Plastic Better Bottles for aging???

[ZeroLife]

Any experience with using Better Bottles for bulk aging??? Or for anything else? Using plastic for long term use seems dangerous to me. Also, I would like to store full carboys on their sides on racks. Will a standard rubber stopper hold well enough to maintain a proper seal?
Thank you in advance!
Neal

 

[mac21]

I use a better bottle for my wine kits but to be honest I wouldn't let them sit too long in plastic as it is permeable. It will simply allow air to seep through the plastic walls. How long are you panning on aging them in the plastic? I would prob try and keep it fewer than a month or two.

I'm not sure about placing it on it's side either unless you have a creative way of holding the stopper in place. It might be better to buy some of that utility shelving and store your carboys on their to conserve space.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

Plastic better bottles are permeable, but you let more air in by opening the stopper up to take a sample. So the permeability factor is rather negligible.

As far as storing them sideways, I wouldn't without some kind of very secure fastening the stopper in. and even then, if there were to be any renewed fermentation it may rupture and you'll find a closet/ storage area full of fruit flies and mead.

Like Mac says, build something to store them up right. They take up the same volume of space sideways or upright.

 

[ZeroLife]

The plan is to bulk age 6 to 12 months. It's mead, would like to age it until it's wonderful! An oak barrel has to be more permeable to oxygen than plastic. Oxidation and exposure is not my worry. It's picking up off flavors from the plastic.
The desire to store them horizontally is due to my lack of vertical space. I can build a rack to the ceiling and store twice as many carboys if I can lay them down. Would have to fashion some sort of harness for the stoppers.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

You also need away for CO2 to escape in the case of renewed ferment. Even a few points can cause a problem. Also if you plan on stacking them directly on top of eachother, that will add even greater pressure on the lower better bottles.

As far as flavor imparting, no, they shouldn't. It is inert food grade plastic and won't leach any flavors or chemicals. As far as your mead being in direct contact with a stopper? That I don't know.

 

[passedpawn]

The plan is to bulk age 6 to 12 months. It's mead, would like to age it until it's wonderful! An oak barrel has to be more permeable to oxygen than plastic. Oxidation and exposure is not my worry. It's picking up off flavors from the plastic.
The desire to store them horizontally is due to my lack of vertical space. I can build a rack to the ceiling and store twice as many carboys if I can lay them down. Would have to fashion some sort of harness for the stoppers.

There is no danger or flavor effect from the plastic in Better Bottles. Note that the same plastic is used for bottled water.

But why take my word for it? Go to the following page and use the tabs on the LEFT side of the page to research permeability, safety, and flavor scalping of PET plastic used in Better Bottles.

http://www.better-bottle.com/technical.html

 

[ZeroLife]

Didn't think about the stopper...
Thank you for the information!