Spent $150 on a 'pro' fermentation crock that cracked on day 3

I bought a fancy 5-liter German crock from a homebrew shop, thinking the thick stoneware would be better than my old pickle jars. Day three of a sauerkraut batch and a hairline crack formed right down the side, leaking brine all over my counter. I checked online and apparently this is a common issue with these expensive crocks if you don't season them first. Anyone else had a pricy fermenter fail on them, or are my old mason jars just the smarter choice?

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the_blair4mo ago

You cracked it because you didn't let water soak into the clay before using it. Stoneware crocks need to be submerged for at least a couple hours before first use so the clay can expand evenly. Skipping that step creates tension that pops right out as a crack when you fill it with wet kraut and press down. I had a local potter explain this to me after I did the exact same thing with a $200 Korean onggi. My cheap Target pickle jars never needed special treatment, so this feels like a design flaw more than user error.

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robert_rodriguez664mo ago

That's a great point @the_blair made about the water soaking. I've heard the same thing from a few old timers who make their own fermentation crocks. They swear by a full overnight soak for any new stoneware, and they even say to do it again if you let the crock dry out completely between uses. It's easy to forget that porous clay and glass are totally different animals when it comes to how they handle liquid and pressure.

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