What causes bottle bombs? Do i need to worry?

[USFbulls]

I bottled my first batch of beer, and I've been searching for about 15 minutes now, but can't find the info i'm looking for. (excuse me if my search skills are lacking)

i know people have said that uneven priming sugar causes bombs, i'm assuming due to the fact that you may end up with more sugar in a particular bottle...but:

i bottled my beer in plastic 1 liter soda bottles about 2 days ago, and used the sugar/water in a bottling bucket method. Checked them today and they're very hard...so the pressure is obviously rising.

I'm worried that the pressure will continue to rise for the next 3 weeks and one will explode...is this an irrational fear?

Could head space cause a bottle bomb? I'm not sure i left enough (about 1.5-2 inches) If so, is there anything i can do to stop it?

 

[talleymonster]

Well, how big of a batch did you bottle? How much priming sugar did you use? Was it just regular priming sugar, like the stuff that comes with the kit, or something else?

 

[McKBrew]

Actually by bottling in 1 liter soda bottles your chances of bottle bombs are pretty much nill. They can handle an extreme amount of pressure.

The pressure will not continue to rise as it will reach a certain point where the yeast will have finished carbonating the bottle.

Edit: The other information, such as hydrometer reading is very important as well.

 

[BarleyWater]

What was your hydrometer reading before you bottled? Without this knowledge, you can only really wait and see.

 

[Kilgore_Trout]

The bottles being firm is just a sign that they're carbonating properly. As long as you used the appropriate amount of sugar and mixed it decently you should be fine.

As the pressure rises the bottle will firm up, you'd be surprised how much pressure those things can hold.

As long as primary fermentation was finished by the time you bottled, you shouldn't get bombs from the 3/4 cup sugar. I wouldn't worry, plus a "bottle bomb" in a plastic bottle probably won't be that dramatic...

 

[USFbulls]

1/3 cup of sugar to my 2.5gal mr beer kit.

no hydrometer yet so i'm just guessing.

thanks everyone for your help, i guess the bottles can hold, so i'll just wait it out.

on an un-related note: kilgore trout, vonnegut is awesome.

 

[jonp9576]

i am not sure if your bottles are going to blow, but i have blown up soda bottles before.

dry ice and hot water make soda bottles pop.

the bottle gets to tight that the label falls off and all the little nubs on the bottom of the bottle completely round out. if your bottle shape doesnt change at all, i dont think they are going to blow.

if it does, you'll know, i threw one in my back yard about 100 feet away and the percussion of the blast shook my chest. i might have a video somewhere i can dig up for ya

 

[blacklab]

Bottle bombs are usually caused by bottling before fermentation is complete. If you didn't take a hydro reading before bottling, there's no way to tell if it was finished or not.

That's the most common reason - but I guess you could have overprimed as well.

 

[Ecnerwal]

Not only are the plastic bottles very strong, they are much less destructive than glass if they do let go. However, if your beer was done, and you used a reasonable amount of priming sugar, there's likely to be no problem at all. I bottle in glass and have never had one blow (can't say the same for the old rootbeer kits I made as a kid, which I now just shake my head at - it's amazing they didn't all blow up)

 

[DutchK9]

I am guessing the cap will blow off before the bottle bursts. A long time ago I picked up a 2 litre bottle of coke and the cap shot off with alot of force. My cousin who was in the other room thought a gun was shot off.

 

[BarleyWater]

they are much less destructive than glass if they do let go.

A misspent youth tought me a beer bottle probably can't take out a mailbox, but a soda bottle can obliterate it.

Get a hydrometer, it is a very importat piece of brewing equipment, especially if you ever plan on going all-grain.

 

[ifishsum]

Being somewhat of an expert at blowing up soda bottles with dry ice , I think you would have to really mess up to blow them up with beer. You would certainly notice the bottles stretching first if you checked on them. RDWDAHMB, you should be fine.