5 gallon Water Bottles

[petes]

I've around 25 of these I use for my wines, in secondary and bulk ageing roles. Reason is simply cost, availability and ease of transport.
Reading various forums on the subject, there are many many more winemakers around the world who do the same and probably just as many again who do but won't admit.
Two absolute no-nos are don't put boiling water in them and keep the AV at below 20%.

 

[Conquistadude]

20%...that's some nice Rocket Wine there. that wine that is sure to Fly you to the moon, Let you play among the stars.

 

[mjdtexan]

Yeah spill it because Knowledge is Power


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVKN_hwf890&feature=related

See

Shheessh, did you have to remind me how old I am? I am 40 and I remember that from when I was a kid

I asked the question about the water bottles too. I still dunno the right answer. I am going to use the glass though because of the fact that I dunno. Better safe than sorry. It does appear that members here are using them with success. I have about 10, more or less, on hand at all times because I use that service here at the house. The Ozarka man says I can keep all of them I want. I may keep a couple for "in case" but I am going to make wine in the glass.

 

[Manimal]

It's always nice to have an assortment of different food grade containers available. I don't ferment or store my wine in the plastic water jugs, but I keep mine kicking around just in case I need them for short term use or for storing wine for a few minutes while I clean a carboy, etc. I guess I'm a bit of a pack-rat that way... "This MIGHT come in handy for winemaking... better keep it."

 

[mjdtexan]

BTW, I primarily make kits, so need either 3 US gallon or 6 gallon carboys. These are 5 US gallons.

Steve

I wonder ifin this is a conspiracy by the wine kit makers and the carboy companies to keep us buying 3 & 6 gallon carboys instead of using the 5 gallon water cooler jugs?

 

[GretchenR]

This is a bit off topic, but I just came by some five-gallon GLASS water bottles, from the old days when bottled water came in glass (and all delivery people had scars on the backs of their shoulders from bottles breaking coming off the truck). Are they safe to use for long-term aging? I'm concerned about lead content or whatever. The bottles are marked Arizona Bottled Water Co, with the word "sparkling" in the center.

 

[mikewatkins727]

If these bottles once contained water, I doubt they are a hazard for lead. I say this since your say they are marked Arizona Bottled Water Co. and presumably contained water.

 

[winemanden]

I'll keep feeding the discussion

Sinterklaaswijn / Santa Claus wine

I use these kind of water bottles all the time.

Luc

Luc, that brings back memories for me. When I first started making wine, I used Bakers yeast, no hydrometer, and Marmite was the only nutrient available in UK after WW2. My landlady's mother first showed me how to make wine. When the village baker used to deliver his bread, she used to say to him "Bring me a couple of ounces of yeast when you come tomorrow, I'm going to make some wine.". She used a very big pottery basin as her brewing vessel, covered over with a cloth and a board on top. What she made was real Country wine, wonderful hangover stuff.

Thanks for the memories Luc

 

[winemanden]

The scary part about that site is, there may be 540 "types" of pet, but due to the chemical composition ranges, there are millions of variations due to the maker.

On a side not
This is a great example to use when you want to make your own equipment. Alot of people want to make equipment out of stainless steel, but there are thousands of variations, so make sure its food safe.

You're right about all stainless steel not being equal. Where I used to work, a by product was superfine Aluminium dust -(very explosive stuff)- which we used to store in stainless drums. I did think about borrowing one (lol) to use as a primary vessel until I noticed small rust spots. I had to resort to plan B, buy one!

 

[Jonboy6692.ja]

Are the 5 gallon plastic water bottles used in office coolers of any use as primaries or secondaries
I found some for $10 ea

I use a #2 bottle ( bottom)
HDPE (High density poleythelene)