Rusty Bottle Caps

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wanagohueco

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So I'm having an issue with rusty bottle caps during bottling. The last brew I bottle, I boiled the caps for a few minutes to sanitize them; then let them sit in the water and pulled them out as I needed them. This time I let them soak in One Step in a bowl until I needed them. Both times the caps ended up rusting a little bit in that small time. Does anyone have any suggestions on cap sanitizing techniques that won't allow the caps to rust? Thanks.
 
My caps were the O2 absorbing caps from NB. I was surprised at just how fast rust starts to appear (within a few minutes)! Do you have any suggestions on other sources for O2 absorbing caps? Which caps do you use that don't rust?
 
I've had caps rust in OneStep also. I've also heard that you shouldn't get the o2 absorbing caps wet prior to bottling. If you're pulling them right out of the bag they came in, they probably don't need sanitizing anyway.
 
this has happened with a lot of my regular caps.. just had to start drying them off after sanitizing them.. that rust is nasty!
 
I've heard that you shouldn't boil the caps because then the rubber seal in the cap won't seal as well. I've never had a problem with any of my caps getting rusty. I put them in a colander and pour boiling water over them to rinse them off. Then I just shake the collander to get the extra water off.

Does that one-step sanitizer you're using have a lot of Oxygen in it ? You know like Oxy-Clean or something ? Maybe you might want to avoid using that on your caps because its pretty likely the oxygen contributes to your rust.
 
I use the O2 absorbing caps from AHS with star san and haven't had any rust. I have left them in there for about 1/2 at times. I would think the caps are the same you should try some star san. I use the bottling tree with the vinator and just leave the caps in the vinator bowl while I sanitize my bottles. I take them out 10 at a time and put them in a sanitized bowl.
 
Sweet... thanks for all the info. guys... I'll probably play around with both pouring boiling water over them or using a different sanitizer and see what happens.
 
You may want to sanitize them in a solution then lay them flat on a papertowel and cover them with another papertowel then use them as needed.

I have done this for years this way and have had no issues.

- WW
 
wanagohueco said:
Interesting... do you know what the reason is for not getting them wet?

the oxygen-absorbing caps have a chemical in the lid that is activated when wet. I've seen it said a few times that you should never boil them, at the risk of ruining the chemical, thus making them no better than standard bottle caps. I've seen some places say that you should use sanitizer, and some say you should just use them as-is. I suppose if you used them without sanitizing you'd want to tilt the bottles after capping to wet the lids...

Personally if I used the O2-absorbing caps I think I'd sanitize in starsan, but do it IMMEDIATELY before bottling, so they were only wet for a few minutes.
 
"Campden is a safe, no-rinse sanitizer that will not destroy the preserving capabilities of oxygen-absorbing bottle caps"
 
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