Bottle Tops

[UKSkydiver]

Phew. Just enough.

Note to self; check caps before you start bottling.

 

[Clint]

Good point...I must investigate my box of 1000...it seems to be on the low side.

 

[PenhowBrewer]

Are you sanitising those caps? That’s what it looks like.
I’ve never bothered, but you have me thinking now!

 

[UKSkydiver]

Yes. In a sodium percarbonate steriliser.
Someone on another thread said "Why would you not?"
I guess the solution is there for the bottles anyway and it takes 1 second to dump a load in a bowl.

 

[Clint]

I sling mine into the bottle washer thingy...then fish them out as required.

 

[Deathstar]

I normally drop mine into a pot with some no rinse and fish out as I bottle.

 

[Jordang]

I whack mine in a jug of boiling water at the start of bottling session, they’re cool and good to go by the time I get to capping

 

[MickDundee]

I whack mine in a jug of boiling water at the start of bottling session, they’re cool and good to go by the time I get to capping

This is what I used to do, but I’ve gradually stopped sanitising my bottle caps - probably risky but I’ve never had a problem yet. Just started kegging so I’ll only be bottling 2-6 bottles a batch now.

 

[Galena]

I always have a bucket of Starsan mixed so just chuck them in there

 

[An Ankoù]

Are you sanitising those caps? That’s what it looks like.
I’ve never bothered, but you have me thinking now!

I've never bothered either. But if I use old caps again, I boil them up first.

 

[Barley Rubble]

But if I use old caps again, I boil them up first.

Is it safe to re-use bottle tops (caps) if they have been removed carefully so as not to damage them? I've often wondered if it is safe to do so?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Is it safe to re-use bottle tops (caps) if they have been removed carefully so as not to damage them? I've often wondered if it is safe to do so?

One member has posted that he does this and said there is no problem as long as you take them off carefully.

 

[An Ankoù]

Is it safe to re-use bottle tops (caps) if they have been removed carefully so as not to damage them? I've often wondered if it is safe to do so?

Done it a dozen times over the last ten years, mainly because I liked the tops: Kingfisher lager or Brakespear's, with the bee, for example. Never had a problem with any of them.
Safety doesn't come into it. As long as they're sanitised, the only question is whether they'll seal properly. And yes, they do.

 

[Barley Rubble]

Great! I have literally got hundreds of them! Each one removed carefully. It started as a kind of hobby thing, collecting different ones.
I knew they would come in handy one day, well that's what I told SWMBO anyways.

 

[trummy]

I have started saving them - not because I like them but its because I am tight - (sorry, environmentally aware I meant to say)

 

[Satellitemark]

I did try reusing bottle tops a while back, I tested 3 and 3 leaked !
I put this down to me using a bench capper instead of the hand type, but I might be wrong about why they leaked.
I just glad I tested before I run out of new caps !

Mark

 

[Falco]

I've never bothered either. But if I use old caps again, I boil them up first.

Always thought why not re-use crown caps, is this a thing? Any rule of thumb on how many times before they’re fecked?

 

[Nidger]

I used to drink a lager a few years ago that had twist off crowns.
Can't remember what it was now or if they are still used.

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

I keep mine to keep dust and insects out of bottles and I'll confess to having used a couple of those once because I ran out of new ones at the end of a bottling run, but never as a matter of course. Why would you? They're 1.5p each from the Malt Miller.

Why risk a batch of beer for less than 50p? If you want to be frugal, peel off the liners and take them to your local scrap yard.

 

[Jordang]

I keep mine to keep dust and insects out of bottles and I'll confess to having used a couple of those once because I ran out of new ones at the end of a bottling run, but never as a matter of course. Why would you? They're 1.5p each from the Malt Miller.

Why risk a batch of beer for less than 50p? If you want to be frugal, peel off the liners and take them to your local scrap yard.

That’s such a good shout! Note to self...