True or false???

[67coupe390]

I heard that bottles have a "shelf life". That is, you can only use a bottle for a few times before it is unsafe to use. Is this true? Take care!!!

 

[JnJ]

Never heard this and it makes no since. I don't believe glass deteriates (SP?), so how can it have a shelf life?

 

[the_bird]

The only time I've heard of people replacing bottles after a certain number of uses, it was because they were a little lazy about sanitation. Unless you're using uber-thin (and twist-on) Bud Light bottles, no reason they won't last indefinately.

 

[TheJadedDog]

That has more to do with commercial breweries...most of the bottles out there are designed to be single use when it comes to the machines they use for bottling because they are not as thick as the old returnables were. I'm pretty sure it's not a problem for bottling at home.

Also, some bottles, most notably those used by Sam Adams, are still reusable even at the commercial level.

 

[desiderata]

Even if it's true (which I doubt), I'm not doing it. That would mean I'd have to buy new glass carboys every so often. Screw that!

 

[magno]

Ive heard that about plastic bottles, but not glass. And I've been using the same 1.5L ozarka bottle for about 4 months now, without off flavors or anything in my water. Every now and then, when its empty while I'm brewing or bottling Ill sanitize it in iodophor.

- magno

 

[david_42]

Glass is really a super-cooled liquid, so bottles tend to flow and get too thin at the top to hold pressure.

This takes a couple hundred years, though.

 

[RichBrewer]

The only problem I've ever had is a couple bottles breaking when I capped them. I don't even know how many times they had been used. I've never had a bottle fail under carbonation and I have bottled a lot of beer.
This is another case of RDWHAHB and just keep using the bottles.

 

[gnef]

well, technically glass is a liquid, so over time, the glass could move towards the bottom, making the top weaker.

this would take numerous decades though, if not 50+ or 100+ years. if you can have a beer last that long, i think that'd be quite impressive.

 

[Genghis77]

I've seen some centuries old window panes. They tend to become very rippled and all the glass flows away from the top leaving an air gap.

But more likely the limiting factor on glass bottles is the accumulative stresses from the capping and decapping. Those stresses could cause fractures and after numerous times cause a bottle failure.

 

[67coupe390]

Thanks,
I think that you all have answered my question. I will keep reusing the bottles I have. And keep the capper away from my bottle crushing buddy. He has recieved a few 11 packs due to capping mishaps.
And I didn't even think about the carboy, that would get pretty expensive replacing one every few batches.