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**Hopfan** · 12-03-2006, 08:48 PM

[QUOTE=lorenae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewman !

Thanks for replying !

Well that is a great thing to know. Do you have the new style valve or the old style ? Apparently there was an update to the valves at some point in time.

I don't know- I've had it about 3 months or so. I assume it is a "new" one. It's label "Hi-flow" valve or something like that. It was fairly easy to put together, but still a bit of a PITA to do it. They don't come assembled- you get the BB with a hole in it and the valve assembly. I was expected it to be like the valve on my bottling bucket, but it's a little different. Not really a big deal, but I don't use it. I should have just got a regular BB.

I like racking better from my glass carboy- I have the carboy cap pictured in an above post, and I put my racking cane through the middle hole. I blow into the other hole, and BOOM. Got a siphon. That carboy cap does NOT fit the BB properly. It fits my 5 gallon glass carboy perfectly, though. I haven't had any smell/odor or scratches in the BB. But I've only done about 4 or 5 batches of beer with it.

The only advantage I see that the BB has over glass is being light weight and unbreakable. Otherwise, glass wins over the BB.

Lorena

I have the BB with the hi-flow valve and it works just fine. It's a bit slower than my racking cane, but that's because I'm using the 1/4" tubing for racking. You may want to blow some CO2 through the valve, from the outside, to ensure there is no gunk stuck in it. Do that with fluid in the bottle to give a bit more back pressure to the CO2. If it's clear, you may have something clogging the tubing adapter that you use in the bung when you rack.

***Yooper*** · 12-03-2006, 11:20 PM

[QUOTE=Hopfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorenae

I have the BB with the hi-flow valve and it works just fine. It's a bit slower than my racking cane, but that's because I'm using the 1/4" tubing for racking. You may want to blow some CO2 through the valve, from the outside, to ensure there is no gunk stuck in it. Do that with fluid in the bottle to give a bit more back pressure to the CO2. If it's clear, you may have something clogging the tubing adapter that you use in the bung when you rack.

GREAT idea- that never even occurred to me! I'll try that next time. Thanks!

Lorena

johnsma22 · 12-04-2006, 12:32 AM

Just an FYI, you can use 1/2" ID tubing for racking with the high flow valves from Better-Bottle. It fits on the OD of the valve outlet and the 1/4" fits in the ID of the valve outlet.

Here is a photo and a list showing all the different configurations of tubing that can be used with the Better-Bottle high flow valve.

A) 1/2" ID PET-lined tubing pushed over the output port. B) 3/8" ID PET-lined tubing coupled to 1/2" ID PET-lined tubing that is pushed over the output port. C) 3/8" ID PET-lined tubing coupled to the output port with 1/4" ID PET-lined tubing that is pushed into the output port. D) 1/4" ID PET-lined tubing pushed into the output port. E) Soft 1/4" ID X 3/8" OD tubing stiffened with a short length of rigid or semi-rigid tubing and pushed into the output port.

These descriptions all mention PET lined tubing, but I have been unable to find a supplier for this type of tubing. The regular vinyl siphon tubing that we all use works just fine.

brewman ! · 12-04-2006, 03:02 AM

Bottle Rocket Myth is on Mythbusters right now ! I'll watch it and report what happens on the show when they bust the pop bottles and cooler bottles.

Edit: In the first segment, they were pressurizing pop bottles to 60 PSI. They then tried a cooler bottle with no built in handle. They didn't say what pressure was used, but it went quite high and came down with a thud. They found the rockets went the highest filled 1/3 full with water. Just saying...

Edit2: In the next segment, they test the burst pressure of the "3L" soda bottle and a water cooler bottle. The Soda bottle bursts at 150PSI. The water cooler bottle bursts at 90 PSI.

Anyone want to test the burst pressure of a BB? *chuckle

**Orfy** · 12-04-2006, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewman !

Bottle Rocket Myth is on Mythbusters right now ! I'll watch it and report what happens on the show when they bust the pop bottles and cooler bottles.

Edit: In the first segment, they were pressurizing pop bottles to 60 PSI. They then tried a cooler bottle with no built in handle. They didn't say what pressure was used, but it went quite high and came down with a thud. They found the rockets went the highest filled 1/3 full with water. Just saying...

Edit2: In the next segment, they test the burst pressure of the "3L" soda bottle and a water cooler bottle. The Soda bottle bursts at 150PSI. The water cooler bottle bursts at 90 PSI.

Anyone want to test the burst pressure of a BB? *chuckle

Aren't Better bottles supposed to be made from a different "better" plastic than water cooler bottles?

They will have completely different properties.

brewman ! · 12-04-2006, 06:55 AM

I don't know about the materials for water cooler bottles. Pop bottles are supposedly made of PET so that they aren't porous and they hold CO2 pressure.

Just to stir the pot a bit, I am wondering how porous water cooler bottles are if they hold 90 PSI. Not that there is anything wrong with Better Bottles, but if water cooler bottles hold 90 PSI, I doubt they are very porous. And they have cap on the neck.

Just thinking out loud.

**Orfy** · 12-04-2006, 09:28 AM

When they say porous they don't mean they leak even under presure.

They mean they allow things to pass through on a molecular level. i.e oxygen.

brewman ! · 12-04-2006, 02:44 PM

Quote:

They mean they allow things to pass through on a molecular level. i.e oxygen.

Well, air is made up of O2, CO2, N2, etc. So if one would fill a bottle to 10,20 or 30 PSI and if it was passing O2 at the molecular level, then the pressure would drop over time.

**Orfy** · 12-04-2006, 03:57 PM

I guess it would, but I read that even under pressure it can work both ways.
Molecules can do weird things some times.

I read up on the use of plastics before I started brewing. I made my own mind up that on balance glass was best. But I'd still use plastic if I didn't have glass.

Each to their own, you pays your money and takes your choice.

It'll all taste better than the stuff on tap regardless of what you do it in as long as you respect the basics.

**EdWort** · 12-04-2006, 04:02 PM

I'm very happy with the performance of my Better Bottles. My back loves them and cleaning them is a snap. I sanitze mine with about a gallon of Star San by putting in a #10 stopper and swirling the solution all around a few times while doing other things. I then drain the solution in my bucket of sanitizer and put the better bottle upside down in a measuring cup to drain. Can't do that with glass.