Shelf - Life / Re-Usability of Swing-Top 1 Litre Bottles?

I picked up a 12 pack of swing-top 1 litre bottles today at my LHBS. They were $36 for 12 of them.

My GF loves my Saison and Blackberry wheat beers but only comes over on the weekends so I figured I'd give her 6 or so bottles during the week to enjoy by filling off my Beer Gun and she'd enjoy them.

So, imagining planning 6 per week *total of 12* every week, how long can I expect the swing top mechanism to last?

Also, is it easy to buy the replacement "swings"?

Finally, if I bottle a barleywine with these, can I expect to open these a year from now and get solid carbonation / no oxidation from them or should I go ahead and hand wax the bottles I expect to sit on for a while?

Or should I just use these for GF / friends who want my home brew and plan on opening the bottles in a reasonable amount of time (like 2-4 weeks after I bottle them)?

Thanks!

Sorry, I'm just not a swing-top expert.

I bought 3 cases of these from someone on a local classified website for dirt cheap about 2 years ago. I haven't had any problems with them keeping their seal. When I bottle condition I soak the entire closing mechanism with seals in stars an before sealing and they have always worked great. I change the rubber gaskets every 2 or 3 batches, they are cheaper than spoiling a batch of beer.

If you don't abuse them, the bottles and stoppers should last forever. Think antiques roadshow 3048.

The rubber gaskets on them do wear out, and replacements are cheap. Some people recommend taking the gasket off and flipping it over between uses, which would at least allow you to inspect the gasket and see if it is still good.

TimpanogosSlim said:

Some people recommend taking the gasket off and flipping it over between uses, which would at least allow you to inspect the gasket and see if it is still good.

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I might have to give this a shot. Thanks for the tip.

I have a ton of gaskets on standby but even after ten uses, they are all working perfect ( I own about 5 cases). I also found the replacement gaskets pretty poor and not the same as the ones that come with the original swing tops if that helps

They definitely last a long time. I have bottles that are 2-3 years old and they still have the original gaskets. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

My cousin brought back many wooden cases of bottles from Germany 20years ago.

Put them in his attic and and they sat there for 15... He then gave them to me ten years ago and I bought new "rubbers" for them.

I have yet to have one fail...

Sorry really does not answer you question but that's what I know...

DPB

They'll last a long time and the tops and seals are both readily available and cheap if you ever need a replacement.

The one question I have is this: Are you guys bottle conditioning in these? Are they pressure rated? I've used them as smaller sized growlers and little else for the most part, but if they're pressure rated I might try to bottle condition in them!

jbaysurfer said:

Are you guys bottle conditioning in these? Are they pressure rated? I've used them as smaller sized growlers and little else for the most part, but if they're pressure rated I might try to bottle condition in them!

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I'm filling them for friends off my already carbonated kegs using a Beer gun. So no more carbonation should be needed once I fill it.

jbaysurfer said:

They'll last a long time and the tops and seals are both readily available and cheap if you ever need a replacement.

The one question I have is this: Are you guys bottle conditioning in these? Are they pressure rated? I've used them as smaller sized growlers and little else for the most part, but if they're pressure rated I might try to bottle condition in them!

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I'm under the impression that new swingtops sold by homebrew supplies are rated for bottle conditioning.

My swingtops are all used bottles, mostly Grolsch but also various other eurobeers. I'm given to understand that Grolsch bottles are Very Strong.

I also have a 1L swingtop i picked up at a thrift store that is clear glass with a citrus themed pattern on the side. That one i will use as a growler for hard cider and skeeter pee.

It should also be pointed out that if a swingtop seems excessively loose, you can bend the bales until they are tight again. I wish i had some more informative advice on just how best to do that though.

jbaysurfer said:

They'll last a long time and the tops and seals are both readily available and cheap if you ever need a replacement.

The one question I have is this: Are you guys bottle conditioning in these? Are they pressure rated? I've used them as smaller sized growlers and little else for the most part, but if they're pressure rated I might try to bottle condition in them!

Click to expand...

They're fine for bottle conditioning.

Been using my swing top Grolsch, Fischer, and misc. German bottles for around a decade now with no problems.
The rubber gaskets rarely need replacing.
Just clean them immediately after each use, air dry upside down, store, sanitize and re-use.

Grolsch may not be the best beer around, but I still don't understand why you'd pay a LHBS good coin for empty bottles when a 4-pack is $9.00 at the bottle shop.

Just one little tip I found out the hard way. Dont soak them in bleach or it will rust the swing mechanism. Luckily someone took pity on me and gave me a few free replacements for the ones I ruined lol