Plastic vs Glass & Cork vs Rubber

[michaelesler]

Hi guys!

I have been wondering what your opinion are on the above matters! do you prefer glass demijohns and carboys to their plastic equivalent? I know i certainly prefer glass over plastic.

I'm still on the fence over the cork vs rubber bung debate. I'm only taking about using it in the fermenting vessel. I know cork is traditional and all that, but I have been told rubber gives a better seal. But then there is a risk of the rubber imparting a flavour to the winem or so I've been told.

whats your standpoint?

 

[Wade E]

I prefer glass or plastic. I use a vacuum pump and plastic will not work with vacuum as it will cave in. Better Bottles are fine for wine making but water bottles are another story. As fir the rubber bungs most do not impart flavor to wine but there are a few that do but only if they are in contact with the wine. The multi size bungs are not ruber though and they cant be pushed into a carboy unlike the #6 or even 6.5 rubber bungs. There are \pros and cons to glass vs plastic. Glass breaks very easily while the better bottles bounce. If you pick up a full better bottle you can squeeze wine right out and when putting down they can suck the fluid right out of the airlock into your wine. plastic is much lighter but scratches eaily while cleaning which can harbor baceria.

 

[JohnT]

Glass vs plastic: When having to go to a demijohn, I prefer glass for a number of reasons..

Like wade said, glass is more rigid than plastic. This makes it more prone to "breathing". For example, If I simply place my hand on a plastic vessel, you can see air making its way out of the carboy. Once I take my hand off, you can see air then being sucked back in. I like to limit the air contact on my wine as it ages. Glass does a better job of this.

Like Wade, I also use a vacume pump. Glass is better for this.

Finally, I do most of my wine in 54 liter demijohns. I have yet to come across plastic in that size.


Rubber vs cork: I am sure that if you poll the folks here that most will say they use rubber.

Rubber is far more sanitary than cork. Most folks, when they open a bottle of wine, do not save the corks for re-use. I would think that there are a host of sanitary issues in cork re-use.

Also, again like wade said, I use rubber bungs while the jug is standing straight up. The only thing that contacts the rubber is the gas pocket at the top of the jug. Even if the rubber was to add something to the wine, the exposure is very limited.

Finally, I feel that the rubber make a better air-tight seal. I know that cork breaths (which is ok if that is what you are looking for). I prefer the air tight seal.

 

[winemaker_3352]

I agree with John, i like to use glass and rubber corks/bungs.

 

[Angelina]

For the same reasons Wade said I also like glass.

 

[Flem]

Glass carboys and rubber bungs all the way.

 

[Rocky]

I am totally for glass carboys, too. I do have a 6 and a 5 gallon BB which I use in a pinch when I need a "holding tank" and don't have another empty glass carboy. I rack to the BB, clean out the glass carboy and rack back into the galss. They are light weight and easy to handle, but I like the glass for everything else.

Rubber bungs all the way.

 

[deboard]

Can't say I have a strong opinion, but I use better bottles almost exclusively. I have a couple of glass 3 gallon carboys, and I use glass 1 gallon carboys. However, since I am a closet winemaker (meaning I make wine in a spare closet upstairs), I switched from glass because I heard a few horror stories about glass carboys losing their bottoms and leaking wine everywhere. Now I know this is rare, but if this happened to me and ruined the upstairs carpet it would be the end of my winemaking career.

Someday when I have a serious winemaking area like some of the other folks here, I will probably switch back to glass.

 

[JohnT]

I have been using glass for the better part of 22 years. I have never had a case where the "bottom just fell out".

If you are careful, and make it a point to not bang the glass around, you have very little to fear.

johnT.

 

[Rocky]

+1 to what John said. I have a few 5 gallon carboys that we used in the 1950's. They have a few scratches here and there, but I have not had a failure in them.

 

[joebrady]

I too have wondered what most prefer. I saw someone mentioned water bottles, is there anything wrong with using them? I recently was given 4, 5 gal. bottles for free and I have two in use now....

I like the glass, but this is a new hobby for me, and I'm on a tight budget...

see pic... 8th post, second picture
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16506

Also, one night as I was transferring a batch from my primary to a secondary, I realized I didn't have an extra bung! So I went to the nearest Home Depot and bought a solid rubber black stopper and just drilled a hole in it. Are these okay to use? (nearest wine supply store is about 45 mins for me, Home Deopt was 10 mins)

 

[JohnT]

Joe,

The water bottle should be food grade. I remember that there was a thread here about how you can ID the type of plastic used on you bottle (it should be written somewhere on it) and a grid to tell you if the plastic is safe.

Perhaps one of the Gurus here can point you to the thread.

as far as the rubber bung, I would not worry too much. Even if the bung is not completely food grade, I should not normally be in contact with the wine directly. I would look into, perhaps, ordering a new bung from your local. I know that the ones sold to winemakers are food safe.

johnT.

 

[michaelesler]

wow, good response!


i have noticed the problem with the plastic moving as i would touch it and for this reason alone i do prefer glass. the plastic also retains a faint taint from the previous wine.

also i do prefer the rubber bung, it does give a much better seal!

 

[deboard]

I have been using glass for the better part of 22 years. I have never had a case where the "bottom just fell out".

If you are careful, and make it a point to not bang the glass around, you have very little to fear.

johnT.

I think you misunderstand. I did say it was rare, but it has happened. Not to me thankfully. And would I take those odds if I had a dedicated wine making area. You bet. Will I take those odds in my current closet? nope. Plastic works just fine for me right now.

 

[Wade E]

Its ot that its rare, it just doesnt happen on its own. It happens from people banging them around or sucumbing them to severe temp changes. I did the temp change thing myself one day and lost that one just as you said but it didnt give way. I received a free 6 gallon carboy from the dump which was in perfect shape except it was a little nasty inside. It was a colder day and not thiking I briught it right into my kitchen and filled it with hot water and bleach and left for an hour. I came back to a 3/4 full c arboy and diluted bleach on the counter and my floor. Right around the whole bottom a stress crack formed from this temp change and if I hadpicked it up I would have been in serious trouble. I gently racked the fluid right to down the drain and carefully picked the top 12 up and then the bottom 1/2!