heat sanitization of bottles

[Jack]

Sanitizing 50+ bottles is a real pain in the rear, so I got an idea this weekend...

Why not take clean bottles and put them in the oven?

I wondered if this wasn't done because bottles wouldn't stand up to the necessary temperatures, so I did a proof of concept experiment. I scared up five bottles from my recycling bin, rinsed them out and put them in a pan in the oven. I cranked the heat up to 350° F and left them in there for 30 minutes. Then I took them out and let them cool on the counter. I calculated that if I filled up my roast pan, I could fit almost two dozen bottles in one pan at a time.

Does anyone heat sanitize bottles? Has anyone tried it?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I've heard of this method, and it would certainly work. 350 is probably a bit warm - you could probably get away with about 225 for the same amount of time.

 

[Walker]

it can done. palmer has a chart dedicated to it on www.howtobrew.com that shows how long you need to bake them at each given temp.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter2-2-3.html

it takes a HELL of a lot longer to sanitze (actually, you are sterilizing) the bottles this way as compared to using a liquid sanitizer, but it can be done.

FYI: at the temp you used, it takes an hour. so, if you can do a case a a time, it'll take you two hours to get your bottles ready in the oven.

 

[Walker]

I've heard of this method, and it would certainly work. 350 is probably a bit warm - you could probably get away with about 225 for the same amount of time.

at 225 you need to leave the bottles in for over 12 hours.

 

[runhard]

I've tried this and had just a few crack due to cooling too quickly. Unfortunately or fortunately (made me go buy kegging equipment) I didn't notice the cracks until I was filling the bottles. I suspect that allowing the bottles to cool slowly in the oven might alleviate the problem. My $0.02; just inspect them after they have cooled a bit as I certainly didn't notice the cracks until it was too late.
Jeffrey

 

[Blender]

I just put mine in a large tub holding 5 gallons of iodaphor. You can fit quite a few in there at one time. I drain them out in the dishwasher and fill them on the door. It couldn't be much easier plus I have to make the iodaphor anyway.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

at 225 you need to leave the bottles in for over 12 hours.

So much for speculation...

 

[Walker]

remember, palmer is telling you how to STERILIZE with heat. sanitizing can probably get away with less time in the oven, but I have no idea how to adjust the time to go from sterile to sanitary.

-walker