carboy question

[Acrid]

Apologies if this appears dumb.

My local brew store has 5 gallon glass carboys for 39.99. A carrying handle runs like $6.

I can get 5 gallon plastic water bottles (the kind for the water cooler) and they have the handle built in already.

Why can the plastic ones not be used for cider?

 

[Totes]

They can be used cider, mead, beer. I have not used one, but have thought about often when I see them at the grocery store.
Here's a good link on the subject, with arguments regarding the pros and cons of use.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/culligan-water-bottle-57828/

 

[USAFSooner]

I read somewhere that if it has a 7 recycling symbol you don't want to us it. A 1 is ok.

 

[Acrid]

The ones I have access to, are from crystal rock. They are stamped with a number 1. I found this interesting:

"Stated another way, an average adult consumer would have to ingest more than 600 kilograms (about 1,300 pounds) of food and beverages in contact with polycarbonate every day for an entire lifetime to exceed the level of BPA that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set as safe."

And specifically in regards to 5 gallon waterbottles:
" Water Bottles

In the US FDA study, water from several 5-gallon polycarbonate bottles from a bottled water supplier was analyzed with a detection limit of 0.05 parts per billion. In water that had been stored in the bottles for up to 39 weeks, BPA was found only at very low levels ranging from 0.1 to 4.7 parts per billion."




Does anyone have experience in using waterbottles?

 

[Jacob_Marley]

"Just say nay to BPA."

PET bottles do not contain bisphenol-A (BPA).

If it's marked as a PET or PETE with a "1" in the recycling triangle on the bottom of the bottle, then that is safe to use.

What's a little bisphenol-A between friends? ... wiki "bisphenol-A".

 

[UpstateMike]

Plastic scratches easily. Bacteria can and do live and hide in those scratches. And that can ruin your wine/cider/mead/beer.

If this is the kind of plastic bottle that has the fluid run through the handle, consider the difficulty in cleaning the handle area.

Glass has better resale value over plastic bottles. Have you checked CraigsList for used carboys?

 

[Acrid]

Plastic scratches easily. Bacteria can and do live and hide in those scratches. And that can ruin your wine/cider/mead/beer.

If this is the kind of plastic bottle that has the fluid run through the handle, consider the difficulty in cleaning the handle area.

Glass has better resale value over plastic bottles. Have you checked CraigsList for used carboys?

Yes. I did manage to get a glass carboys for $20. The style I can get actually does not have fluid in the handle. I understand about the scratches, but 2 problems with your reasoning.

1. How likely is it to scratch the INSIDE of the bottle, and
2. The first step is to wash, sanitize, and sterilize the bottle.

I JUST got back from the brew store. I just picked up one step oxidizer for sanitizing, and starsan for sterilization. Camden tablets may also help too.

I will make my first few batches in glass, but if I decide to expand, I will most likely use plastic.

 

[tmurph6]

Yes. I did manage to get a glass carboys for $20. The style I can get actually does not have fluid in the handle. I understand about the scratches, but 2 problems with your reasoning.

1. How likely is it to scratch the INSIDE of the bottle, and
2. The first step is to wash, sanitize, and sterilize the bottle.

I JUST got back from the brew store. I just picked up one step oxidizer for sanitizing, and starsan for sterilization. Camden tablets may also help too.

I will make my first few batches in glass, but if I decide to expand, I will most likely use plastic.

Easily scratch inside if you use a brush

 

[Beernik]

I use plastic buckets for beer and glass carboys for wine/cider/mead. It's just a preference thing for me.

The carboy handles are for carrying empty glass carboys, not full ones. For full ones, you want a brew hauler. Remember, carrying 5 gallons of a SG 1.100 must is about 46lbs + the weight of the carboy. You don't want to focus all that weight onto a tiny metal ring around its neck.

A brew hauler is also easier on your back.

You should be able to pick up a bucket and lid for the same price as one of those water bottles. Buckets are easier to clean

 

[stevetree]

I use the plastic water bottles for cider. The little bit of residue that it leaves behind washes away easily with just soapy water and a good shake, so I don't have a problem with scratches. (Beer may be a different story, since it sounds like you actually need to scrub the residue away). The only drawbacks I've found are that the plastic flexes, so if you move it, you could get negative pressure that will suck some of the airlock fluid into the fermenter. (IF I have to move it, I just remove the airlock temporarily). One other thing.... That horizontal ledge above the handle collects yeast and sediment. Not much of a problem when racking to secondary, but when you rack to your bottling bucket, you inevitably get some yeast coming through. To get around this, I've started racking into single gallon jugs for tertiary, or secondary if I don't think I'll need a tertiary.

 

[UpstateMike]

1. How likely is it to scratch the INSIDE of the bottle, and
2. The first step is to wash, sanitize, and sterilize the bottle.

A carboy brush is nothing more than nylon / plastic bristles stuck into a piece of twisted wire. If you use a "carboy cleaner" (http://www.carboycleaner.com/), that has a metal rod that does come in contact with the bottom of the carboy. No mater what you do, the metal from either device will contact the plastic inside the bottle, so getting scratched on the inside is very likely.

Sanitizing the bottles is great, but believe it or not, they do not always get into the scratches where the bacteria thrive.