Walmart Carboy

[rustbucket]

While looking for picture frame wire at my local Walmart, I noticed some 3 and 5 gallon carboys on the top shelf of the next aisle. The construction of the bottles is similar to the Better Bottle. The only exception is the top of the neck. The Better Bottle has a rounded edge at the top that makes a good stoppered seal. The Walmart bottle's top has a sharper edge and the outside of the neck is threaded for a screw cap that comes with it. The mouth looks big enough to use the same stoppers as the Better Bottle.

The price tag on the shelf was about $6 for a 3 gallon carboy. I'm tempted to try one of these bottles for wine making but seem to recall reading somewhere that there is a reason that plastic food grade water bottles cannot be used for wine making. Does anyone remember what that reason is?

 

[NorCal]

Plastic is permeable by oxygen and so long term aging in plastic will lead to nothing but disappointment.

 

[Jc5066]

It's a #1, just like Better Bottles and other plastic bottles sold at your beer and wine supply. Yes, the stoppers will work in them.

We can debate this again and again, bottom line is some of us use them, some don't.

I use them for my sweeter fruit wines as secondaries. I won't use them for bulk aging. Besides most kits are 6 gallons, so obviously a 5 gallon carboy won't work.

 

[Runningwolf]

It's always a good idea to have an emergency vessel around that you can rack into if you're out of carboys, then you can rack right back into the one you rack out of after you clean it. You could use it for fermentation but why not just use a pail, they're easier to clean.