Crack 5 gallon carboy

[wineview]

I just noticed a hairline crack across the bottom of an Italian made carboy. I can feel it if I scratch my finger nail across the crack. Can’t tell if it goes all the way through and I think I recently used it. The carboy is well made and it has me puzzled. Would you use it?

 

[ratflinger]

No, unless you like cleaning up 5 gal of wine and sharp glass.

 

[sour_grapes]

Personally, I would definitely not use it if you can feel it with your fingernail.

 

[wineview]

It’s a puzzler. Guess I was lucky when I last used it. And I rarely inspect the bottoms.

 

[ratflinger]

Stress cracks can happen, eve with a slight bump. I broke a 6 gal by just dinging the side against another carboy. I'm in the process of moving to all plastic and no glass.

 

[Hazelemere]

I just noticed a hairline crack across the bottom of an Italian made carboy. I can feel it if I scratch my finger nail across the crack. Can’t tell if it goes all the way through and I think I recently used it. The carboy is well made and it has me puzzled. Would you use it?

fill it with water and see if it leaks over a couple of weeks. If not fix the crack with RTV Silicone on the outside.

 

[Rocky]

I just noticed a hairline crack across the bottom of an Italian made carboy. I can feel it if I scratch my finger nail across the crack. Can’t tell if it goes all the way through and I think I recently used it. The carboy is well made and it has me puzzled. Would you use it?

I definitely would not use it. That stated, I am risk averse when it comes to my wine. A lot of effort goes into making 5 gallons of good wine. You can find new carboys for around $35.

 

[wineview]

Rice_Guy…. You don’t like the silicone idea?

 

[Jim Welch]

There are very large internal stresses in all structural components including glass carboys. When an object is whole and undamaged they all cancel each other out. When a crack occurs some of these stresses are relieved. In steel the structure usually bends a bit, a bend that may or may not be visible but that is because it is ductile.
Glass is very brittle with nearly zero ductility at normal temps. If in fact this is a crack you see I’m surprised it hasn’t failed catastrophically already.
I’ve personally seen very severe hand cuts requiring hospital emergency room care from a breaking carboy and would absolutely discard that Carboy again IF it is in fact a crack you have detected. Losing a batch of wine would be my very least concern. I’m so averse I have purchased heavy duty milk crates for every single glass carboy of mine. I have over 30 so that was no small expense.
Plastic has its own potential problems for long term wine storage so for me it’s either a glass Carboy or a stainless steel keg.
I STRONGLY recommend that all glass carboys be paired with a milk crate or some other shield between the very brittle glass and any hard surface like concrete, stone, metal, etc. A HD milk crate has the added benefit of making it easier to carry a loaded Carboy around, if one has the physical strength to do so.
A Carboy that fails can (read that as it usually does)explode, the risk is NO joke.

 

[wineview]

There are very large internal stresses in all structural components including glass carboys. When an object is whole and undamaged they all cancel each other out. When a crack occurs some of these stresses are relieved. In steel the structure usually bends a bit, a bend that may or may not be visible but that is because it is ductile.
Glass is very brittle with nearly zero ductility at normal temps. If in fact this is a crack you see I’m surprised it hasn’t failed catastrophically already.
I’ve personally seen very severe hand cuts requiring hospital emergency room care from a breaking carboy and would absolutely discard that Carboy again IF it is in fact a crack you have detected. Losing a batch of wine would be my very least concern. I’m so averse I have purchased heavy duty milk crates for every single glass carboy of mine. I have over 30 so that was no small expense.
Plastic has its own potential problems for long term wine storage so for me it’s either a glass Carboy or a stainless steel keg.
I STRONGLY recommend that all glass carboys be paired with a milk crate or some other shield between the very brittle glass and any hard surface like concrete, stone, metal, etc. A HD milk crate has the added benefit of making it easier to carry a loaded Carboy around, if one has the physical strength to do so.
A Carboy that fails can (read that as it usually does)explode, the risk is NO joke.

All my carboys are in milk crates or wooden crates that I have built. I don’t like those carriers that hook around the neck. Never trusted them.

 

[Jim Welch]

I don’t like those carriers that hook around the neck. Never trusted them.

Nor do I. I do not use them.

 

[Hazelemere]

There are very large internal stresses in all structural components including glass carboys. When an object is whole and undamaged they all cancel each other out. When a crack occurs some of these stresses are relieved. In steel the structure usually bends a bit, a bend that may or may not be visible but that is because it is ductile.
Glass is very brittle with nearly zero ductility at normal temps. If in fact this is a crack you see I’m surprised it hasn’t failed catastrophically already.
I’ve personally seen very severe hand cuts requiring hospital emergency room care from a breaking carboy and would absolutely discard that Carboy again IF it is in fact a crack you have detected. Losing a batch of wine would be my very least concern. I’m so averse I have purchased heavy duty milk crates for every single glass carboy of mine. I have over 30 so that was no small expense.
Plastic has its own potential problems for long term wine storage so for me it’s either a glass Carboy or a stainless steel keg.
I STRONGLY recommend that all glass carboys be paired with a milk crate or some other shield between the very brittle glass and any hard surface like concrete, stone, metal, etc. A HD milk crate has the added benefit of making it easier to carry a loaded Carboy around, if one has the physical strength to do so.
A Carboy that fails can (read that as it usually does)explode, the risk is NO joke.

I retract my comment on trying to repair a crack with RTV silicone. Mr Welch obviously studied engineering. Throw out the cracked carboy.