

 

[jamesngalveston]

good score reefman

 

[Stressbaby]

Not quite a garage sale find, but...

My wife is ever-anxious for me to move the winemaking out of the kitchen. So I found this 11 foot stainless counter on Craigslist for $150. Picked it up yesterday. It spent 20 years in one of Jefferson City's most well recognized downtown establishments, and now that they are shut down, it will find a spot in my basement as a winemaking center!

 

[jamesngalveston]

man, thats nice...want to trade..lol excellent find.

 

[joewino]

Very cool! I like the trough part with the drain.

I saw a garage sale a couple years ago advertised on craigs list. The ad stated there were carboys available. Got there right when they opened in the morning. Picked-up seven carboys for $3 each. The guy use to be into brewing. Carboys had carrying handles too. There were four 5-gallon, two 6-gallon, and one 6-1/2 gallon.
WOO HOO HOO!

 

[jamesngalveston]

that was a great find...pays to be early ..
i bought a drill press minus the drill and motor for 5.00 last week.
added a cork adapter from my little red corker, made the handle on the drill press 12 inches longer, I can cork like crazy, and its adjustable for any size bottle... total investment...15.00

 

[Runningwolf]

Great find!