How many times do you reuse your bottles?

[Jay2for1]

I was wondering how many times you guys refill your standard 12oz long necks before you stop trusting their strength.I have done over 10 batches using the same bottles and I am starting to think that it may be time to replace them.I have only broken one while bottling but nothing lasts forever.What is your limit?

 

[Yellowirenut]

are theses bottles you bought new or used ones from a brewery.
Have herd the major breweries use a thinner glass bottle.

 

[madscientist451]

Just buy a case of commercial beer now and then , or ask a beer drinking friend to save some bottles, and give away the same amount to family and friends and your inventory will always rotate.

 

[campbelldm1]

I think mine tend to have a natural rotation. Whenever I buy commercial beer I save those bottles and toss some of the thinner glass that I have. I also have an excess of empties even though I have about 4 cases in bottles and two kegs that will be filled up this weekend. Maybe I should brew more...

Edit: to answer your question - I probably have bottles that have been in rotation for 3+ years.

 

[AnOldUR]

Between commercial bottles, purchased bottles and bottle swaps with friends all in the mix, it's nearly impossible to keep track of what's what. If I have 'em, I use 'em.

That said, I was bottling from a keg on Monday and a bottle shattered when I pulled down on the bench capper. Last time that happened was 3-4 year ago, so it won't change my relaxed approach to reusing bottles.

It was just sad to loose even one bottle of that beer. It was a small (1-1/2 gallon of beer in a 2-1/2 gallon keg) experimental batch that turned out great.

 

[unionrdr]

I've been reusing some of my bottles for 4 years now. Treat'em right & they last a long time.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

I don't bottle as much anymore since I started kegging, but my original 22oz bombers from 5 years ago are still working fine and I've never had an issue.
In Europe they reuse bottles almost exclusively. You get a beer and the bottle is all scuffed up because they reuse instead of recycle, and based on how gnarly some of the bottles look we're talking hundreds of times most likely.

 

[Zekk]

I don't pay attention to each bottle. I'm sure I've had some for 3+ years. Between giving them away, tossing the few that are too dirty for a quick clean and breaking one every few months its impossible to keep track. I save most commercial bottles and just try and make sure I always have enough clean and sanitized before I pull out my beer to be bottled.

 

[unionrdr]

I still use some Paulaner bottles from back when they had the bearded monks on the shoulder of them.

 

[hunter_le five]

I used the same set of 48 bottles that I bought when I first started homebrewing for several years (~4), and then one day they just started failing. About 50% would crack at the neck when I tried to open up a bottle/remove the cap.

That was the day I decided to switch to kegging.

 

[TheOrlandoGuy]

I still use some Paulaner bottles from back when they had the bearded monks on the shoulder of them.

Like a boss

 

[unionrdr]

Boss of my bottles. Ha. I just make sure not to knick the lips, rinse, scrub & rinse again before putting them on the bottle tree to dry before storage. Especially the German bottles. Paulaner, Franziskaner, Wernesgruner to name a couple. The Wernesgruner is a German pils From Aldi's for like $6.99 that's actually pretty good. Brewed since 1436, something like that. I just can't get myself to toss craft beer bottles either...

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

I honestly don't know. I have roughly 30 cases on hand at any given time. Generally if I look at it and it has gunk on the bottom, I throw it in the recycle skip. It's not worth exerting the effort to clean when I have so many in reserve. Not to mention the ones you give out, but never seem to find their way home.

I am constantly replenishing my supply with "research projects" so it seems no matter how many i toss, I always have the same amount on hand.

 

[cjgenever]

I don't even consider it. I'm not heat cycling them so why would they weaken?

 

[Beerbeque]

I've refilled many bottles dozens of times over 5 years. I've never had one fail. I think they will last forever. FWIW most are Sierra Nevada 12oz.

 

[TheOrlandoGuy]

I don't even consider it. I'm not heat cycling them so why would they weaken?

So....when I do bottle, which is rare, I do heat them up in the dish washer to sanitize. Do you really think this will play into weakening then over time?

 

[DSorenson]

I don't even consider it. I'm not heat cycling them so why would they weaken?

Pressure cycling. It gradually weakens the bottles over time. It is a normal fatigue problem. I notice it as small crevices that form along the surface that kind of look like molding imperfections. I toss them at that point, just to be safe.

 

[cjgenever]

I visually inspect every bottle in and out. I've never seen that. I don't bottle much anymore but will look for that when I do.

 

[cjgenever]

Btw, some of my bottles are ten years old

 

[Fionnbharr]

You ask the question as if there's a cycle limit to bottle use. Or that there should be a cycle limit.

That's weird.

 

[doug293cz]

My degree is in materials science. Glass does not fatigue or wear out with use. Bottle failures are due to defects or scratches. If you are worried about your bottles, inspect them for manufacturing defects, deep scratches, or nicks/chips. Discard those that are suspect. As long as you don't damage them, they will last longer than you will.

Brew on

 

[atoughram]

As many times as they'll let me?

 

[Jay2for1]

You ask the question as if there's a cycle limit to bottle use. Or that there should be a cycle limit.

That's weird.

Hi Fionnbharr,I was merely asking a simple question that may involve a bit more thought than you are capable of doing on your own.Every time you reuse a bottle you are putting stress at the weakest point of the bottle.The neck and the ring where the cap goes.I was just asking if the bottlers here on this forum had a limit on the number of times they reuse.Look up glass fatigue on Google.Regardless of what you think "NOTHING LASTS FOREVER"I really do appreciate your psychological critique of me.That will save me a bundle on a shrink.Yea I am a bit weird,but you are an absolute moron and a jerk to boot!

 

[cjgenever]

I suppose it's worth questioning what kind of capper everybody is using. I have always used and Emily capper which doesn't put the bottle into compression. It's simply locks on to the ring on the top of the bottle. I suppose some of the other campers may cause stresses over time . The only time a bottle has broken his when its been new and I found a weak spot. The weak spot is usually the neck right under the ring. It breaks when you go to remove the bottle cap in a forceful manner, like placing it on the edge of my cast iron table saw and giving it the old FONSI. I've never had a ' seasoned' bottle break and I've been doing this for a long time

 

[hunter_le five]

you are an absolute moron and a jerk to boot!

Well that escalated, and quickly to boot.

 

[Psylocide]

I'm using bottles that my Dad used 5-10 years ago with probably 40 batches through them.

Of course, I've since stocked up pretty heavy since I started saving mine. I don't think he ever had three batches bottled at once.

Thank god I'm getting my kegs next weekend.

Now I have to figure out what to do with the 36 Corona bottles he gave me... might just go in the recycle bin.

 

[Bowfisher]

All bottles are not created equal. I've had several New Belgium bottles break when I cap them, enough so I won't use them anymore. The whole top pops off right at the top of the neck. Sam Adams and Guinness bottles seem to be good to use multiple times.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, Sam Adams & the German bottles seal well & last a long time. As do craft beer bottles in general. But the wing cappers seem to put more stress on the bottles than bench cappers do. Particularly on the neck. The wing cappers also hang up on certain shorter neck bottles. The bench capper eliminates this problem. I think it's better for the bottles, having used both types of cappers.
Otherwise, as mentioned previously, taking care of your bottles & inspecting the lip area for chips or other damage will help prevent unwanted problems.

 

[msabin]

25 years ago I bought 96 Grolsch bottles from an Old-Guy who had been brewing "for some time."
A few have chipped, broken or disappeared over time, and I've supplemented with bottles of all sorts since, but I'm still using them.

Best 5$ I've spent on brewing supplies!

 

[glenn514]

I seem to have an overabundance of bottles. At the rate that I drink my beers [usually one a day at dinner], I also have an ample pipeline. So, this thread has tickled my thoughts to perhaps use some of the bottles at the BOTTOM of my supply stack for my next brew, rather than constantly reusing the same seven cases. Thanks, all, for tickling my thoughts!

glenn514

 

[hunter_le five]

I suppose it's worth questioning what kind of capper everybody is using.

That's a good question.

I used a wing capper back when I bottled. I suspect it may have had something to do with the bottle failures I experienced. And perhaps I used too much downward pressure in my capping technique.

 

[jimjohson]

Till they break. I use a bench top capper(super agata), to reduce strain on the neck. I bottle 24(12oz) and keg the rest.

 

[kh54s10]

I suspect that a large percentage of bottle failures are due to damaged cappers. This has been the case in many threads. The problem disappears when they get a new capper.

I never thought about the cycle life of a bottle, but I have never had one fail either.

I now keg so my several hundred bottles should not get worked too heavily.

As has been mentioned, check the bottles carefully, at least periodically, and recycle any suspect ones.

 

[TheOrlandoGuy]

Hi Fionnbharr,I was merely asking a simple question that may involve a bit more thought than you are capable of doing on your own.Every time you reuse a bottle you are putting stress at the weakest point of the bottle.The neck and the ring where the cap goes.I was just asking if the bottlers here on this forum had a limit on the number of times they reuse.Look up glass fatigue on Google.Regardless of what you think "NOTHING LASTS FOREVER"I really do appreciate your psychological critique of me.That will save me a bundle on a shrink.Yea I am a bit weird,but you are an absolute moron and a jerk to boot!

Jesus man, relax.

 

[bobeer]

i just use em till they break or if they get dried out, caked gross stuff in the bottom of them. Bottles are easy enough to get so I'm not going to waste time trying to clean one out if it's nasty.

I use one of those orange wing cappers. I've broken a few necks with it but not that many when you count how many bottles I've capped successfully with it.

 

[Zekk]

I will add that I use a wing capper. The bottles that I've had break the most with this capper is Anchor teardrop. Seems like the neck is a little weaker since that where they break. No science just my experience.

 

[unionrdr]

After having trouble with short-neck bottles with the red baron wing capper, not to mention the bell wearing out, I got my super agata bench capper. No more worries, just adjust the height of the capper to the bottle & go for it.

 

[DSorenson]

My degree is in materials science. Glass does not fatigue or wear out with use. Bottle failures are due to defects or scratches. If you are worried about your bottles, inspect them for manufacturing defects, deep scratches, or nicks/chips. Discard those that are suspect. As long as you don't damage them, they will last longer than you will.

Brew on

With all due respect to you and your education, one of the first things I was taught in "Strengths of Materials" was that all materials lose structural integrity with fatigue.

Let's assume for a bit that I misunderstood my professor and he was speaking strictly of metals, but if that were the case why would glass be so different?

I speak only from experience that I've had bottles stretch. I over-carbonated a stout and the bottles expediently showed signs of damage like some of my more used bottles.

Let's not forget the legal bit imprinted on so many glass bottles "one time use only": I ignore it because I understand it's over-cautious, but fatigue is a real problem.

Again, I have much respect for your materials science background: I just have to argue so that 1) I get this cleared up or 2) I learn something I didn't know.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I only use mine once. That's mostly because I open my beers like I'm cracking an egg.

 

[unionrdr]

But you also have to remember that metals & glass have a different structure & the stress/fatigue on them are different. Glass having a crystalline structure is a bit more durable in this instance than metal would be. Metal changes more easily to heat & cold tempering, however slight the effect may be over the course of time. As I stated previously, take good care of the bottles & don't chip them, etc. They'll last for years with no ill effects.