5 Gallon Water Bottle for Secondary

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GEARS

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Can you use a 5 gallon blue RV water bottle for your secondary fermenter like the ones on ebay instead of the better bottles. The RV bottles are less expensive.
 
Potentially yes. Take a look at this thread for a discussion of the different plastics used in water bottles. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/culligan-water-bottle-57828/

Edit: However I would personally recommend spending the extra money on the better bottle or skip the secondary all-together. Look around th forum and you'll find quite a bit of information on ways to bypass the secondary. (If you are dry-hopping, adding fruit, or other items, you'll still want to do a secondary.)
 
I bought a better bottle and am using it as my primary for my Honey Oatmeal Blueberry Stout right now. I have not had to clean it yet, I have sanitized it only. my two other carboys are glass and they clean up really well. I am not sure how long you been brewing, but so far I am on my fourth batch and I can say glass seems to be the way to go. It is more expensive, but I know that my 6.5 gallon glass carboy will last for just about ever, heaven forbid it break. I have been told that if you get one good gash in plastic in becomes a night club for bacteria, I didnt really care when I bought my better bottle, but it was something that I took into consideration. Plus better bottle put the Mexican bottle plant out of business, which some might think that could cause people from Mexico to look for work here, but whatever. More the merrier, right? LOL Better bottles for a worse world... J/K. Sorry if I am off topic!
 
I wouldn't because it's built from a lower grade plastic. The plastic flavor will catch to easy. Believe me I have tried.
 
........Plus better bottle put the Mexican bottle plant out of business, which some might think that could cause people from Mexico to look for work here, but whatever. More the merrier, right? LOL Better bottles for a worse world... J/K. Sorry if I am off topic!

WRONG! Carboys are used much more frequently in Mexican households than here in the states. The limited reduction of carboy sales to Better Bottles here is insignificant. They stopped export production for other reasons.....
 
WRONG! Carboys are used much more frequently in Mexican households than here in the states. The limited reduction of carboy sales to Better Bottles here is insignificant. They stopped export production for other reasons.....

Good news for the people at the bottle plant in Mexico, bad news for the guys like myself that like to use them :( . I was misinformed and I retract that last statement. Why did they stop exporting them? I will have to inform the source that told me. Might be why he said that it was the last one in the store... and charged me an arm and a leg? its adding up now...:p
 
How about using a water bottle as a bottling bucket?

My old bottling bucket is scratched up and I have a spare water bottle in good condition. I'll just go plunk down money for a glass carboy ultimately but it was a thought.
 
Good news for the people at the bottle plant in Mexico, bad news for the guys like myself that like to use them :( . I was misinformed and I retract that last statement. Why did they stop exporting them? I will have to inform the source that told me. Might be why he said that it was the last one in the store... and charged me an arm and a leg? its adding up now...:p

I have done a little research, and I emphasize "a little". I have found numerous manufacturers of carboys (garrafones) in Mexico, one being Grupo Prez in the Mexico City/Toluca area that are still in operation and selling. I have not found any specific reason that they are not being exported.
I will be in Toluca in a couple of months visiting family and plan to check on it then, more for my curiosity than anything else.
Sorry I don't have anything more definitive to add. I can say though that I just bought my first Better Bottle last week and filled it Saturday. It is SO much easier to handle and lighter that I will keep my existing glass carboys for secondary and Apfelwine only. I won't be buying anymore glass.
 
I have a few plastic bottles from work that cost me $4 each. They are PET though, and you have to look carefully, because we actually get both kinds in.

I still ferment in a bucket for primary though. Just easier to deal with when cleaning, stirring, etc.

If I didn't have access to a ready supply of these water bottles, I'd go with the BB because they are clear, and mine are blue.

You can drill a hole near the bottom of a BB and use as a bottling bucket, or even any cheap plastic bottle, since there is not going to be enough time to allow O2 or contamination before the beer is out again.

Technically, you could also cut the neck off and open the top up a bit if you wanted to be able to get right in there. with your hands and wash with a sponge.
 
I have done a little research, and I emphasize "a little". I have found numerous manufacturers of carboys (garrafones) in Mexico, one being Grupo Prez in the Mexico City/Toluca area that are still in operation and selling. I have not found any specific reason that they are not being exported.
I will be in Toluca in a couple of months visiting family and plan to check on it then, more for my curiosity than anything else.
Sorry I don't have anything more definitive to add. I can say though that I just bought my first Better Bottle last week and filled it Saturday. It is SO much easier to handle and lighter that I will keep my existing glass carboys for secondary and Apfelwine only. I won't be buying anymore glass.

Since my original post I have cleaned my better bottle and surprisingly it was just as easy as the glass. Fill half with reasonably hot water and Oxyclean and give a few good swooshes and the top of and let it sit over night. I agree definitely lighter and somewhat easier to handle. There is something about glass, I dont know what it is, then again being a noob I only own two glass carboys. But as Revvy's Sig says they both make beer.
 
Since my original post I have cleaned my better bottle and surprisingly it was just as easy as the glass. Fill half with reasonably hot water and Oxyclean and give a few good swooshes and the top of and let it sit over night. I agree definitely lighter and somewhat easier to handle. There is something about glass, I dont know what it is, then again being a noob I only own two glass carboys. But as Revvy's Sig says they both make beer.

Yeah, stuck his post in my sig too. I agree that there is just some sort of "mentality" with feeling the need to use glass. I felt the same way until last Saturday when I filled my first BB. There has been one fear really nagging me. It is the thought of my 2 year old knocking over the carboy on the garage floor while I am brewing and falling into the pieces! That really terrifies me.
He is so active and fast, and accidents happen. Shoot, he has been to the ER 9 times in his first two years..... They even have a freakin' monogrammed coffee cup with my name on it there. (Not really, but they should)
So, all that being said, I will only buy BB or the like from now on. There just aren't any benefits to out-weigh the enormous risks, at least in my case.
 
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