Plastic Carboy OK for a secondary?

[Steelshooter]

We have 5 or 6 plastic 5 gal. water bottles at work that they "just want to get rid of". Is there any reason that I can't use them for a secondary? I have a couple of airlocks that should work.

 

[Tony]

They are probably not food grade, so they are not really ones you want to use. A PET plastic type is preferred, as they are not porous, don't absorb odor or flavor, and are non-wetting. So they repel just about everything.

There are codes on the bottom of all plastic carboys, and Im sure someone will post those for you.

 

[cnapierala]

I think its #1 plastic. The number is in the recycle symbol.

 

[Torchiest]

Most of those plastic water jugs are like 5 or 6 I think. Very unacceptable.

 

[Steelshooter]

Thank you all so much, you just saved me from a big mistake. I'm going to go with glass carboys for my secondary.

Thanks again

 

[Brew-boy]

I have used both types of water bottles both with #1 and #7 inside the triangle.
Both beers turned out fine and had no off flavors what so ever. I let them stay in the secondary for 2 weeks. I will however only use the one that has the #1 in it.

 

[dcbrewmeister]

Most are polycarbonate, I think. It's not good stuff, and may even be toxic. You just have to check because PET water bottles are increasingly being produced.

I found this article Get Plastic Out of Your Diet quite interesting. Makes you think long and hard about all the food and beverages we consume that have contact with plastic, and what the potential health implications of that may be.

wow - so water bottles are toxic, geez, you would have though they were just made of a plastic... and "safe" to drink from, but not so great for odor "causing" things (such as beer) and would retain the odor of said items.

Don't go spreading rumors that water bottles are toxic and can't be used for anything except water.

For argument sake - how/why can they keep water stored in these, bring them to an office, let it sit in said office for a week or so before being used, get put on the cooler, finally drained of the water in them, put back on the truck and sent back to the water plant that filled them, put back into circulation all over again - and people claim they aren't good for anything??? The whole time water has been stored in them - didn't leak out, and the water didn't go stale from sitting in them... just curious, I want to know WHERE this info is coming from. Not "I heard" or "so and so said" WHERE did you get this information from? Please name books and web-sites.

 

[dcbrewmeister]

I found this article Get Plastic Out of Your Diet quite interesting.

I didn't find his article interesting, this guy is a freak and blames EVERYTHING on plastic... even Alzheimer's disease. He even claims that food should NEVER be in a microwave... EVER!!! Why? He doesn't say, but if I had to guess, it's because of the radiation you'll get from it:rockin: He blames miscarrigages, childhood diseases and a host of other things that go wrong in your life on plastic - to include obeasity.

Practically says not to get your teeth worked on because the dentist uses plastic(s) in the work he does, and then goes on to say brush your teeth and floss... REALLY!!! Tooth brushes are all plastic and floss is in a plastic container, toothpaste goes through a plastic cap - he must have forgot.

This guy is a freak - everything wrong in the world can be traced back to the day plastic was invented.:fro:

I have to wonder what he would say about beer???

 

[whodwho]

curious, I want to know WHERE this info is coming from. Not "I heard" or "so and so said" WHERE did you get this information from? Please name books and web-sites.

Comparing water storage and beer storage has one huge difference, water you want oxygen when storing the more the longer the shelf life and obviously beer is the opposite.

I think the debate is how long it is kept in this as a secondary and how long you plan to store in the bottle/keg and it's effects on the beer becoming stale. I have used them for small beers when short on carboys, less than two weeks and drank within a month of conditioning, it made a great beer. I would not risk for long term conditioning or used for beers being judged, why invest time in a great beer to chance mediocre results.

There is alot of interesting info on plastics and its challenges, especially with the efforts on the barrier processes and how that effects recycling. A search will return more than enough reading material,

Here was a simple blurb I found on the subject:

Bottling beer in plastic is difficult due to beer's sensitivity to oxygen, presenting greater challenges than bottled water or carbonated soft drinks.

http://www.americanplasticscouncil.org/s_apc/sec.asp?TrackID=&CID=343&DID=1110&VID=86

 

[dcbrewmeister]

whodwho - I agree and never would use one for beer. The biggest reason I wouldn't is the simple fact that it would retain the odor/taste from the beer. That was enough for me not to use one. That decision was made (on my part) years ago. Just like the decision to use stainless steel and "cleaned" copper instead of other materials for my brewing equipment. I use glass carboys and/or food grade buckets for fermenters and bottling buckets.

You can post your own reasons why/why not. But please refrain from posting made up stuff or crap that just sounds good. Others on this forums and other forums have used them without issue.

 

[berudd]

I just got a Better Bottle which is a plastic carboy designed for beer and it is being used as a secondary. It is light and won't break like a glass carboy will. How will it do? Well, if is sucks you will hear about it but all of the online places I frequent, like Austin, sell them so I am pretty confident it will be just fine.

 

[the_bird]

From all accounts, they are great. They are the right kind of plastic, so O2 permeability is negligible (this is the real issue with most water bottles). They're light, safe, easy to clean. Just be a little careful when cleaning to not scratch them; put away the carboy brush, just soak them instead.

 

[Wolf]

I just got a Better Bottle which is a plastic carboy designed for beer and it is being used as a secondary. It is light and won't break like a glass carboy will. How will it do? Well, if is sucks you will hear about it but all of the online places I frequent, like Austin, sell them so I am pretty confident it will be just fine.

They're great, you'll love using it!

 

[Brewing Clamper]

Do the spigots on the Better Bottles ever leak? I seem to have problems with my fermenter buckets leaking every now and then.

 

[Dr Malt]

PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES, TOXIC!! I don't think so. They have to be food grade. I suggest try one batch of beer and see if it is a OK. I suspect it will be fine. The main problem will mostly likely be air permeation and beer oxidation. Some plastics are more permeable to air than others. Also I am sure you can contact your water supplier at work to find out what plastic is used in the bottles.

Dr Malt

 

[happycrabster]

Plastic only causes obesity if you remove the corn chips from inside the bag.

If you stick with Food Grade, you should be fine. That being said, when I start my first mead, it's going in glass, but for a beer that's going to be in and out in a couple of weeks or so, well, let's put it like this, you wont sprout an extra arm if you drink it. ;-)

Tony
(Beer newbie who has to deal with potable water safe plastics at work)

 

[Fiery Sword]

Don't go spreading rumors that water bottles are toxic and can't be used for anything except water.

Not "I heard" or "so and so said" WHERE did you get this information from? Please name books and web-sites.

Dude easy on the angry rhetoric. I don't think beer4 was trying to stoke up anyone's fire in mentioning that there are concerns with plastic. Since this is primarily the classic 'plastic vs. glass' beer argument it's usually best to state opinions and concerns in such a way that doesn't result in an unsolvable war of words. From a brewers perspective, there are issues with using plastic. It was a perfectly applicable link for such discussion. Now that doesn't mean that I agree with all, parts or none of the article. But don't go torching it. There are good points there, just as there are exaggerated concerns. Take it for what it is, and relax, man!

....btw are you an heir to a plastics fortune or something?

 

[cnapierala]

Just a FYI kind of off topic...
If you have one in your area Lowes home improvement store has #1 3gallon watter jugs for around $6. Buy em full, use the water and fill it back up with wort (if you do smaller batches ever).