PET vs. water bottles

[Paul]

I have a supplier at my office for the plastic water cooler bottles. Are these PET type bottles? I have found these for sale empty but avoided them so far. I do use one when I am simply racking off and then let settle for a few hours before transfer to a PET or glass bottle. The water carboys are just very convenient to find local and I avoid extra shipping costs.

Paul

P.S. I would be using these water bottles for both wine fermentation and secondary fermentation of beer.

[Ben]

I've heard people recommend using asda/tesco 5L water bottles for wine; sounds like the same sort of thing.

[StockeyDAW]

I have a supplier at my office for the plastic water cooler bottles. Are these PET type bottles? I have found these for sale empty but avoided them so far. I do use one when I am simply racking off and then let settle for a few hours before transfer to a PET or glass bottle. The water carboys are just very convenient to find local and I avoid extra shipping costs.

Paul

P.S. I would be using these water bottles for both wine fermentation and secondary fermentation of beer.

http://www.better-bottle.com/

My personal preference is to use glass or stainless as much as possible. This topic can become argumentative with the pros and cons. As we all are familiar with our primary fermenters being of food grade quality. The PERT (pop bottles) and plastic water containers available from the store for high quality water are OK for that use but not recommended for wine making or storage use. These types of plastics apparently breath and as a result cause problems with stored wine; also they absorb other liquids odours and constituents that could have an adverse effect on your wine making process.

The link above is a plastic type product used by the wine industry that lots of wine makes swear by. I personally have one of these and use it for the white wine making storage process - for a maximum of three months.

Also concerning these plastics the should always be clean and not used for another process. Storage and transportation of plastics must be done in an environmentally safe manner also with the location of the plastics to other paints, solvents or hydrocarbons as these can be absorbed into the plastic and cause problems with the wine making process. My way of doing it - just my precautionary mode. Check out the link - there is one big advantage -- they are light. Cheers DAW

[Aid]

Paul,

I'm using 15lt plastic water cooler bottles for fermenting in. I've just turned one over to eyeball the logo - they are definitely PET. I agree with Stockey however and have read differing opinions of PET. My stance is that I'll use them to ferment in but storage is gonna be in glass.

Aid.

[Paul]

bottles

Daw, thanks those are the bottle I have been using. The lighter weight just helps out the old back.

All, I have generally bottled after 6 months because I only have the 3 and 5 gallon carboy, and 8 1-gal jugs. Adding a few more 5 gal would allow that longer term storage. Storage of those carboys is more my issue than cost.

Paul

[StockeyDAW]

Paul - I am one of the older types and have to watch my back also. I have got a tip from somewhere and put it to good use and that is the use of a roller plant stand. It fits the full carboys beautifully and it sure helps when I have to move the full carboy from the brewing room to the cool room. Cheers DAW

[Mamgiowl]

Well, I've got to put my twopenny worth in here. Yes, I agree, in an ideal world we'd all use glass, but that is both heavy and expensive. I'm on a fixed pension so have to 'make do and mend' and I'd like to reassure those in a similar position that PET bottle DJ's have never let me down (yet!)

I had a mead in a Tesco's water bottle stashed away in the back of a cupboard for over a year, in fact it didn't touch glass until I bottled it a few days ago. I started it in Jan 2005 and there's absolutely nothing at all wrong with it.

So, glass if you can but don't be too stressed if you can't

[Aid]

I know there was something I wanted to add. You can buy wine in PET bottles from the supermarket, Sainsbury do a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and a 'table wine'. They probably package into plastic just prior to shipping to the shop, but they could be in warehouses and on shleves for some months. If it's good enough for them and you absolutely cant get glass....

[Aid]

agreed

[StockeyDAW]

Well, I've got to put my twopenny worth in here. Yes, I agree, in an ideal world we'd all use glass, but that is both heavy and expensive. I'm on a fixed pension so have to 'make do and mend' and I'd like to reassure those in a similar position that PET bottle DJ's have never let me down (yet!)

I had a mead in a Tesco's water bottle stashed away in the back of a cupboard for over a year, in fact it didn't touch glass until I bottled it a few days ago. I started it in Jan 2005 and there's absolutely nothing at all wrong with it.

So, glass if you can but don't be too stressed if you can't

http://www.lifewithoutplastic.com/factsonplastic.htm

This link and there is loads of it concerning the use of plastic. This is what has got me into the precautionary mode.

Concerning the cost of the Better Bottles they are comparable in price to a glass Mexican or Italian glass carboy - slightly more in most cases. I just like to go along with the scientific research if I can. EACH to their own though.

Cheers - keep up the eloquent prose to to written correspondence - I enjoy it very much. DAW

[Duffbeer]

Great link Daw, but I can't help thinking sites like that are scaremongering, I agree plastic has it's dangers, but so does everything if we went through life being too concerned about stuff like this we wouldn't be able to do anything.

I was recently at a wine competion where I met a long time winemaker (Tom Keys) Who has been long term maturing wine in plastic for over 15 years without a problem and swears by it, but hey everyone to their own I suppose.
I personally only use glass, but's that's because I had read things stating plastic was not a viable option when I first started winemaking.

[StockeyDAW]

Great link Daw, but I can't help thinking sites like that are scaremongering, I agree plastic has it's dangers, but so does everything if we went through life being too concerned about stuff like this we wouldn't be able to do anything.

I was recently at a wine competion where I met a long time winemaker (Tom Keys) Who has been long term maturing wine in plastic for over 15 years without a problem and swears by it, but hey everyone to their own I suppose.
I personally only use glass, but's that's because I had read things stating plastic was not a viable option when I first started winemaking.

Not to be argumentative: lets take the tobacco issue - a great percentage got on the bandwagon and away it went; now years later the population is suffering the consequences. I believe you fellows in GB are still in the area of going to the market or butchers shop etc. much more than we are in North America and therefore use much less plastic than we do over here. I believe there is a lot of sense to the plastic issue and society as a whole has to come to grips with some way of making the overall use of plastics much more environmentally friendly. My opinion - Please do not take any offence. Cheers DAW

[Mamgiowl]

No offence taken here, Daw, so no worries.

I agree with you about the cost to the environment in using plastic, and I try to do without it whenever possible. However, by using Tesco's water bottles I count that as recycling, and I've never bought a wine bottle in my life, I get friends to off-load their empties on to me, thus saving their petrol in going to the dump, so I'm doing my best...

[StockeyDAW]

No offence taken here, Daw, so no worries.

I agree with you about the cost to the environment in using plastic, and I try to do without it whenever possible. However, by using Tesco's water bottles I count that as recycling, and I've never bought a wine bottle in my life, I get friends to off-load their empties on to me, thus saving their petrol in going to the dump, so I'm doing my best...

Mam - I totally agree with you about being as cost efficient as possible in every way. I also have very limited income. However, if there is some health issues that surface 10, 20, or 30 years down the road (like it did for the tobacco issue) should we not try and limit that risk as much as possible from happening? Cheers

[Ben]

I've never bought a wine bottle in my life,

lol

I thought I was the only one...