Better Bottles on their side?

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ccabman

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I was thinking about bulk aging mead in better bottles. I was wondering if they can be stored on their side in a rack for instance long term? Any thoughts or comments would be appreciate.
 
How would you seal them? The openings aren't threaded. No way would I trust a rubber stopper to stay put.
 
You only place wine on it's side when you have it in bottles, with corks, that you need to keep wet. Not needed with PET carboys with rubber stoppers. The potential of losing your batch (or a significant portion of it) is simply too high to really consider doing this. Plus, it's 100% unnecessary. Purge the headspace of air/oxygen (you can use CO2) and install a solid stopper if you don't want to have an airlock to check on from time to time.

The number of negative things that can happen from doing this far outweighs any [perceived] positive things. In fact, I can't think of a single (valid) reason to do this.
 
You only place wine on it's side when you have it in bottles, with corks, that you need to keep wet. Not needed with PET carboys with rubber stoppers. The potential of losing your batch (or a significant portion of it) is simply too high to really consider doing this. Plus, it's 100% unnecessary. Purge the headspace of air/oxygen (you can use CO2) and install a solid stopper if you don't want to have an airlock to check on from time to time.

The number of negative things that can happen from doing this far outweighs any [perceived] positive things. In fact, I can't think of a single (valid) reason to do this.


I agree with this ^^

And I would not trust the caps linked to stay put. They state that they are just pushed on. 5 or 6 gallons of pressure on them for long term????
 
I agree with this ^^

And I would not trust the caps linked to stay put. They state that they are just pushed on. 5 or 6 gallons of pressure on them for long term????

At least with corks, there's pressure from the corks expanding in the bottle necks to keep them in place. Press-on caps are [IMO] not to be trusted.

I ferment, and age, in adapted sanke kegs. When aging, I install a solid TC cap over the opening. I could lay these on their sides, IF I wanted to. I don't see the point to it though, since they take up so little floor space when standing up (a fraction of what they'll need if on their side).

IMO, there's a reason why you don't read about people laying carboys on their sides when aging things... It's a bad idea (being extremely kind here). If you put even a little thought into it, you should [quickly] realize how bad of an idea it really is. If you can't, then do it. Just be sure to have a mop and bucket on standby. Also keep checking on them every day so that you can clean up the mess early enough.
 
How about one of those new-fangled units that stores your BBs vertically. Much better idea:

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Seriously, though. I don't think those plastic cappers would provide a waterproof/O2 proof seal.

If you insist on storing them horizontally, I'd wedge some bungs into each really good then wrap the ends tightly with duct tape.

Like all mind-boggling problems, I'm pretty sure the solution is duct tape.
 
That style cap is routinely used for water bottles stored on their side. So, I think it could work for you, and isn't nearly as bad an idea as others have said.

But, I have seen that style cap dribble a bit of water out of a stored jug. It may not be a perfect seal. There is a risk of failure and you will have to weigh that risk against the benefit of higher density stacking with that style shelf.

For me, there wouldn't be enough benefit since side stacking will only work during aging. I would still need shelving for upright storage during fermentation.


I may order some of those caps now that I know where to get them. I have a bunch of drinking water bottles that I can fill cheaply at Walmart. I just need caps.
 
Actually this is a great idea. The only hurdle I see is providing an effective seal. I bulk age huge volumes of wine, mead and beer in cheaply obtained better bottles and would have a lot more room if I could stack them on their sides. I think I'll try wire capping a bung in place in a few water filled bottles and do a test run. Maybe I'll even make my own better bottle sized corks.

Some people see the glass as half empty. I see it as half full.
 
Assuming those one-use caps are air/liquid tight you may also want to make sure your mead is completely done fermenting. Otherwise you've turned your fermenter in a pressure vessel ready to spew 5-sh gallons of mead all over your storage room :)
 
Why would one wish to do this? They would be prone to leaking, plus they're round, they'll roll. Try as I might I can't come up with anything in the plus column.

Rick
 
You only place wine on it's side when you have it in bottles, with corks, that you need to keep wet. Not needed with PET carboys with rubber stoppers. The potential of losing your batch (or a significant portion of it) is simply too high to really consider doing this. Plus, it's 100% unnecessary. Purge the headspace of air/oxygen (you can use CO2) and install a solid stopper if you don't want to have an airlock to check on from time to time.

The number of negative things that can happen from doing this far outweighs any [perceived] positive things. In fact, I can't think of a single (valid) reason to do this.

If you would take the time to actually read the posts you respond to each day, you would make many less of these kind of responses where you don't address the subject at all.

The OP made his reasons perfectly clear:

I would use the plastic cap that is made for the better bottles. I wanted to be able to stack them using something like this. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005VFCN18/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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That style cap is routinely used for water bottles stored on their side. So, I think it could work for you, and isn't nearly as bad an idea as others have said.

But, I have seen that style cap dribble a bit of water out of a stored jug. It may not be a perfect seal. There is a risk of failure and you will have to weigh that risk against the benefit of higher density stacking with that style shelf.

For me, there wouldn't be enough benefit since side stacking will only work during aging. I would still need shelving for upright storage during fermentation.


I may order some of those caps now that I know where to get them. I have a bunch of drinking water bottles that I can fill cheaply at Walmart. I just need caps.

Agreed. Water is just about always bulk stored on it's side in these jugs, even in the truck that delivers it. The 3 beside our water cooler at work are in the rack that the OP linked to. From visiting a bottling place, I can attest that the caps just push on there also. The ones that dribble are probably bad places in the neck or didn't get seated all the way.

I see no problem doing this.
 
Agreed. Water is just about always bulk stored on it's side in these jugs, even in the truck that delivers it. The 3 beside our water cooler at work are in the rack that the OP linked to. From visiting a bottling place, I can attest that the caps just push on there also. The ones that dribble are probably bad places in the neck or didn't get seated all the way.

I see no problem doing this.

Sure, but a water company does a lot of things a home brewer need not.

Rick
 
Looks like I will have to do some testing of my own. I was really just asking if anyone on here has already done it. I am planning on making a 6 gallon batch of mead every two weeks or so and then bulk aging for nine months to a year. I am going to store the better bottles in a room that has a slanted ceiling so larger racks are out of the question. Thanks for all the input. I will let you know how my test turnout.

Cheers
 
Looks like I will have to do some testing of my own. I was really just asking if anyone on here has already done it. I am planning on making a 6 gallon batch of mead every two weeks or so and then bulk aging for nine months to a year. I am going to store the better bottles in a room that has a slanted ceiling so larger racks are out of the question. Thanks for all the input. I will let you know how my test turnout.

Cheers

Good luck, the only other issue I see is with clearing. If you set them on their sides before they are perfectly clear they will drop sediment that will just get mixed up when you go to move then upright. Just one more thing to think about, if you have a way to get around that awesome and sounds like a great way to get a whole lot of mead in a small place.
 
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