Pressure limit of mason jars?

[petrolSpice]

Has anyone tested a mason jar under pressure (not vacuum) to see if it will handle carbonation pressure without leaking or exploding? I think it's around 30-40psi.

I know they are meant for vacuum, but I want to use one as a test jar to know when my beer is done carbonating (let alone carbonating at all).

The mason jar is nice because it's easy to clean, has a decent seal, and is easy to install a pressure gauge into.

I'm thinking about pressure testing one to failure, in a safe environment of course, and/or under water to detect leaks.

 

[timdillon36]

The lids have failed first in my experience. I doubt it will hold much pressure.

 

[Kjay]

Why not use a PET bottle? And use the rudimentary squeeze test? When I used to bottle I would bottle 3-4 bottles using plastic bottles. Using plastic bottles every 10-12 bottles to know where in the bucket the beer was from. I would be able to check femenation as the bottle would get harder. Pretty crude but did the job.

 

[alexnova]

I imagine it will hold some pressure, but the weak link is the lid and the screw top ring. My gut feeling is it won't hold anything close to 30psi.

 

[cshamilton]

As Kjay said - use PET. Clean and sanitize a used 16 oz pop bottle and cap. Not pretty, but it works. Mason jars are not meant to hold pressure.

 

[BudBernerBrewer]

another agreement with Kjay

 

[PurpleJeepXJ]

I actually have tested this!! I tried to use a mason jar as an inline hop infuser on my draught system. The ring would stay on the jar and not blow off, but I was not able to get the glass over about 3 or 4 psi. Now I was using quart jars which could have been the problem. You may be able to use an 8oz or smaller jar with better results. Though, as a disclaimer, I DO NOT RECOMMEND PRESSURING A GLASS JAR!! IT CAN AND WILL BREAK AT UNKNOWN TIMES AND WILL SEND GLASS SHARDS FLYING!!

 

[Auger]

The lids have failed first in my experience. I doubt it will hold much pressure.

This is accurate. I tried pre-mixing a bunch of whiskey and gingers one time and put them in mason jars in a backpack. I got about 15 steps before the agitation from walking gassed up the soda to the point where the lid deformed and started leaking. The lids are not robust enough to hold any kind of pressure and deform easily. That may be by design to prevent a dangerous situation of a glass vessel building up enough pressure to burst.

 

[Rich Laue]

Mason Jars depend on the negative pressure in the jar and the atmosphere pressure to hold the lid on. You will not be able to build up higher pressure than your current atmospheric press

 

[fluketamer]

this:

plus this :

will get you where you want to go.

 

[AlexKay]

I would never, ever, ever pressurize a glass container that has not been designed for it, with a pressure rating.

 

[Brit the !@#$]

I've always gravitated towards mason jars over bottles for beer, in spite of the myriad warnings against. So easy to fill and clean, so efficient space-wise to stack, and I happen to have tons and tons of pints on canning rotation. The first time I did it, I knew the standard metal rings and lids wouldn't work, as they are designed to release excess pressure during the canning process. Instead, I tried the white storage lids, but was dismayed when they didn't seal tightly enough to contain carbonation pressure. After that experience, however, I embraced the minuses and decided that I like beer in mason jars enough that I'll fill them uncarbed, without priming, and just Soda Stream them to order (we bought a Soda Stream specifically to save my failed previous mason jar batch). Not anywhere near as convenient as just popping the top and sipping from your pint jar glass, but somehow still appealing to me over bottles. In spite of the apparent breathability of the lids, the long-term quality of the beer was excellent, as well.

However, a friend recently procured for me some special gaskets for placement inside the white wide mouth storage lids that are supposed to make them seal properly (worth using without carbonation, potentially, as if you tip over a jar full of beer and capped with a white storage lid, you're likely going to get leakage without them). I haven't tried them yet beyond putting liquid inside to test them, but I believe they will hold carbonation better if I wanted to try again. I'm pretty sure he just found them at Costco or Sam's Club for cheap -- you had to buy a box of white lids, and the gaskets just came with them for insertion.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Ahhhhh, forums. Pretty much the only place outside of uncle Ricky getting out of prison just before Thanksgiving where an 8-year old conversation picks up like no time has elapsed all.

 

[Brit the !@#$]

Ahhhhh, forums. Pretty much the only place outside of uncle Ricky getting out of prison just before Thanksgiving where an 8-year old conversation picks up like no time has elapsed all.

No kidding -- I actually hadn't even noticed that I was replying to an ancient thread until you pointed this out. Tell Uncle Ricky I said duh-huh.

 

[fluketamer]

same

 

[Bobby_M]

Wouldn't it be a treat if the reply box had a bold red border if the most recent post was more than a year ago?

 

[tracer bullet]

Wouldn't it be a treat if the reply box had a bold red border if the most recent post was more than a year ago?

The AI bot that bumped this would have ignored it.