Thanks everyone for weighing in on this topic. I wasn't expecting such a contentious debate, but I learned a lot from everyone's viewpoint.
Part of the reason that I asked this question is that this will in fact be my first batch of home brew, so my concerns about the time it takes to sanitize so many bottles may be misplaced.
The vinator does look like a great solution, but I want to wait until I try a few batches before I get too crazy with equipment.
I was considering just filling my (clean) primary fermenter bucket with a water/sanitizer solution, and batch soaking the bottles for a minute, then transferring to a sanitized dishwasher rack as the last poster suggested. Any reason this wouldn't work?
My local supply shop gave me a sanitizer called 1step, but I haven't seen that mentioned here. Anyone know if this product is adequate?
Lastly, I was hoping to recycle some comercially bewed beer bottles that I have been collecting as I empty them of their contents (so far the best part of this process, haha). I was planning on removing the labels, and cleaning them thoroughly. This would obviously save me the expense of buying a bunch of empties. Is this an acceptable solution, or am I setting myself up for trouble?
Sorry for the multiple questions here, but again I'm new at this and just want to make sure I don't have wasted effort on the first attempt.
Thanks again for the responses.
First off, Onestep is not TECHNICALLY a sanitizer according to the FDA, it really skirts the line between cleaner and sanitizer, and I highly recommend people use one of the two fda approved no rinse, wet contact sanitizers, approved for brewing. Starsan or Iodophor. I think onestep is the least adequate of them all.
I go into great deal of detail about onestep, starsan and iodophor, here, as well as provide lots of tips for using sanitizers properly. I also recommed that as soon as they finish the onestep they get a "real" sanitizer like the afore mentioned.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/sanitizer-question-54932/
Plenty of us recycle bottles, either getting them from the recycling center, empty for a liquor store/ bar, or the preffered method; Buying them full and emptying them ourselves. We call it "style research".
Oxyclean is the best thing to both remove labels as well as removing any ciggarette butts, mold or just dried beer in the bottom of the bottles.
I can't recommend enough that you NOT forgoe the vinator, get it immediately, and roll it into your bottling process, and use the tips that I outlined in my Bottling tips thread
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/revvys-tips-bottler-first-time-otherwise-94812/
You will see that I get my batch bottled from sanitizing to capping in 45 minutes, top. (not including cleanup after) But from taking the gravity to putting the bottle cases in my closet.
I did the dunk and pour out method for the first few batches, there's nothing wrong wit that at all, but you will find the the vinator is much easier and less time consuming.
By using a no rinse, wet contact sanitizer, as part of the bottling process there is a barrier of sanitize between the glass of the bottle and the beer, any micro-organism that would land inside the bottles would be killed on contact. If you let the sanitizer dry, or employ any other methods like the dry heat methods, you don't have any AFTER SANITIZATION PROTECTION....anything that touches the surface after can render all your beautiful sanitization null and void.
I'm not convinced, using the oven/dishwasher methods mentioned, works as well as people think, and is not environmentally sound, either- Especially dishwasher, since the recommendation is that you run a cycle once to clear out any soap residue before adding bottles since soap residue can kill head retention, nor do I believe in sanitizing ahead and bottling later.
Listen, you got some ****ty advice on this thread....It's you first batch, if you want to INSURE that you won't infect your beer, DON'T NEGLECT or CUT CORNERS WITH YOUR SANITIZATION.....you can when you get more experience find little ways to make you brewing processes smoother, but NEVER cut corners on your sanitization regimene.
I tell people not to WORRY about their beer automatically being infections, but one of the ways you remove that worry, is by cutting down the ODDS of it happenning, and you do that by paying attention to sanitization.
You can read and listen to this post, you will see although I tell people it is hard to ruin your beer, there IS the possibility of infections lurking...it's pretty common, and that's why we protect ourselves.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/has-anyone-ever-messed-up-batch-96644/#post1050480
Good luck....and watch out for the bad advice.