bottles

[larry]

can the water jugs,the type you see in offices,be used as secondary fermenters,they look the same as better bottles

 

[Tom]

no
Better bottles have 2 layers of pet and no oxygen can get thru.
Water cooler bottles will let oxygen in
Wine kits are 6 gallons
Water bottles are 5 gallons
Better bottles come in 6 gallons

 

[St Allie]

..I'm not disagreeing with Tom...

However, I do use the water cooler bottles, the 2 and 3 gallon ones as secondaries and also to bulk age for 3 months maximum. ( I have about 23 of them.. because they were cheap so I gave them a try)

Have not noticed any appreciable difference in wine quality..this is only my opinion based on my own experience.

This particular topic is a 'hot potato' in wine circles. You can experiment with a wine cooler bottle or choose not to, it's entirely your decision. however it's bound to generate a lot of opinion.



Allie

 

[cpfan]

Personally I won't use the water cooler jugs. Since I mostly make kits (6 US Gallons) and the jugs are 5 USG, they are not a good size for me. But I am also concerned that the plastic is not designed to hold alcohol.

OTOH, there are many folks like Allie who are happy using them.

Your choice.

Steve

 

[MN-winer]

I recall reading a couple of postings where people who used these ended up with oxidized wine. I would not chance it especially for bulk aging. If it stays in there for a week or two on a quick kit it might work.

 

[cpfan]

I should mention that I own some Better Bottles (6 USG version), and do use them for making some kits, but not for longer periods of time, eg bulk aging. But generally I use the glass first.

Steve

 

[smurfe]

Short term, yes. Long term, no, but everyone has already told you that. One thing to remember if you do try them, you will need the correct size stopper for them and the size slips my mind right now. It is a lot bigger size than a glass carboy. So have that on hand before you rack to one and discover this point.

 

[cpfan]

Good point Smurfe. 9.5 bung rings a bell, but I could be mis-remembering. And I think it makes a difference if the water jug is screw top versus snap on.

Steve

 

[larry]

Thanks for the tips. I wasnt thinking of long term storage just for 2nd or third racking then i would put the wine into glass storage

 

[St Allie]

I recall reading a couple of postings where people who used these ended up with oxidized wine. I would not chance it especially for bulk aging. If it stays in there for a week or two on a quick kit it might work.

That's interesting.. So far I haven't bulk aged everything that long..

however I do have a 3 gallon waterbottle in the barn with applewine in it.. ( I didn't have enough bottles to bottle it and kind of forgot it was there)


The wine has been in it for 6 months and I didn't add extra meta! oh dear...

I better go and sort it out then..

hehehe

OK I'll be back in an hour to tell you if it's oxidised....

the same size bung that fits the better bottles also fits the water cooler bottles.

Allie

 

[cpfan]

the same size bung that fits the better bottles also fits the water cooler bottles.

Well I use a #10 in my Better Bottles.

Steve

 

[canoe]

Well I use a #10 in my Better Bottles.

Steve

And I use #10 in my water cooler bottles.

Bill

 

[St Allie]

Well, apart from a bit of trapped gas.. there's no difference in colour or taste..

It's been stored in the plastic since the beginning of june, with an airlock.. and I did add meta in august, luckily.

Still, I've racked it into 3 x 1 gallon glass jugs now added more meta and put it back in the barn..Have marked them with the storage details.. so far so good.. they can be the experiment.. I'll have a look at them again in a couple of months.

Allie