Plastic (polycarb?) carboy for secondary?

[pmcquain]

Hi all!

In the interest of being thrifty, is a 5 gallon plastic carboy from the office watercooler acceptable as a secondary fermenter? The bottom of the bottle is stamped with a 7 in the little triangle thing and says "OTHER PC" under it. I know it's not the best choice for a primary, but I already have my Coopers fermenter, which I like so far.

Thanks!

-pete-

 

[the_bird]

If it's a 7, you really don't know what kind of plastics are making it up. It's hard therefore to have any level of confidence that it will NOT be allowing O2 to easily pass through. PET is Ok as a secondary, a "7" - I'd probably avoid, personally (at the very least, don't condition for very long in it, which is kinda opposite the point of HAVING a secondary).

 

[david_42]

Thrifty is risking a batch of ale to save a little on the carboy and then spending the money on the right thing later?

Water bottles don't work.

 

[dougjones31]

I can't beleive the water bottles are made out of "7" plastic. You should seriously change water companies.

My waterbottles are "1" plastic and I use them for primaries sometimes in emergency situations. I always use glass only for secondaries.

 

[pmcquain]

Ok, I'm convinced. The more I think about it, this is one area where being "thrifty" just probably isn't worth it. I will just convince SWMBO that a glass carboy is something else that IS required.

Thanks guys!

-pete-

 

[Cheesefood]

Damn. I had bought two of these since they claimed to be air-tight. No wonder my hefe tastes a little funky.

 

[bummerkit]

would a #2 plastic be permissible as a primary? what about plastic flavoring the beer?

 

[cs60884]

would a #3 PVC 5 gal. water container work?

 

[Sirspongy]

Spend about the same as you would on a glass carboy and get the Better Bottle. Read about it at http://www.better-bottle.com/index1.html and you will understand why it is better than glass. I actually use both and I cannot tell the difference in taste. BB's are lighter which is a nice pro as well. They are lighter to ship also if you have to mail order them. Give it a shot. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

 

[gnef]

better bottles are PET.

personally, I would use glass over PET. but now i use kegs over glass for secondary due to the possible injuries with glass.

they say permeability of O2 with PET is low, but i am still hesitant with any sort of plastic as far as gas permeability goes. I still use a plastic bucket as primary, but i only leave the beer in there for about 2 weeks at most, and then in to a keg.

don't forget that better bottles suffer from 'suck back', and they can scratch as well, harboring possible infections. that said, yes, they are safer to work with than glass.

there are tradeoffs with whatever you choose, so choose carefully, and know the limitations that come with those choices.

i like kegs since they are SS and likely won't break. I don't like how i can't see through them though... but i'm willing to deal with that drawback. make sure you are willing to deal with your drawbacks.