Be aware!!!! Chinese carboys

[Pumpkinman]

Be Aware! My good buddy that started 5 Kits came home today to find one shattered on the bottom around the base where it meets the wall of the carboy, and found 6 gallons of Moscato on his wine counter and floor.
Could it be the Home Brew shop or is it the Carboys?

Well...he bought 7 - 6 gallons carboys, 1 for me and 6 for himself, that's a good chunk of change when you add 5 kits, bungs,airlocks, meta, racking cans and so forth!

After starting one kit, he realized that one had a crack half way around the neck...at a glance it appeared to be a casting imperfection until you looked closer....grrrrrr....we racked it out of there and thought all was well, no big deal, return the carboy for another, but it is a pain in the arse as the Homebrew shop that he always goes to is an hour away...

After this spontaneous implosion, we don't want anything to do with these Chinese made carboys and I wanted to put a tentative warning out!

 

[cpfan]

Hmm, first time that I've heard of Chinese carboys. Just Mexican (no longer made) and Italian.

Steve

 

[Wade E]

Yeah me to. Do they sat made in China on them?

 

[Runningwolf]

Was this a cheapie thing bought at Pier One.

 

[TonyP]

Is there something about the carboys that you can pass along - some identifying mark, perhaps Chinese lettering?

 

[vacuumpumpman]

That really sucks Tom !!
Let me know what your LBS - comes up with ? I wonder during transport (especially when it was really cold ) if you didn't develop a crack then ?

There are a couple of things that I realized that will crack a carboy -

1 - dropping them - usually because of the weight or slippery surface
2 - the edge hitting a hard surface like concrete - solution = place them on carpet pads or 2 carboys hitting each other - while moving them
3 - cleaning out the carboy with HOT water can put a stress crack in any size glass container - solution = use only luke warm water

 

[Rocky]

Personally, I try not to buy anything made in China which in my experience is poorly made and mostly junk. It is becoming more and more difficult to do so and we would rather pay more or do without. We make a practice of checking labels, particularly on foods. I just noticed products that one would not suspect (e.g. Garlic at Sam's Club) are grown or produced in China. People would think twice if they knew that they fertilize with human excrement and they feed fish on their "fish farms" with chicken crap. Sam's also sells a product ("Wagon Train" Turkey Jerky for dogs) which has killed a number of animals in this Country.

 

[harleydmn]

My dog was getting sick from the wagon train chicken strips, once we cut it out she has been fine. I'm with you we check all the labels now.

 

[Julie]

Milo chicken strips are right there with the Wagon Train. Again, "Product of China"

 

[Rocky]

Our Sam's Club has gotten the word. They now carry Nature's Deli Chicken Strips, "made from USA chicken" and "made in the USA." Our dogs love them.

 

[harleydmn]

Thanks Rocky,
We will have to get those. My dog loved the wagon train and we couldn't find a replacement that wasn't from China. We will get these, I'm sure she will be one happy dog!

 

[Pumpkinman]

Nope these were bought at a Home Brew shop, a rather large one that also supplies wineries with equipment...pretty sad if ya think about it.

I wish that I had it here to look at the marks to be able to tell you, but here is a rule of thumb....If it isn't Italian, or Mexican, question it!!
I've come across one other kind with the "i make" stamp on the bottom, that is the parent company of Brewcraft I believe, I have a call into them to see where they are manufactured.
The Chinese carboys just didn't feel as thick in my opinion, I knew it as soon as I picked one up, it felt exactly like the 6 Gal carboy I received from the Winemakers Depot.

All of the carboys are being returned today.

 

[Boatboy24]

What was wrong with the Winemaker's Depot carboy?

 

[BobF]

Personally, I try not to buy anything made in China which in my experience is poorly made and mostly junk. It is becoming more and more difficult to do so and we would rather pay more or do without. We make a practice of checking labels, particularly on foods. I just noticed products that one would not suspect (e.g. Garlic at Sam's Club) are grown or produced in China. People would think twice if they knew that they fertilize with human excrement and they feed fish on their "fish farms" with chicken crap. Sam's also sells a product ("Wagon Train" Turkey Jerky for dogs) which has killed a number of animals in this Country.

Corn is frequently fertilized with 'sludge' from the city sewage treatment plant in Wisconsin (Madison area).

If you're unlucky enough to be in the area, it will literally gag you into puking.

WI, USA ... Not WI, China

I'm not a big fan of Chinese products, but you should remember that most of the time there is a US based company providing the specs and accepting things they have produced in China.

As long as we let the US companies off the hook by blaming the Chinese, they will keep doing what they're doing.

 

[DaveL]

fertilyzing with sludge is a common practice. But not on Food products. That corn is probably feed corn for animals or ethynol.
I'm sure there are always people who break the rules though

 

[Rocky]

Bob, I think you are talking about "Milorganite" (Milwaukee Organic Nitogen) which is a long way from using raw human waste. It begins as sewage but through a specific and controlled process is turned into a very pure and high nitrogen fertilzer. I agree with you that US companies design, spec and accept the products that are made in China but I disagree that the fault lies totally with them. As long as people are willing to pay for inferior products, why should the companies do otherwise? It is up to we consumers to change this process. Vote with you wallet!

 

[seth8530]

Not to be a damper on the china hating, but are you sure the carboy was Chinese?

 

[BobF]

Bob, I think you are talking about "Milorganite" (Milwaukee Organic Nitogen) which is a long way from using raw human waste. It begins as sewage but through a specific and controlled process is turned into a very pure and high nitrogen fertilzer. I agree with you that US companies design, spec and accept the products that are made in China but I disagree that the fault lies totally with them. As long as people are willing to pay for inferior products, why should the companies do otherwise? It is up to we consumers to change this process. Vote with you wallet!

"... why should the companies do otherwise?"

Ethics. Just b/c you're able to do something doesn't always mean you should. Knowingly putting out products that are unsafe or unfit for their advertised purpose is as common as it is wrong.

"It is up to we consumers to change this process. Vote with you wallet!"

I agree. However, we have to trust the producer for the first copy. Buy the same POS the second time, it's on the buyer.

 

[Chateau Joe]

Hi Guys,

I work part time at a LHBS in northern NY. We had a rash of the bad Chinese carboys. We ordered 14, 6 gallon carboys. Of them, 4 had the bottoms fall out with wine in them (that we are aware of). When a customer finally told us we inspected the remaining carboys in the store. We found 2 more with cracks in the bottom. All of the carboys are full, and I mean full of air bubbles.

We notified the distributer of the carboys and we have no longer received carboys of that bad brand. We recently got some carboys from a different Chinese company that are acceptable but no where near as nice as the Italian carboys.

What fries our bacon is that the distributers are probably getting the Chinese carboys dirt cheap but they are still charging us Italian prices and we have to pass that on to you.

My advice to you is ask your LHBS to stock only Italian. If you cannot get that, then inspect your carboys carefully.

If I think of it tomorrow I will post the brand to beware of.

 

[pjd]

I ordered 6 carboys from Amazon when they went on sale, all were made in China and are considerably smaller in volume than the Italian carboys. If I rack from an Italian carboy to the Chinese i will have 1/2 gallon extra. I will not be buying them again.