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Plastic Carboys - Water Bottles

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  • Plastic Carboys - Water Bottles

    Good morning

    I am very tempted to buy/rent some of these water cooler bottles (with water). They are clean and the water is almost exactly the same every time.

    My process would be:
    1. Get bottle with water
    2. Rack water to kettle
    3. Seal bottle
    4. Get to a boil, add ingredients (I am still on extract), etc
    5. Finish boil
    6. Rack BACK to bottle
    7. Cool, pitch
    8. Close and insert blowoff
    9. Watch yeast make happy dance!
    10. After fermentation is complete: Rack to keg
    11. Rinse bottle
    12. Return to water company
    13. Goto Step 1


    Has anyone tried this?

    I have noticed that the bottles are 18.9 litres, which is a tight fit for the "normal" batches, I will be making my batch a bit smaller, around 15 litres.

    Cheers

  • #2
    i have 2 of those. the blue cap has an insert that works nicely with the airlock,but found it a bit difficult to clean. very nice though and fits better in my (broken)chest freezer i use for fermentation
    Drinking: nothing

    In Primary: Milk Stout; American Wheat; Bells Two Hearted IPA, Black IPA,Scottish Ale
    Planned: Dunkellweizen, old English bitter.

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks KaapseVlakte!

      I am however not planning on cleaning them. Just a quick bleach rinse so that I can return the bottle to the water company and get a new one! They can do the sanitization and all of that for me!

      Comment


      • #4
        Today I added 2 X 18.9 litre water bottles (with water) to my brewery. The bottles cost R180 (filled) from Oasis Water (www.oasiswater.co.za). The refill is apparently R1 per liter!

        I asked the friendly lady at the Weltevreden Oasis (The Ridge Shopping Center) if I am allowed to open the bottle and she said yes, then she showed me how. I then asked the killer: "Does it have to be clean when I bring it back?" She smiled and said "No". They will clean it. Happiness!

        I think I will clean it to a degree, as a professional courtesy.

        Each bottle has a handle on the side as well, so they are not too difficult to carry.

        Now... to learn water chemistry!

        Comment


        • #5
          i also added another one of those to my collection. used the long carboy brush to clean and they were spotless. amazing. filled with bleach water and left it for a couple hours. just filled it with 28 liters of Irish red. was my first liquid yeast starter i made on my home built stir plate and I'm anxious to see how i did with that.
          Drinking: nothing

          In Primary: Milk Stout; American Wheat; Bells Two Hearted IPA, Black IPA,Scottish Ale
          Planned: Dunkellweizen, old English bitter.

          Comment


          • #6
            Good luck with the fermentation KaapseVlakte!

            My only (minor) issue is that my recipes are all for 19 litres. I am currently figuring out BeerSmith so that I can get the recipes loaded on there and use the app's intelligence to make the batch smaller. I think that 15 litres should fit in nicely, leaving enough head space.

            Do you have bungs for the lid, or how do you attach bubbler/overflow pipe?

            Cheers

            Comment


            • #7
              carboy cap with airlock (640x480).jpg

              the shop sells the blue plastic sleeves which they use to seal these carboys. about R10-00 each. they have a clear plastic center which can be popped out. use a hot soldering iron to make a hole the size of your airlock and fit it back
              KaapseVlakte
              Member
              Last edited by KaapseVlakte; 31 July 2013, 22:07.
              Drinking: nothing

              In Primary: Milk Stout; American Wheat; Bells Two Hearted IPA, Black IPA,Scottish Ale
              Planned: Dunkellweizen, old English bitter.

              Comment


              • #8
                To reduce or increase in beersmith you enter your batch size. the sliders will move up or down depending on whether you have increased or reduced. adjust your ingredients to until the sliders match your style. any rate, that's how i adjust my recipe size.
                Drinking: nothing

                In Primary: Milk Stout; American Wheat; Bells Two Hearted IPA, Black IPA,Scottish Ale
                Planned: Dunkellweizen, old English bitter.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Guys you really need to learn how to use BeerSmith properly You need to create a new equipment profile for the intended batch size. Once done you use "Scale Recipe" to scale the recipe to the new equipment profile. Take about 2 seconds to scale between my 1 gallon and 18l batches
                  Give a man a beer, waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and waste a lifetime!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Yes SimonB, I know I have to learn Beersmith! I tried to load a recipe last night and I got lost! I will hopefully have time tonight to watch the training videos.

                    Thanks for the tip KaapseVlakte!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      thanks SimonB, i guess i will have to take time to tinker around the program. thank you!
                      regards
                      Drinking: nothing

                      In Primary: Milk Stout; American Wheat; Bells Two Hearted IPA, Black IPA,Scottish Ale
                      Planned: Dunkellweizen, old English bitter.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Anyone know where to get these plastic water jugs in Cape Town (but they need to be at least 20l to allow headroom). Want to try them instead of a 20l bucket.

                        Edit: Ok I see that Oasis has a branch in Table View. Will pop in there
                        Give a man a beer, waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and waste a lifetime!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          http://www.alton.co.za/default.aspx
                          http://www.jojotanks.co.za/
                          http://www.premierpackaging.co.za/hdpe_drums.html
                          http://www.premierpackaging.co.za/plastic_buckets.html
                          http://www.pioneerplastics.co.za/pla...anks-and-drums
                          http://www.pioneerplastics.co.za/hoppers-and-conicals
                          http://www.plastilon.co.za/plastilon...s.asp?catID=11
                          http://www.plastixportal.co.za/css_p...ontainers.html

                          One other technique:
                          Go to the office water bottle thing, at the bottom of the bottle there is a URL of the company who makes it (not the company who fills it with water).

                          Another technique: Possibly the easiest and definitely the cheapest. Talk to the person who manages the water at the office. Ask them what the deposit is to get an extra bottle of water (I think it is R70) and how much they pay per bottle (R15). Tell him/her that you want them to order an extra bottle for you. Pay them and remember to get a note that it is your money. When the bottles are delivered, takes yours home and use it as planned. When you are done, give the bottle a good rinse and return it to the office to be refilled with water.
                          This provides you with 4 solutions:
                          1) Clean, balanced water that is easy to brew with
                          2) A container that you can ferment in
                          3) A sanitized fermenter from the moment go
                          4) Someone else is cleaning the fermenter afterwards.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Thanks AS.

                            I spoke to Oasis and their 20l bottles are 160 deposit (including water) and then r20 per refill bottle thereafter

                            I will give them a try. What are you doing as regards a bung?

                            The one thing that intrigues me is the woman at the shop says that some brewers have told her that her bottles are not suitable, but they are adamant that they are PET, so I can't see the issue.

                            Their water is RO so one is then able to mess around with water chemistry as well
                            Give a man a beer, waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and waste a lifetime!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I can only assume that the other brewers forgot to scale their recipes

                              I can't see how something that is "Food Grade and sterile" can't be good for brewing.

                              I am currently using their water, but I can't use the bottles as I have not managed to find a bung.

                              I am tempted to try fermenting in one (15 litre batch) and just using a foil cap. However, I will not be making something with wheat in it, as that might climb out.

                              Comment

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