Glass v PET Bottles

[GrahamR]

So my second crown twin capper has started to break bottles after roughly 30 bottles. I had planned to buy a counter top capper at some point but this has been brought forward. While browsing the HBC(who are sold out unfortunately) I noticed the PET bottles. You get 24 for 12 quid. This means 72 PET's are the same price as my counter capper.

Having always used bottles i'm not sure on the PET idea but im getting fed up of glass shattering everywhere( cut myself up good the first time). Just wondering do many people on here use PET or alternatively glass with the counter topper.

Which would ye advise someone to go for.

Cheers

Graham

[johnrm]

My feeling is that glass is better.
Glass bottles generally cost you nothing.
Its an excuse to try a new beer in the offie.
...and in the pub; I smuggle bottles out of the pub, other people do glasses.
You can clean, scrub and reuse them.
They are recyclable.

[delzep]

I'm still using my original crown capper after 5 years of bottling. Maybe you got a bogey one?

[GrahamR]

I realise that they are to be re-used, i must have 100 plus of them down in the shed, its just the breakage of both them and the twin lever capper is breaking my heart. I had 30 odd bottles ready to go on saturday before they started to shatter at the neck

[brenmurph]

I use a couple of pet bottles with every batch that I bottle.
reason is that I can check how the beer is carbonating in the pet botttle by squeezing it .

From my experience with pet ( since about last summer when I bought a 24 box) the beer tastes just as good from them.

some advantages.

1    they dont break
2    you can check how ur beer is carbonating
3    they are light so can use a cardboard box for transport or storing
4    cap seals are excellent
5    they are reuseable

some cautions:

1    They dont stand heat so u cant wash with very hot water or they may shrink like a wiring heatshrink sheath.
2    They have little flat seals in the caps. I recomend you carefully remove the seals using a sharp pin. The seals are very soft and come out easy ; u just cant get them out by ur fingers. Then sanitise them and the screw caps seperatly.
3    Being a plastic there are some concerns about toxicity from plastics re your health. Glass is recomended as a non toxic vessel however I empathise with your experience with glass breaking especially with those crapy cappers available in the suppliers where a metal grabber grabs the glass.
4   try source the best bottles you can, some 500ml bottles are very weak.

other

build a collection of flip top bottles. Most flip tops are reuseable commercially and some countries make you pay a deposit, especially germany, but they are tough bottles and seal great so build a collection of them and eventually you will be happy with glass bottling.

Depending on how many bottles you need it may even be worth buying new flip tops I think a euro each, but they last....and last.....and last for yonks...ive never seen one break on me.  We also use  750 ml ones for wine

[GrahamR]

I'm still using my original crown capper after 5 years of bottling. Maybe you got a bogey one?

Really, Id have loved to have gotten five years. This is my second one now in a year. Iv noticed that the start of them going is when only one side of the lever is crimping the caps. I generally use youngs caps, is this the brand most people go with.

[GrahamR]

I use a couple of pet bottles with every batch that I bottle.
reason is that I can check how the beer is carbonating in the pet botttle by squeezing it .

From my experience with pet ( since about last summer when I bought a 24 box) the beer tastes just as good from them.

some advantages.

1    they dont break
2    you can check how ur beer is carbonating
3    they are light so can use a cardboard box for transport or storing
4    cap seals are excellent
5    they are reuseable

some cautions:

1    They dont stand heat so u cant wash with very hot water or they may shrink like a wiring heatshrink sheath.
2    They have little flat seals in the caps. I recomend you carefully remove the seals using a sharp pin. The seals are very soft and come out easy ; u just cant get them out by ur fingers. Then sanitise them and the screw caps seperatly.
3    Being a plastic there are some concerns about toxicity from plastics re your health. Glass is recomended as a non toxic vessel however I empathise with your experience with glass breaking especially with those crapy cappers available in the suppliers where a metal grabber grabs the glass.

I presume that seal is the same that you get in the bottle of coke id have every year or so. The cleaning aspect would also appeal to me. I would generally clean mine in warm water in the sink so I think I would be fine in that regard Bren.

[beerfly]

i like them to.

also cause of the shape of the base i find they hold the yeast better when pouring

but other disadvantages are

when filling out of the same bucket i find the glass bottles carb better

if you over carb then it can damage the bottle, the layers start to seperate. have not tested it but i would not recommend going much over 2.5 vol to be safe

[johnrm]

I have one for a few years and never a problem.

Is it a particular type bottle?
Check to see if the clamps are gripping under the collar.
It is gripping the Collar then it may be crushing the bottle.
Consider a rub of WD40 inside the bell?

[Greg2013]

I am only a greenhorn(shut up ciderhead) but I gave up on my twin handle black capper after bottling last batch,kept breaking bottle necks as well. I would say flip tops first,then the coopers plastic,then the crown cap glass.

[johnrm]

I wonder is there a particular type susceptible to this.
Maybe Post pics for comparison?

[GrahamR]

I have one for a few years and never a problem.

Is it a particular type bottle?
Check to see if the clamps are gripping under the collar.
It is gripping the Collar then it may be crushing the bottle.
Consider a rub of WD40 inside the bell?

Generally stubbys although have found that it is impossible to cap Wychwood bottles, anyone else find this.

Its the youngs brand capper which is the cheaper option if I remember correctly.

[johnrm]

Wychwoods have a rounded collar so can't be gripped by some cappers.

[irish_goat]

Capping, lol. 

[delzep]

Wychwoods have a rounded collar so can't be gripped by some cappers.

looks identical to mine (albeit with less rust than mine)