# What is the procedure to stop bruises and cracks ?



## TxBottleDigger (Dec 6, 2020)

I’d like to know what the procedure is for preventing bruises and cracks from forming due to temperature change when taking a bottle out of the ground.


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## Timelypicken (Dec 6, 2020)

Temperature changes I know can cause cracks. So maybe don’t clean bottle right away after getting from the ground and let them adjust to the new temperature


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## Venor_Thesaurus (Dec 6, 2020)

Try digging from side and getting below the bottle. Also use a soft implement to dig with and go slow.

Digging by hand works too, but can have disastrous consequences, requiring immediate first aid!

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk


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## TxBottleDigger (Dec 6, 2020)

Haha sorry I worded it wrong. I was meaning cracks and bruises that form due to temperature change. Thanks for answering anyway.


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## embe (Dec 6, 2020)

Thermal shock.  Adjust temp gradually.  Even then, any bruises or damage will probably show up over time


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## UncleBruce (Dec 6, 2020)

I had a beer bottle that I've had for a long time and I noticed it was full of dirt so I washed it out a couple of weeks ago.  I had it setting out on our kitchen table for a few days and intended to take a nice photo of it since it was clean.  I was setting in my easy chair and I heard a loud ping.  I found that a huge crack appeared in the bottle.  By the time it finished it went up from the base to the shoulder and then back down again.  I will take a post a picture of it when I am back home.


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## Robby Raccoon (Dec 6, 2020)

Treat it like a pet fish. It must adjust gradually to temp changes and must not be bumped around.


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## UncleBruce (Dec 6, 2020)

Robby Raccoon said:


> Treat it like a pet fish. It must adjust gradually to temp changes and must not be bumped around.


Still no guarantees.  Glass will break.  It is fragile by nature.  Got to handle it with care and have leathery nerves for the day it happens to break and it will if you collect it long enough.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Dec 7, 2020)

In the cold I put my bottles in one of my plastic coolers. I have two big old coleman ones. They keep the bottles from warming up too quickly. Keep them in the cooler when you bring them inside a warmer area to warm up slowly over night. They make great waterproof boxes to carry my stuff, has handels and lasts years. I cover the bottles with a towel to minimize the space inside and reduce the chance of thermal shock. Still nothing is perfect and I  have had bottles crack for no reason at all. 
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## nhpharm (Dec 7, 2020)

There are certain bottles that are susceptible to this and over time you will get a sense of what bottles might do this. Typically I see thermal cracking in stuff that is post-1900, especially in clear and aqua sodas and beers (and sometimes other clear medicines and pharmacy bottles) that come out of the Texas soil still shiny.  Often, if it is going to crack, it will crack someday regardless of the care you take with it, but you can minimize this certainly by protecting the bottles from warming quickly (it is warming that seems to cause it, not cooling).  I wrap them in towels when transferring them from a cold spot to a warm spot and I make sure I wash them in room-temperature water.


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## TxBottleDigger (Dec 7, 2020)

UncleBruce said:


> I had a beer bottle that I've had for a long time and I noticed it was full of dirt so I washed it out a couple of weeks ago.  I had it setting out on our kitchen table for a few days and intended to take a nice photo of it since it was clean.  I was setting in my easy chair and I heard a long ping.  I found that a huge crack appeared in the bottle.  By the time it finished it went up from the base to the shoulder and then back down again.  I will take a post a picture of it when I am back home.


Sad to hear but really Interesting! Definitely send a picture across.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Dec 8, 2020)

I also think it has to do with the pressure they are under in the ground. Removing it releases that weight sometimes with less then admirable results. I think all diggers have dug a bottle before that is whole, only to have it fall into pieces in our hand or on the ground. The ones that crack all over but still stay in one piece I find weird. Broken in such a was as to still be locked together. I don't believe there is a sure fire remedy unfortunately. 
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## UncleBruce (Dec 8, 2020)

nhpharm said:


> There are certain bottles that are susceptible to this and over time you will get a sense of what bottles might do this. Typically I see thermal cracking in stuff that is post-1900, especially in clear and aqua sodas and beers (and sometimes other clear medicines and pharmacy bottles) that come out of the Texas soil still shiny.  Often, if it is going to crack, it will crack someday regardless of the care you take with it, but you can minimize this certainly by protecting the bottles from warming quickly (it is warming that seems to cause it, not cooling).  I wrap them in towels when transferring them from a cold spot to a warm spot and I make sure I wash them in room-temperature water.


This was interesting insight and got me thinking.  Could the composition of the glass have been designed for the product it held.  I was thinking about how I like to chill my beer.  Maybe the glass is made for withstanding the cold better and the contents, which is under pressure.  So maybe the lack of pressure and cold is a stressful dynamic to the glass itself.
I am sure the gradual temperature changing is best for the prevention of cracking, but I have had at least two that just cracked without any real reason.  Glass collecting is not for the faint of heart.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Dec 8, 2020)

Not really sure how much pressure could be in, say a soda bottle. Air pressure 15lbs per square inch, pretty constant for sake of argument. Lot of variables as to internal pressure mostly bottle temperature.  I wonder if the sickness although superficial could be contributing to expansion and or contraction issues. Definitely weird science going on here! Just fate, they are all in a sense "ticking time bombs".
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## Palani (Dec 9, 2020)

Thanks for the info guys I did not know this.  In Hawaii we don't have this problem.


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## nhpharm (Dec 9, 2020)

I personally think it was something to do with a change in the composition of the glass...manufacturing processes being in flux at that time.


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## UncleBruce (Dec 9, 2020)

TxBottleDigger said:


> Sad to hear but really Interesting! Definitely send a picture across.


Here is the beer bottle I mentioned and the tale of self imposed cracking gets sadder.  The crack must have completed its circular journey through the glass because as I was handling it to take these pictures of it a huge chunk fell right off the side!!!  Not very long ago this had been a complete bottle with only a tiny fish eye ping, which is no where near that crack.  It had a lot of dirt in it so I washed it out with tepid tap water and it looked nice.  The next day it was setting on a table when I heard the loud ping and the rest is history.


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## EdsFinds (Dec 9, 2020)

Hmmm.....darn! I wish I had realized and read this advice just a few weeks ago. I just found a flask type whiskey bottle that was whole when I removed it from the ground. Not thinking, I washed it about 2 days later in hot soapy water. Well, needless to say, it now has a crack on the very bottom/side of it. I think everyone goes through this though. It happens.


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## EdsFinds (Dec 9, 2020)

nhpharm said:


> There are certain bottles that are susceptible to this and over time you will get a sense of what bottles might do this. Typically I see thermal cracking in stuff that is post-1900, especially in clear and aqua sodas and beers (and sometimes other clear medicines and pharmacy bottles) that come out of the Texas soil still shiny.  Often, if it is going to crack, it will crack someday regardless of the care you take with it, but you can minimize this certainly by protecting the bottles from warming quickly (it is warming that seems to cause it, not cooling).  I wrap them in towels when transferring them from a cold spot to a warm spot and I make sure I wash them in room-temperature water.


I like the cooler idea. Sounds like perfect sense. Now I know I need to take greater care when handling them.


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## pooroldcancollector (Dec 10, 2020)

How hot is the water being used? Has anybody tested the temperature of their water?


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## nhpharm (Dec 10, 2020)

You don't want to use water any warmer than the air to wash your bottles.  In my experience, even a few degrees can have an impact.  I leave a bucket in the garage sometimes to acclimate.  You also don't want to use water that is much colder than the air, as that will cool off the bottle and when you set it out to dry it will warm up.  You also want to be careful about putting bottles in windows, especially in older houses, as they often see significant temperature swings from a cold winter night to a day when the sun is shining in.  Like I noted before, there is a specific subset of bottles that are especially susceptible to this that seem to date from 1900-1920; I have not had a problem with most bottles older than that or newer than that unless they had a potstone or other discontinuity in the glass.


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## EdsFinds (Dec 10, 2020)

How hot was the water I used? Regular hot water from the sink. But it is the colder time of the year. I had found the bottle around the middle of November. I let it sit in my backyard for about a week, then moved it into my garage. A week ago I brought it in to clean it in my utility sink using hot water from the sink. I think it was just bound to happen no matter how well we try to prevent it. I think it was still just too cold and the temperature difference was just enough.


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## EdsFinds (Dec 10, 2020)

nhpharm said:


> You don't want to use water any warmer than the air to wash your bottles.  In my experience, even a few degrees can have an impact.  I leave a bucket in the garage sometimes to acclimate.  You also don't want to use water that is much colder than the air, as that will cool off the bottle and when you set it out to dry it will warm up.  You also want to be careful about putting bottles in windows, especially in older houses, as they often see significant temperature swings from a cold winter night to a day when the sun is shining in.  Like I noted before, there is a specific subset of bottles that are especially susceptible to this that seem to date from 1900-1920; I have not had a problem with most bottles older than that or newer than that unless they had a potstone or other discontinuity in the glass.


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## EdsFinds (Dec 10, 2020)

Great advice, thanks!


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