Water jugs as carboys?

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Chance9768

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Location
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I have access to 5 gallon watter jugs that are used in watter coolers. Has anyone ever used these as carboys? These are made of blue not clear plastic.

Does the plastic leave a taste behind in the mead?

I know glass is best but hey these babies are free.
 
BK, why don't you tell him how you really feel?

Chance9768, it's really not a great idea. Oxygen permeable as well as leaching chemicals.

Don't forget to ask BigKahuna how long you should boil your honey. :D
 
Well Chance,
I realise I'm probably on a loser here, but I have 19 of these things I'm using as fermenters presently. All code 7, no less, which some quarters would pass off as the greatest crime possible.
For every argument against them, there's a counter to read on the net.
It's all a matter of what you can afford and what is available. Glass doesn't do either for me.
In 12 months I certainly haven't detected any off-flavours in my brews. There are a couple of things I wouldn't do though; put boiling water near them or use them for high alcohol (above 20%) storage/brewing. I'm getting a still underway and these things won't figure there at all other then as an after primary fermenter. I find them great for secondary and aging, cleaning's a breeze.
I doubt if I'm on my pat malone here, others just aren't putting up their hand.
 
Doubt it BK.
The cirrhosis will beat the blindness.........



There are no #1 bottle/carboy vessels available down here.
Better Bottles are pretty well unheard of. Sad but true.:(
 
I think what BK was implying was that if you used the search function you would have found 10,000 threads on the topic already...Not that you can't use them...

Because as long as the plastic code on the bottom is a 1 or a 2 you can...and many including myself do...

Most of the arguments against were made moot the minute that many water bottle manufacturers began last year to replace their <7> bottles with others, because of the bisophenol scare...Especially since MANY OF THE BOTTLED WATER SELLERS ARE SUBCONTRACTING WITH BETTER BOTTLE and other similar manufacturers to make the bottles for them.

Some of the purified water dealers now even say they use the better bottle, or even use the BB symbol on their labels, and many more companies are making bottle similar to the BB, that are just as acceptable for brewing.

In fact someone here recently bought a "better bottle" and it has a "use for water only" etching on the bottom of the bottle...yet it was the same as the other better bottle he bought...so obviously one of the water bottle better bottles got switched on the line.

Not to mention the fact that the whole "oxygen permeability" argument was probably created by the glass bottle/carboy industry when plastics were first introduced in the 60's anyway....Whether or not it was true to begin with...That was then, and things have changed, especially in the last 2-3 years (even commercial macro beers are appearing on the market in plastic bottles...you think a BMC company would risk multimillions of dollars on plastic if it would ruin their beer.)

And besides, if your beer/wine/mead is fermenting it's got a blanket of co2 wrapped around it, it is going to prevent oxygen from getting in any way....

People who dismiss plastics nowadays out of hand, need to read some stuff written about water bottles in the last couple of years...like I said, times have changed.

And besides with glass carboys tripeling in price...using water bottles is a viable alternative.
 
My God! Can you imagine what's going to happen to Revvy's post count if he's going to have to start translating all of my posts too?

TXBREW...We're gonna need more digits on the post counter!
 
I dunno man, what's worse him at 550 a month or you at like 520 a month. You both are post whores haha (it's not always a bad thing!)
 
My God! Can you imagine what's going to happen to Revvy's post count if he's going to have to start translating all of my posts too?

But I still haven't figured out if I'm understanding "Kahuna" or some bastardized version of "Coloradahawaiian." :fro:

I dunno man, what's worse him at 550 a month or you at like 520 a month. You both are post whores haha (it's not always a bad thing!)

And your knowledge base as a brewer has improved immensely because of our whorish natures....And you still haven't bought us lifetime memberships, sent us beers or named your first or next borns after us either you ungrateful sos and sos... :D


Oh and by the way, I have 3, 3 gallon water jugs that I use for small batches...2 of the 3 are <7>'s...I'm more worried about my beergut than I am about manboobs...and like Pete said, The cirrhosis will beat any of those other things. :D
 
Hey, I'm still sitting on base membership too, no one gets presents from me that I can't afford for myself haha (Excluding of course SWMBO to keep the peace)
 
I guess I don't have a chance at someone buying me a membership with a measly 450 posts :(

That's simply not true.
You never know when you catch some wealthy person and really help them out. There are plenty of nice people out there....and some of them have a few extra bucks that they'd like to give to say thanks.
 
Man, I really gotta start sucking up to the potentially wealthy! haha, just kidding. School and living expenses take away most of my hobby cash, so when that balances out, I'll go ahead and buy my own way.
 
Man, I really gotta start sucking up to the potentially wealthy! haha, just kidding. School and living expenses take away most of my hobby cash, so when that balances out, I'll go ahead and buy my own way.

When you get that good Degree job...>Remember the little ( Or Huge and fat) people that you knew way back when.
 
Haha, will do Kahuna, will do. If you're ever lost in the midwest, I could use my "degree money" (quotes for hypothetical non-existant money) to buy you a brew.
 
Yeah we did haha. Oh and Revvy a bit too, team effort.

And if I am shelling out for two lifetime memberships, be prepared to see me drink a lot.
 
So, my roommate got a Culligan subscription so he's getting all these plastic carboys to compete with mine (ha! As if he could possibly beat me in the carboy numbers game!) You think he'd be mad if I popped my 12% apfelwein carboy into the water dispenser?
 
It's all a matter of what you can afford and what is available.

I agree with this. I'm new to mead making, but until I can afford carboys, hydrometers, racking canes, etc... I'm just gonna be happy that mead making is an accessible hobby. um... that tastes good! :drunk:
 
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