Be aware!!!! Chinese carboys

[ibglowin]

Pics or none of this ever happened.......

 

[Brew and Wine Supply]

Perhaps someone could post a pick of these "chinese" carboys?

Doug, you may find out that the next time you order you will not be getting anymore of the "Italian" carboys if you order from Crosby Baker or BSG.

I get mine from L. D. Carlson, here is a memo I just got from them:
Important Glass Carboy Information


You may have noticed that the glass carboys you are buying from other suppliers aren't quite up-to-snuff. Lately, there has been an influx of less expensive and lesser quality Chinese glass carboys. We've received feedback from several customers stating that the Chinese carboys do not hold up to the Italian carboys sold by LD. We made the decision long ago to stick with our Italian glass carboys because we have yet to find a Chinese manufacturer who can supply quality carboys on a consistent basis. While you may be able to save a little bit of money by buying the cheaper glass carboys (but not always), from all we are hearing, it's not worth it. Your customers will not be happy with the quality of the Chinese carboys, and unhappy customers are not repeat customers.

 

[Pumpkinman]

Thanks! Good to see that some companies still value the customer!

 

[Norske]

pics or none of this happened?.......

Well I dug it out of the dumpster and took some pics with my iphone. Hard to see but trust me, the crack is there and this one happened right when I was transferring into it. The other ones broke completly around the base and were discarded asap. I was awful lucky when one of them broke casue I was just beginning to lift it up, full of wine, just as I heard it crack. If I would have continued lifting when it broke, it probably would have cut my arm, stomach, or leg severly. I since have purchased many milk crates and will not handle this brand bare. They go into the milk crates now.
So I guess since I have the pics, it happened....

 

[Norske]

Here is a pic of the packaging the carboys came ine. My distributor stated they originated from brewcraft.

 

[WI_Wino]

I bought a carboy of this brand the other day. $25 from Ritebrew.com but with local pickup (so no opportunity for UPS/whoever to drop it in transit). I inspected it thoroughly before use and had no cracks and very few air bubbles in the glass. Loaded it up with some Chardonnay I had to rack off sediment and will bottle tomorrow. I'll throw it on a scale tomorrow after bottling and compare with one of my other 6 gallon carboy which was made in Mexico (not Italian as originally posted). It doesn't appear to be significantly lighter than my other ones at first glance but a scale doesn't lie. I use a brew hauler to move my carboys around (I highly recommend one if you don't have a fancy pump and you still need to lug carboys) and have had not issues with the cheap one. Guess I got lucky? Also this brand is a little taller and narrower than my other carboys and has a slight concave bottom to it.

Clearly made in China.

 

[ibglowin]

In this day and age pictures are one of the MOST important things you can do to help others on this forum. Thanks for posting! Now others can view and simply vote with their feet before taking this piece of SHAT home!

Thank you for taking the time to help others!

 

[WI_Wino]

Bottled my chardonnay tonight and weighed both Mexican and Chinese carboys.

Chinese carboy: 14lbs 8oz

Mexican carboy: 13lbs 7oz

 

[ibglowin]

Anyone done a water test to see if the Chinese carboy is closer to 23L like the Mexican or more like 24 liters and closer to the Italian?

Also to people who own these. Are you really going to use them knowing full well you could lose ~$100-150 worth of wine in a heartbeat?

 

[WI_Wino]

I racked from a full Mexican carboy to the Chinese one and it is the same volume (+/- an ounce or so).

My risk appears minimal, my chinese carboy seems solid. I'm providing my real world experience so folks can make their own decisions. Just like any big glass jug you should look at it to make sure it's not cracked or damaged before using.

 

[ibglowin]

They always do until they are not. Be careful as you don't want to have the bottom fall out on you one day while moving it. It could take just one little "clink" into another carboy.....

My risk appears minimal, my chinese carboy seems solid.....

 

[richmke]

I was looking for glass carboys, and came across the warnings about chinese ones. For those of you in Chicago/Milwaukee, Grow Masters in Gurnee says they have Italian (no hesitation when I asked). I'll check them out on my next trip to Chicago.

 

[n2tazmania]

I have ordered 5 from Midwest in the past 3 months. The first shipment was 2 5 gallons. One of them was full of air bubbles and had a crack in the bottom. I sent them pictures and they replaced it. I ordered 2 5 gallons and got a 6 gallon for free a couple of weeks ago and all 3 have the same crack in the bottom. They don't leak so I am trying them to see if they will hold up. Won't be ordering any more from Midwest.

 

[WI_Wino]

I have ordered 5 from Midwest in the past 3 months. The first shipment was 2 5 gallons. One of them was full of air bubbles and had a crack in the bottom. I sent them pictures and they replaced it. I ordered 2 5 gallons and got a 6 gallon for free a couple of weeks ago and all 3 have the same crack in the bottom. They don't leak so I am trying them to see if they will hold up. Won't be ordering any more from Midwest.

Can you post some pics of the cracks all of your carboys have? I'm interested to see what it looks like compared to mine.

 

[ibglowin]

I was just in my LHBS on Saturday picking up some one gallon glass jugs. I looked over at his shelf and he had a bunch of the 23L Italian glass carboys. Asked him if he could get these once again and he said yes, no problems. Looks like depending on where you shop you can still find the Italian ones if you look around.

 

[bluedog]

Looks like depending on where you shop you can still find the Italian ones if you look around.

This has been my experience also, having just picked up a 23L Italian glass carboy from a LHBS recently. I would add that I got in on Midwest's free carboy special a week or so ago and received an Italian glass from them as well.

 

[GreginND]

I'm waiting for my free carboy from Midwest. It was not shipped with my order.

 

[GreginND]

I received my carboy from Midwest yesterday. It came in a plain box that just said "6 Gallon Carboy". It does not say where it was made. The bottom had a 3-4 inch long scratch/crack on it and I do see lots of bubbles in the glass. I wrote back to Midwest asking about a replacement.

 

[WI_Wino]

I received my carboy from Midwest yesterday. It came in a plain box that just said "6 Gallon Carboy". It does not say where it was made. The bottom had a 3-4 inch long scratch/crack on it and I do see lots of bubbles in the glass. I wrote back to Midwest asking about a replacement.

Can you post a picture of the crack?

 

[n2tazmania]

Here is one. I have a couple more I will try to post.