The Pressure & the Plastic

[lazylizard]

hi guys

my other half came home the other night with the shopping & with these from asda (pic included) they work out around 30p each..

The bottles seem very strong to be honest and ive tested it bashed it, thrown it, dropped it etc etc..with the cheapest 24 litre plastic bottle kit around 17 pounds from what I could find on eBay in the grounds of saving money is it possible that these bottles could hold the pressure 2 weeks fermentation?

has anyone got the plastic kits online? is there really a difference between these and the plastic ones you get from supermarkets?

thanks

 

[Clint]

I think if they've held something fizzy already they're ok to use..
The thread title sounds like a 1980's LP!

 

[gar]

I've been using asda soda water bottles for years. No probs

 

[Nicks90]

If it's got fizzy pop in it from a supermarket, it will cope quite happily with beer/cider.
They are rated way higher than the pressure than the commercial pop put in it, to prevent any poppage and spoil that would cost the supermarket profit.

 

[terrym]

@lazylizard
I use PET bottles for my beer that have previously held a fizzy drink. The ASDA bottles you highlighted will no doubt be OK and if the contents are carbonated, but you will find that if used for beer as the yeast settles after carbonation it will form a thin layer on the neck half way down which may or may not be of importance to you when you open the bottle and pour the beer out. I have some Buxton water bottles like this and thats what they do, and thats why I am phasing them out. I am now using 1 litre Tesco tonic water bottles (used to be £2 for 6, now £1.50 for 4) which are straight sided. The only thing that you must do is to store any clear bottles in the dark since light, especially UV and sunlight, can cause off flavours to beer. And when your PET bottles get a bit knocked about just recycle and replace them. Finally there will be doom-mongers who say that storing beer in 'ordinary' PET bottles is bad for you due to plasticisers leaching out of the PET, whilst conveneniently ignoring any harmful effect of the alcohol in the beer itself, and others who tell you your beer will suffer from oxidation, which I have not noticed at all.
But I say go for it.

 

[lazylizard]

@lazylizard
I use PET bottles for my beer that have previously held a fizzy drink. The ASDA bottles you highlighted will no doubt be OK and if the contents are carbonated, but you will find that if used for beer as the yeast settles after carbonation it will form a thin layer on the neck half way down which may or may not be of importance to you when you open the bottle and pour the beer out. I have some Buxton water bottles like this and thats what they do, and thats why I am phasing them out. I am now using 1 litre Tesco tonic water bottles (used to be £2 for 6, now £1.50 for 4) which are straight sided. The only thing that you must do is to store any clear bottles in the dark since light, especially UV and sunlight, can cause off flavours to beer. And when your PET bottles get a bit knocked about just recycle and replace them. Finally there will be doom-mongers who say that storing beer in 'ordinary' PET bottles is bad for you due to plasticisers leaching out of the PET, whilst conveneniently ignoring any harmful effect of the alcohol in the beer itself, and others who tell you your beer will suffer from oxidation, which I have not noticed at all.
But I say go for it.

thanks for the info terrym much appreciated :) i have tested the bottles and only plan to use them once or twice before getting new ones.. the screw top is a wee bit worrying as it only turns 2 and a half times before nipping up.. but after opening for the first time i have shaken the bottle with the soda in and it hold its fizz ok...i read somewhere i think on here that the soda bottles are designed to handle greater pressures than beer can create.. i hope thats true.. the plan is to bottle leave in dark at room temp for 5 days then remove to a very cold dark shed :)

 

[terrym]

thanks for the info terrym much appreciated :) i have tested the bottles and only plan to use them once or twice before getting new ones.. the screw top is a wee bit worrying as it only turns 2 and a half times before nipping up.. but after opening for the first time i have shaken the bottle with the soda in and it hold its fizz ok...i read somewhere i think on here that the soda bottles are designed to handle greater pressures than beer can create.. i hope thats true.. the plan is to bottle leave in dark at room temp for 5 days then remove to a very cold dark shed :)

I reckon I can reuse some PET bottles up to 5 or 6 times before I chuck them away although I don't keep a record of how long I've had them. A few of my PET bottles have held beer for up to a year and been fine although mostly they get emptied within 4 months. And I have never had a problem with a cap not holding pressure, in spite of re-use.
As far as your carbing is concerned I suggest that 5 days might not be enough to complete the carbing. As you are using clear PET bottles unlike coloured glass the easiest way of finding out if it's finished is to feel how hard the bottle has become and when it is at its hardest it has probably done at which point you will also notice the beer is clearing. I usually leave mine a two or three days past this point to make sure, and then put into store more or less clear. And that means about 8-10 days dependant upon the yeast load in the bottle and the carbing temperature which can vary according to the time of year. But if you really want to make sure just leave it alone for two weeks in the warm.

 

[Brewed_Force]

Just remember if you use clear PET bottles to keep the beer out of the light, to avoid 'skunking'.

 

[DavieC]

The thread title sounds like a 1980's LP!

Spandau Ballet or Duran Duran Clint?

 

[Clint]

More obscure I recon...could even be creeping back to the late 70's...
X Ray Specs...or Susie and the Banshees...

 

[DavieC]

X ray specs good call,