carbing problems

[BoatmanTom]

I bought conditioning tablets from my local home brew store and can't seem to get them to work properly. Currently, I am using twelve ounce pepsi plastic bottles with screw on lids. The bottles firm up after about ten hours. I stove top pasteurized them and within a few hours the carbonization is gone. The reason I'm using plastic bottles is to prevent bottle bombs with glass ones. What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance for any help.

Tom

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

I've never used plastic bottles, but my guess it that the bottles are the cause of the problem. Wouldn't pasteurization temps deform the bottles (or caps) causing it to lose the CO2?

 

[RugenBrau]

just a guess but I would think that the pastuerization temps might cause a slow leak in the seal between the bottles and caps

 

[UpstateMike]

Currently, I am using twelve ounce pepsi plastic bottles with screw on lids.

New caps, or old? If old, they may not be sealing properly.

 

[JoshuaW]

Since you are pasteurizing already, just use glass bottles. Make sure they dont get over carb'd by checking them regularly. I am assuming that you are losing your seal in the pasteurizing, do you see little bubbles leaking from the cap?

 

[Jacob_Marley]

The bottles will firm up faster than the full carbonating occurs. Let them sit longer and fully ferment, or at least open one or two to make sure the level of carbonation is sufficient prior to pasteurizing.
And yup. I'd just use glass ... the plastic may not stand up to the heat.

 

[mdpolakow]

If you are only giving it 10 hours I don't think that you are giving the gas enough time to be adsorbed into the liquid. The bottle getting firm means that the gas is on the gas side. I would suspect letting them sit longer would be a big help.