Crack in Better Bottle

[Nagorg]

I've read about this before and hoped it wouldn't happen to me but it did. I have a crack in the bottom of one of my Better Bottles. Unfortunately I didn't notice until this morning when checking on what I brewed yesterday. I had a pool of wort in the bottom of my fermentation chamber.

The good news is that I only lost about 3/4 of a gallon and was able to transfer it into another Better Bottle. Hopefully that beer will turn out okay; it had started building krausen as I just pitched yeast last night.

Until now, I loved my Better Bottles other than finding them stubborn to clean sometimes. Now, I think I will be looking for alternatives. Not sure I want to buy another one.

So if you are out there considering a Better Bottle, just know that they are generally great fermentation vessels but they can and do crack.

 

[mr_samsonite]

Yup. Mine cracked the other day while I was cleaning it in the utility sink. Guess there is no magic fermentation vessel. They all have their cracks...I mean faults.

A SS Brew Bucket is looking better and better. Don't think they'll fit in the mini fridge though.

 

[d3track]

Both of mine did the same

 

[Hello]

Do you use real hot water to clean them? Do you let PBW sit in them for hours on end?

It sucks, but I wonder why they're cracking.

 

[Nagorg]

I dont use hot water but I have filled it with water and added PBW so that the stubborn kraussen would come off. Sometimes swirling a washcloth around in a little PBW solution does the trick but more often it seemed like the kraussen became more and more resilient and needed a soak.

Yes, I've read that can cause the cracking but what a shame. Not sure how else to clean them good. Yes, the Brew Bucket's look good but they are pretty spendy. Might try some cheap SS kettles or the sort. Need something closer to 11" in diameter ideally so that I can have two side by side in my fermenchamber.

 

[d3track]

Yeah, I use a carboy/keg washer, so not sure why they are but I won't be purchasing again. Just going to stick with glass and maybe some buckets...

 

[raysmithtx]

I went from Better Bottle to Spiedel fermenters. They are certainly an upgrade in my opinion. Easy to clean. The only downside from my perspective is that they are wider in diameter than BB's so I can't get two in my ferm chamber at the same time.

 

[kh54s10]

I use Better Bottles. I have at least 6 of them. My LHBS says they are presently having problems with the molds. I have had no cracks in 4 years of brewing with them. Granted, they are not all 4 years old... If I hear they have solved the problems and any of mine crack I will be buying new ones....

 

[govner1]

I use Better Bottles. I have at least 6 of them. My LHBS says they are presently having problems with the molds. I have had no cracks in 4 years of brewing with them. Granted, they are not all 4 years old... If I hear they have solved the problems and any of mine crack I will be buying new ones....

^^^This- my experience has been the same. I have a total of 10 between 5,6,& 3 gal.
Easy to clean & if a replacement is needed certainly less expensive than SS or other plastic options.

 

[Nagorg]

^^^This- my experience has been the same. I have a total of 10 between 5,6,& 3 gal.
Easy to clean & if a replacement is needed certainly less expensive than SS or other plastic options.

Can't help but wonder if your opinion would change if you did get a Crack and lost wort. (And big mess to clean...)

 

[masonsjax]

I've got a lot of better bottles and other knockoff PET bottles. Never had a crack in about 10 years of using them. I follow the manufacturer recommendation to never tip them to the side, but to lift straight up when moving them.

I have also never had a problem getting them clean. I put a small amount of Oxiclean and water inside, shake well, cap the lid and invert it so the krausen is submerged. A few hours later a nice shake, swirl, and rinse makes it look good as new.

 

[Nagorg]

I have also never had a problem getting them clean. I put a small amount of Oxiclean and water inside, shake well, cap the lid and invert it so the krausen is submerged. A few hours later a nice shake, swirl, and rinse makes it look good as new.

And that is about the extent of my PBW soak; a few hours for times when the krausen is being stubborn. So, a crack developed. Maybe I got a bad one. It only takes one bad seed to ruin the lot.

While I'd like to find the right SS fermenter, if I were to do PET again I think I'd try the PET Big Mouth Bubbler. Looks like their 6.5 gallon ones are sold out though... I'd go that route because of the large opening that would let me get a sponge inside for cleaning instead of having to do a soak.

 

[govner1]

Can't help but wonder if your opinion would change if you did get a Crack and lost wort. (And big mess to clean...)

Not really! After four years of use I've certainly gotten my money's worth.

I do check everything before use as best I can but accept that any routinely used piece of equipment can/will fail at some point and I average 2 brews (4 carboys) per month.

You get leaks in your car, mower, & any other mechanized or non mechanized equipment.
At least you didn't have a glass carboy crack or shatter losing all your wort or worse!

 

[Nagorg]

LOL Guess it's not as much about getting your money's worth as it is about the ability to rely on a seemingly simple (non-mechanical) piece of equipment to do it's job.

 

[rupert130]

Plastic 6.5 gallon Big Mouth Bubblers have been doing the trick for me. Their narrow profile lets me fit 2 in the ferm chamber at once.

 

[max384]

Can't help but wonder if your opinion would change if you did get a Crack and lost wort. (And big mess to clean...)

For the price, they really can't be beat. They're definitely better than glass (both in frequency of breaks, and damage done by a break), and the price compared to stainless steel is so drastically different that they really can't be directly compared.

 

[72hw]

FWIW - I tried the rag thing to get stubborn gunk off the inside of my BBs and other PET fermenters, but this soft foam 'brush' intended to clean wine decanters saves me the extended Oxy soak. Won't scratch plastic as all the 'bristles' are foam fingers. No exposed metal either...

Highly recommended!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AV0SR/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Nagorg]

Well... Not off to a good start with the Big Mouth Bubbler that just arrived today. Glad I inspected it before transferring into it for a dry hop!

Reaching out to Midwest Supplies now; hopefully they will take care of this quickly!

 

[Toblerone]

Wow, this post will be resurrecting an old thread!

I have used Better Bottles for 9 years.

I would often leave them filled with PBW / warm water for many days (until I get around to rinsing and storing them).
I have successfully used low pressure CO2 with them for beer transfers (in the past).
I have also used them for cold conditioning/aging beers.

Just recently, the Better Bottles are starting to develop cracks on their bases. One developed a very slow leak about a month or so ago (the start of these crack issues). Just this past week, I noticed that there is a crack in a second bottle - it has not cracked completely through yet, but was worrisome enough for me to retire the fermenter immediately.

Not sure if the cause of this cracking is completely related to PBW use. Cold temperatures could have amplified the problem (since the old chest freezer I use as a fermentation chamber will cool the air below freezing from time-to-time, until the liquid temperature cools to the correct setpoint.)

That being said: these vessels don't owe me a cent - 9 years is a pretty good life for a plastic vessel.

I did love the Better Bottles, but they are being replaced by Fermonsters, since I can get my arm right down to the bottom of them -> this will significantly reduce the amount of PBW (and soak time) needed for cleaning. Yes, Fermonster apparently have their own concerns, but nothing that seems like a deal breaker. (They are also much easier to acquire.)

Plastic rules (with my current fermentation chamber setup). A full fermenter of beer is quite manageable to lift out of a deep freezer when it is housed in plastic (which weighs next-to-nothing).

Stainless is shiny, but it's not always the best choice. It's hard to justify spending 5x the cost, increasing the weight I need to lift, and increasing the complexity of my cleaning operations. (I have owned a large SS conical in the past. Not worth it, unless you are dealing with huge volumes.)

Cheers!

 

[govner1]

I've read about this before and hoped it wouldn't happen to me but it did. I have a crack in the bottom of one of my Better Bottles. Unfortunately I didn't notice until this morning when checking on what I brewed yesterday. I had a pool of wort in the bottom of my fermentation chamber.

The good news is that I only lost about 3/4 of a gallon and was able to transfer it into another Better Bottle. Hopefully that beer will turn out okay; it had started building krausen as I just pitched yeast last night.

Until now, I loved my Better Bottles other than finding them stubborn to clean sometimes. Now, I think I will be looking for alternatives. Not sure I want to buy another one.

So if you are out there considering a Better Bottle, just know that they are generally great fermentation vessels but they can and do crack.

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View attachment 280242

I have 5 each of 5g, 6g, & 3g Better Bottles with over ten years of use. I haven’t had a crack yet and I find Mr them easy to clean with B-Brite in almost every circumstance.
It’s too bad they’re out of business!

 

[passedpawn]

I retired 6 of them several years ago. Big mouth bubblers (Northern Brewer) replaced them.

 

[Toblerone]

I agree - too bad Better Bottles is out of business. (I am surprised that their website is still up and running. Visiting it feels like hopping into a wayback machine, set to 1998.)

I really believe that the cold conditioning time is what ultimately led to the big cracks in the bottom of mine.