Plastic Demijohn

[Rikki]

Hi all,
I've been using plastic demijohn's, but I'm finding that the bubbles are not passing through the air lock the way they pass through glass demijohn's. I'm not sure that the seal is air tight on these plastic containers so the co2 escapes around the lid and maybe air can get in. The glass demijohn with a cork stopper and air lock seem to be better air tight seal. Has anybody got any thoughts or information please.

Rikki.

Country Winemaker

 

[FatCol]

If the wine is visibly fermenting, then I wouldn't worry, as the creation of CO2 within the demijohn will prevent any nasties getting into it, as it creates a positive pressure. The plastic ones can be temperamental so I'd just give everything a good tighten up and twist and push down slightly on the airlock to try to seat it better.

Out of interest, I make my own 1 gallon plastic demijohns out of the 5Ltr Ashbeck water bottles from Tesco. I use the water on a brew, then drill a 12mm hole in the lid, fit a grommet and air lock and job done. Once they have been used, I will clean and reuse if not too dirty, or otherwise, I just keep the cap I have drilled and grommeted and bin the demijohn. Saves a lot of time on cleaning and sterilising and at £1.10 a bottle including the 5Ltrs of spring water, it ain't bad value either.

 

[engineer]

I also use the water bottles. If in doubt smear a little petroleum jelly to make joints air tight, works fine for me.

 

[Rikki]

Thanks for the reply will try it out

Regards Rikki