5 gal. plastic water jug as secondary fermenter...good, or bad?

I was wondering if fermenting cider in one of those 5 gal. plastic water jugs, used in water coolers, will let oxygen diffuse through the plastic and into the cider, resulting in vinager?

I don't know what kind of plastic is used in those jugs, or if the thickness of the jugs themselves would prevent this from happening.

Has anyone out there had any bad, or good experiences with these jugs?

i use plastic water bottles often. not water cooler ones but 5L ones that are made out of the same stuff as regular rip-off bottled water, so far no vinegar, no plastic flavor, no problems

I would only ever use bottles that are lablet #1 and I hear that #2 is ok to use. For me it's better bottles or glass.

Thank you guys for your replies! I've been doing some more research on the internet, and it turns out that those water jugs are made with Pollycarbonate, which (according to the data I saw) can diffuse oxygen, among other gasses. The amounts may be minimal, but I would rather be safe than sorry. I will be switching to glass after this batch.

Can anyone direct me to a good source of glass jugs for carboys, and glass bottles, at a decent price. I'm trying to think of a free source of these as well.

The danger of oxygen diffusion is not turning your cider to vinegar (that is the result of another organism, Acetobacter) Oxygen can possibly oxidize your cider, though, resulting in a flat, "wet cardboard" taste.

I buy my glass locally, and can get a a 5 gallon carboy for about $25. From what I read on here, that's not especially cheap, but it's what I can find. I prefer to not use Better Bottles, as the potential for scratches (and the ensuing bacterial growth) are a major turn off.

Best of luck.

vespoli said:

I prefer to not use Better Bottles, as the potential for scratches (and the ensuing bacterial growth) are a major turn off.

Best of luck.

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agreed...especially about cleaning/bacteria. i use plastic water bottles once or twice and then recycle, glass definitely preferred but plastic easier, especially for smaller experiments

TM85 said:

Can anyone direct me to a good source of glass jugs for carboys, and glass bottles, at a decent price. I'm trying to think of a free source of these as well.

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check craigslist and other second hand websites in your area. If you find someone selling you can usually get them secondhand for $5-10 each. The downside is you have to check constantly and get lucky. At one point I got 4 carboys for $5 each on craiglist, killer deal.

This is a debate that will never be solved, at least until the FDA bans polycarbonate. #1 PETE bottles are generally considered the best. They have the lowest oxygen permeability, easiest to clean because they have very low amounts of defects. Almost anyone will say that #1 bottles are good for fermentation. Then there is everything else. #2 HDPE has higher oxygen permeability, but many people will argue that the amount is still negligible. Hoever, there are more defects (and by defects in the case of bottle internals, microscopic little crevices that are enough for bacteria and other stuff to grow) so that over time, the insides can get a little gross and retain smells. Im not sure about the exact oxygen permeability of polycarbonate, but Im pretty sure its still pretty low. It does however have low amounts of internal defects, and that was one of the original selling points of nalgene water bottles: your bottles are easy to clean, and wont hold smells. Polycarbonate's downside is the debate over BPA. Because of that, many bottle companies are phasing out the bottles, so if you look hard, you can probably get them for dirt cheap as well. They are also the most popular material for those water bottles, so you can get them for brand new for like $5-7.

I personally dont buy into the BPA scare, and oxygen permeability should only be a concern for very long fermentation/aging, so by the time its a concern, my brew will be bottled in glass bottles by then.

Everybody seems to have their own personal opinion is the take home story. I personally have a mix of both. Each have their pros and cons.

Edit-I would again state that I do not use anything other than better bottles and glass. I would not reuse water bottles unless they are labeled #1.

I've pretty much decided to just use glass in the future. This batch will have to be plastic, but the next batch I'll try to track down some 1 gal. glass jugs; those shouldn't be to hard to find.

Thanks again for everyones input, I appreciate the advice.