Broke My First Carboy !

GrantLee63 · Dec 2, 2006

And am sure glad I wasn't hurt ! Holy crap ! This was really spectacular when it literally disintegrated into a zillion pieces after slipping from my wet hands about 3 feet to the floor. I was doing something VERY, VERY, STUPID, and learned a very powerful lesson .....

Also fortunately, no mead - or beer in this case - was lost as I was draining out the sanitizing solution when I lost my grip. The AG 'Holiday Hefeweizen' I made today will have a special meaning when I drink it over my upcoming Christmas break.

BE CAREFUL WITH THESE SUCKERS !!!!!

Rhianni · Dec 2, 2006

I toss and lug mine around a lot and had always wondered how big of a mess they would make if broken. I can only imagine how far the pieces flew

GrantLee63 · Dec 2, 2006

The farthest piece from the impact site that I picked up so far, was about 12 feet !

Cargirl · Dec 2, 2006

What fortunate soul you are!

Glad you are FINE, and that no mead (or beer!) was lost. :wav:

kace069 · Dec 2, 2006

I haven't done this yet, but I have had a few close calls in the past. Same scenario, cleaning the carboy and everything is wet and slippery. So I started buying carboy handles. Man I love those things, its like a $6 dollar insurance policy on my carboys and prevents a trip to the ER! As long as I have a good grip on the handle I don't worry to much.

storm1969 · Dec 2, 2006

I had my first carboy failure in October. I had emptied my barrel into a couple of carboys for bottling. Everything seemed ok. I was letting it sit for a few days before bottling. I cam back down 3 days later to a puddle of wine on my floor. A 5 gallon carboy had somehow developed a crack and leaked it's contents onto the floor. It was heart breaking. After cleaning it up I went upstairs and drank.

I guess there was a weakness in the carboy (even though I had been using it for 6 or 8 years.). I am checking them every time I empty one these days, but I'm not convinced that a crack would have showed. ~sigh~ What are you going to do?

Oskaar · Dec 3, 2006

I don't use the carboy handles, but I do use the big Rubbermaid Roughneck tubs to move my mead around, and do the primaries. They stay in those until primary is done, then I rack out.

When I wash the carboys I use a good rubber dishwashing glove on my right hand and use a dry towel on the bottom of the carboy with my left hand. I have one of those fiberglass sinks that will hold two carboys or a sanitizing bucket and a carboy so if one does slip it doesn't break.

Once they've been cleaned I set them in a staging area that has some carpeting to keep them insulated from the concrete floor in the meadworx.

Cheers,

Oskaar

Pewter_of_Deodar · Dec 4, 2006

I suppose some would think that I waste a lot of paper towels but I always make sure my carboy is dry around the bottom edge and the neck before I lift it more than a couple of inches off of a surface. This includes when I am doing any of the process, including sterilizing solution, rinsing, racking, etc.

I also like Oskaar's idea of a rubber glove on one hand (or both) to insure a good grip...

sandman · Feb 11, 2007

Milk crates!!! That's the ticket. I remember them fondly from my college years. You can use those suckers for almost as many things as duct tape. hehehe

Now if only I still have a few out in the garage...

I forsee a few of them in my near future one way or the other. They'll be just too handy for something as important as moving/handling carbouys.

Now if only I can get out of this desert and back home where I can start a few batches.

Thanks...

Fwee · Feb 16, 2007

Those bolt-on handles seem like they would put a lot of stress on the neck if a carboy was full. I can't believe that we don't hear more stories about the necks snapping off because of them. :icon_scratch:

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