Old flip-tops ok?

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I just acquired ~70 used flip tops. Most are in pretty good shape. At least a third are old ,5l German bottles. The wire baskets for some have varying degrees of patina and rust. I assume they're fine since they'll be thoroughly sanitized and the beer doesn't touch the wire. However I figure I'd put it out there and see what you all think. At what point do you all decide a bottle has reached retirement?
 
Nice haul! I'm envious. If it were me, I'd replace the o-rings on all of the bottles on day 1. They don't cost much and you can't be confident that you will get consistently good seals if you are using old ones.

I'm cheap. I retire bottles when they break, and no sooner. You will probably get a variety of opinions on that, however.
 
Thanks. The guy I bought from kinda runs a shop out of his house. I bought some 16oz new ones from him before ($1 a piece) and was expecting used ones like that so I'm quite pleased. I figured they'd be fine really. These I got cheaper and he threw in a bunch of extra seals but I suspect those aren't all new. Sure beats capping.
 
I agree with Sadro, awesome find!! Definitely replace the rubber seals and they should be good to go!
 
I wouldnt retire them. They're vintage :) The wire baskets can easily be replaced and are cheap. Go to any LHBS and they'll know what exactly you need. Look online and you'll be able to figure it out. Also, older flip tops are usually ceramic where newer ones are plain plastic. Just replace the baskets if you think they need it. Ceramic is sturdier too. You got a good find.
 

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