Cracked bottom of plastic better bottle...fix?

somehow it cracked on the bottom whey it curves up. its not to felxible here and i musat done something to it when cleaning it out from my last brew. is there a way to seal this up, some kind of sealant that would be safe if it came in contact with fermenting beer.

thanks

You could look into a plastic welding kit, I believe they use hot air instead of flame...but that would likely be more expensive than buying a new BB. Maybe search for food safe epoxy.

Seriously, would you really want to risk 5 gallons of beer on a patch job?

Just be thankful it was plastic that broke and not glass. I'd get another and not mess with it.

silicone...its nontoxic and wont leach any chemicals up to like 600 degrees. I used to grow bacteria and protists and yeast with silicone in the microcosms and there growth was not affected by the presence of silicone.

Revvy said:

Seriously, would you really want to risk 5 gallons of beer on a patch job?

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im building a mash tun this weekend and want to brew on the mobday holiday. unfortunalty i don't think and of the lhbs carry better bottles so i can't get one right away and don't want to get a bucket. ill try the siclicone and test with water before i brew and maybee just a one time fix till i can order another one online.

We're extra worried about minor scratches in plastic harboring nasties and you'll be OK with a huge canyon of a scratch? Recycling bin..

Bobby_M said:

We're extra worried about minor scratches in plastic harboring nasties and you'll be OK with a huge canyon of a scratch? Recycling bin..

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I was thinking more cutting the bottom off and using it as a hopper for a grain mill.

contact better bottle and see if they can replace it

Revvy said:

I was thinking more cutting the bottom off and using it as a hopper for a grain mill.

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Thats pretty cool!

I agree, as far as fermenting goes, that BB is done. You won't die if you don't brew on Monday, but you may get an infected batch if you try to patch the crack.

I don't know of a way to fix it, but I do know that BB recommends on their web site to use a tennis ball under the center if you swirl the bottle to aerate the wort. They say that tilting the BB on edge will stress the bottom, leading to the possibility of a crack.

http://www.better-bottle.com/products_master.html
Select "How-To Tips" under "Product Information" and scroll down

didnt know about the tennis ball method.

i found a lhbs that carries them and will pick another one up.

DeafSmith said:

I don't know of a way to fix it, but I do know that BB recommends on their web site to use a tennis ball under the center if you swirl the bottle to aerate the wort. They say that tilting the BB on edge will stress the bottom, leading to the possibility of a crack.

http://www.better-bottle.com/products_master.html
Select "How-To Tips" under "Product Information" and scroll down

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I put a baggie and rubber band over the top, then lay it on it's side and roll the hell out of it on my pingpong table. Works great.

+1 for glass!

Personally I would buy a new carboy... I wouldn't want to risk losing 5 gallons of beer because of a failed patch job.

But if you do want to try and fix it, buy a tube of DAP Aquarium sealant. It for sure food safe (after it is dry)

That can happen when you have the full weight of a filled Better Bottle supported by the bottom edge only. I now always use a folded towel underneath to redistribute the weight over a larger area, and haven't had any issues with my other Better Bottles since then.

I got a free replacement for mine from the store I bought mine from when this happened.