DougA1 Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Have just started brewing with success.However need to know how long the 750 plastic bottles last. Are the flip top bottles worth considering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 The plastic bottles can last a lifetime with proper care. Don't use hot water on them as it can degrade (melt) the plastic. You will however need to replace the lids every so often but I think they can survive quite a few brews as well. I have the flip top bottles and use them most of the time when I am bottling (I keg most of my beer). The only issue I had with them was that they didn't seem to seal properly (some beers were carbonated and some weren't and I batch prime). Although after a couple of uses they all seem to seal for the moment. You will also need to replace the seal on the flip top ones as well. You could always look at getting Coopers long necks and a bottle capper. That way you have a some bottles, a yeast starter and some beer. BTW, welcome to the forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I use hot water on my PET bottles all the time. However, it is only from the hot water tap. I don't suggest using boiling hot water for the reasons Matty posted above. My current lot of lids have been used for the past 2 years. However, I only bottle 6-10 bottles at a time too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottb12 Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I've just thrown out all my flip top bottles, every batch I made had at least 3 flat beers and I did replace the seals on them. Yuo can't beat glass bottles with crown caps IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkJ3 Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I've been using my same PET bottles for 9 years have only had one fail recently with a pinhole in the bottom[pinched][annoyed] [pinched] , leaked half but sealed it self up with crust and bottle is still tight. PETs are good but I don't drink from them, prefer a Glass Stein[happy] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
***** Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Personally I would only use the same PET bottle a few times, while sourcing a supply of glass, and I would never put hot water near them. This has nothing to do with taste or the beer going flat. I won\u2019t elaborate but the research is out there, not only your normal Internet urban myths but reputable academic sources as well. Creates enough doubt in my mind, if I were you Doug I\u2019d look at collecting some Coopers long necks and look around for some crown seal stubbies. There are also some solid 500ml crown seal bottles around for example Crabbies Ginger Beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne (Captain Yobbo) Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I use a combination of PET's Soft drink bottle PET's and coopers screw off stubbies with crown seals all of them I have had success with I find the PET's good and reliable and so are the stubbies I haven't yet had a flat stubbie but my bottle capper puts them on tight so i often have to use a bottle opener to open the bottles always get a nice hiss and well carbonated i suppose it is all down to what you can afford really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gash Slugg Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Personally I would only use the same PET bottle a few times' date=' while sourcing a supply of glass, and I would never put hot water near them. This has nothing to do with taste or the beer going flat. I won\u2019t elaborate but the research is out there, not only your normal Internet urban myths but reputable academic sources as well. Creates enough doubt in my mind, if I were you Doug I\u2019d look at collecting some Coopers long necks and look around for some crown seal stubbies. There are also some solid 500ml crown seal bottles around for example Crabbies Ginger Beer.[/quote'] My Doctor told me a few weeks ago not to ferment in the plastic fermenters , it'll make your balls shrink! Because alligators balls are shrinking in the swamps of USA. He said to use stone or glass.. but mine would be broken by now if stone or glass, and the thought on my undies not being so tight isn't a bad thing [wink] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 My Doctor told me a few weeks ago not to ferment in the plastic fermenters ' date=' it'll make your balls shrink! Because alligators balls are shrinking in the swamps of USA[/quote'] Are the swamps made out of plastic? [unsure] Also, to avoid excess shrinkage don't brew in extremely cold weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gash Slugg Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 [lol] stuff from plastic leaching in to the swamps apparently, he was serious!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Reusing Plastic Bottles Causes Cancer Hoax - I am not really referring to the linked site but more to the links it provides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I have a bunch of James Squire stubbies I use, I like them because they're a nice size and pry off crown seals like the long necks. Got about 300 of them currently. I don't really get why there's unease about re-using them, they are obviously designed to handle the pressure, if they can handle it once they should handle it numerous times, which they obviously do because I've never had one explode. It's probably even less likely now that I bulk prime my batches. I have various other ones as well, some of them are 10-20 years old. I do however throw any out that I find with imperfections just to be on the safe side. Cheers, Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I use just about every type of bottle there is on a regular basis, and I've yet to have a problem with any of them. I've been using the Coopers PET bottles that came with my Micro-Brew Kit for almost two years now and have not had to replace any of the lids. They're every bit as good as new. I also use regular glass bottles with crown seals, flip-top bottles, sparkling wine bottles with plastic champagne corks and PET soda bottles. All have worked just fine. I do replace the seals of my flip-top bottles whenever they look worn-out, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordEoin Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 [lol] stuff from plastic leaching in to the swamps apparently' date=' he was serious!! [/quote'] I have sketchy memories of having this conversation with a lad who works in recycling packaging. the fella knew more about plastics than i can remember (the pints didnt help...) The basic jist of what I can remember is that different plastics degrade and leach more than others. Heat and sunlight cause it to deteriorate most. PET bottles are designed to be pretty tough provided they're treated right (ie no hot liquids and keep them out of direct sunlight). Any drinking water grade container is safe out, but you'll notice that cheaper sports bottles will make your water taste like plastic crap, especially if they get warm. PET bottles often get recycled into things like lunchboxes, lunchboxes get recycled into food packaging, packaging gets recycled into industrial/agricultural plastics. The leaching that's causing health problems in alligators and marine life is mostly caused by the lowest grade plastics from farming, industrial and household waste. Unless you have alligator balls and live in a swamp, I'd say ou're safe enough [biggrin] i wouldn't worry too much about the FV (although we add some hot liquid to them at teh start) because the beer is only in there for a small time before being moved somewhere else. PET bottles should be fine for a long time provided they're treated well and kept out of the sun. I's be more worried about the plastic lining in tin cans, stuff can sit in them for years... Regarding the bottles... I like to use glass ones anyway. They're easily colected from friends, session and pubs. If you don't mind branded and mismatched bottles then you can get as many as you like for free. I started buying glass bottles with each brew, it doubled the price for about 4 brews but now I've got to a stage where - all of my botles are good quality brown brewery bottles - they're all the same shape and size for storage - the only cost now is crown caps - when empty botles get excessive its like an alarm clock to brew I think it was worth the initial cost[happy] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB8 Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I replaced all my PET with glass after I started brewing, I still pick up long necks from the recycle centre for $5/12 bottles. I don't really get why there's unease about re-using them, they are obviously designed to handle the pressure, My LHBS owner when I lived in Canberra told me that some (not all) of the breweries use the bare minimum amount of glass wall thickness adequate for the pressures produced by there beer. As home brewers we dont know that number nor are we likely to be as accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 That's true we don't know accurately their pressures, I'm led to believe that lagers have more carbonation than ales, is that true? I have a heap of XXXX lager bottles from friends as well. I'm thinking higher carbonation = higher pressure, to a degree. Since if you put too much sugar in or don't let it ferment fully you can get explosions due to too much CO2 pressure. The JS bottles appear pretty sturdy, could be wrong but I'd guess they use the same ones for their entire range which includes a lager. I guess at the end of the day it's all personal preference but I'm happy using these, they have served me well and they're much easier to collect because most of my friends who buy beer buy it in stubbies. I've thought about buying bottles designed for re-use but I can't really justify the outlay when I've had no problems with the ones I've got. Cheers, Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordEoin Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Luckily, I've had none pop so far apart from ones i've left in the freezer. In the freezer, reused commercial beer bottles seem to explode at the base of the neck sending shards of glass, but with the bottles I've bought they just popped the cap off and foamed out in a frozen column. I've also dropped these bottles onto tile and they just bounced and clinked, where a bottle of bud would have smashed. But reused beer bottles will be fine though, provided you don't seriously overprime them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Yes Kelsey, higher carbonation = higher pressure. This is because C02 will equalise itself in the liquid and the headspace in the bottle if left long enough. Well, this is what I am led to believe anyway [ninja] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Woops! haha. I've found with beer bottles you can drop them once and they will bounce, but any time after that they'll break. It's something to do with the lacquer they put on them apparently. Before I started collecting them I would drop them into our recycling bin from about 10 feet up and they'd just bounce off the bottom. That's what I thought Bill, cheers. I mostly brew ales and bulk prime at a little lower rate than they tell you to, so I reckon they'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordEoin Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I've found with beer bottles you can drop them once and they will bounce' date=' but any time after that they'll break[/quote'] Ha! we used to do something similar as kids. You'd spend a couple of minutes gently tapping a bottle off a rock, then when you want to smash it, it takes almost no effort, it just shatters. Another same bottle could be bashed and not break at all [biggrin] Fun times! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB8 Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 In the freezer, reused commercial beer bottles seem to explode at the base of the neck sending shards of glass, but with the bottles I've bought they just popped the cap off and foamed out in a frozen column. I wouldnt let you anywhere near my beers [crying] Once is forgivable twice is a crime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
***** Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I have a bunch of James Squire stubbies I use, I like them because they're a nice size and pry off crown seals like the long necks. Got about 300 of them currently. Cheers, Kelsey Way to go Kelsey I have amassed a massive collection in the past 9 months. Once you put the word out you get swamped. One neighbour supplied 150 Cascade draught stubbies in a fortnight (I've got around 250 of these). He also sourced about 100 Cascade Longnecks as well. I also have around 120 XXXX Gold stubbies. But I am trying to move to all pry off tops. I have 36 Coopers Long necks, around 50 330ml, around 150 345ml stubbies and 30 500ml bottles. I've also got 24 of the 660-ml reusables from the LHBS. I am also kegging, the plan is under 4.2% in the keg over 5.2% in the bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I use predominantly glass flip-tops and PET bottles. I have had a number of flip-tops go flat early on in my brewing career. Now I condition the flip-tops upside down until pressure builds up. Then I find that the internal pressure in the bottle is enough to hold the seal against the cap. Seems to work for me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 You'd have enough there for a crapload of batches! I got 5 cartons of XXXX Gold ones off a friend, I've also been using the Bundy ginger beer/sarsaparilla bottles that Dad drinks, and other assorted bottles. The JS ones are my favourite though. I also got a carton of Corona bottles from a mate but I haven't used them as yet. They need cleaning anyway but as they are clear they'd probably be a last resort type thing. They're just providing a nice platform to store all my other cartons on top of at the moment [lol] I don't have the means to do kegs at the moment, but maybe later down the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I now have about 3 dozen Grolsch swing tops (mostly empty) and about 300 longnecks, the vast majority of which are Coopers Longnecks with the rest being donated VB/CD etc longnecks. The only ones that dont explode in the freezer are the coopers ones [love] I frikkin hate cleaning the freezer [annoyed] Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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