AHB Wiki: Cleaning Bottles

[Hatchy]

I've become suspicious of my squirt tub. I used it with sod met many moons ago before I discovered the interweb & AHB. No rinse sanitiser asks for contact time so I soak in the sink for a 2 minutes & use the squirt tub for squirt tub for rinsing. I'd be happy to go back to the squirt tub sanitising but I'm not confident about the contact time.

 

[leiothrix]

The contact time for the no rinses is the surface being wet. The bottles are still wet after several minutes with just a squirt from the rinser and being hung on a bottle tree.

Rob.

 

[Nodrog]

can someone please post a link to the 'squirt tubs' you mention.

Googling squirt tub is not pretty by the way !!

 

[mkstalen]

Googling squirt tub is not pretty by the way !!

 

[booyablack]

Nodrog

Link to bottle rinser:

http://www.aussiebrewmakers.com.au/view/pa...item/53300.html

 

[Hatchy]

The contact time for the no rinses is the surface being wet. The bottles are still wet after several minutes with just a squirt from the rinser and being hung on a bottle tree.

Rob.

Well my bottling day just became a lot less of a hassle. If I start getting infected bottles I'm blaming you.

I'm glad I've never googled squirt tub, I don't even want to think about what might show up from that search. I wonder what those things are actually called.

Edit: they're probably called bottle rinsers. I didn't read the previous post.

 

[Yob]

Pretty sure I read somewhere that caustic cleaners eat glass and shouldnt be used if you like nice shiny bottles... dont hold me to it I just read it in another thread.. and yes.. googeling squirt tub is messy

edit: maybe someone with a little more knowlage on caustic cleaners can expand on which are OK and which to avoid?

 

[Hatchy]

I saw that in the other thread as well. Sodium percarbonate seems to do a good enough job.

 

[jakub76]

I've taken to soaking bottles for 2 days in unscented napisan. Then I go through and scrub the label glue off and rinse with hot water 3-4 times, no brushing but I do rinse the bottles well when I first empty them.
By doing it between brews it makes bottling less of a hassle, I now have a number of crates full of bottles ready to use - just a rinse with sanitiser and I'm off

 

[Nodrog]

After learnign so much from this site, here's something which might help others? A small thing, but have been using it for a while, and saves a heap of time for my bottle cleaning routine.

I use 750ml plastic bottles, and x16 nicely fit in a $8 storage box from Bunnings.
I made a few covers for the boxes, 6mm ply, and a 50mm holesaw, and a bar that locks the cover into place.
Would make them out of acrylic sheet if I did again, a bit cleaner.
I can take the tops on and off, but hold the bottles in the box, shake them, and turn them upside down. Now I can clean x16 bottle at once.

Bottles get a quick rinse when opened, once I've got x16 they go into a box with the lid, and get a 200mls or so of hot nappy san +water, caps on, shake around a bit, and leave for a few hours / days, shaking when i can be bothered. Caps off, and outside, rinsing is with a hosepipe, squirt it over the tops, then turn the box upside down. Do this a few times. Then I put a 100mls or so of sod met + water into each one, and cap, and leave the box in the garage.

Bottling day, take off all the caps, put them somewhere clean, and turn the box upside down to drain.
Next job is to find a bottling / syphon wand that will let me fill x16 bottles at once.

 

[pk.sax]

After learnign so much from this site, here's something which might help others? A small thing, but have been using it for a while, and saves a heap of time for my bottle cleaning routine.

I use 750ml plastic bottles, and x16 nicely fit in a $8 storage box from Bunnings.
I made a few covers for the boxes, 6mm ply, and a 50mm holesaw, and a bar that locks the cover into place.
Would make them out of acrylic sheet if I did again, a bit cleaner.
I can take the tops on and off, but hold the bottles in the box, shake them, and turn them upside down. Now I can clean x16 bottle at once.

Bottles get a quick rinse when opened, once I've got x16 they go into a box with the lid, and get a 200mls or so of hot nappy san +water, caps on, shake around a bit, and leave for a few hours / days, shaking when i can be bothered. Caps off, and outside, rinsing is with a hosepipe, squirt it over the tops, then turn the box upside down. Do this a few times. Then I put a 100mls or so of sod met + water into each one, and cap, and leave the box in the garage.

Bottling day, take off all the caps, put them somewhere clean, and turn the box upside down to drain.
Next job is to find a bottling / syphon wand that will let me fill x16 bottles at once.

After getting through the bulk of my initial bottle cleaning with a dishwasher, these days I am doing something very similar to your method. A few differences:

- Using milk crates, easier to drain, dry etc..
- No customised restrainer, I just sit another milk crate on top and turn the whole thing upside down to drain
- Using sodium percarbonate + Nappisan after plain water rinses with hose have stopped being foamy. Leave in bottles for until bottling day.
- Bottling day, take full crate - drain as before - fresh squirt of hose water in each - drain again - leave dry for 15-20 minutes (or until I am ready to bottle) - Squirt no rinse Hydrogen Peroxide in each bottle, start filling first bottle as soon as the last one has been squirted

^ Tested that last step with bottling some very pale and clear cider in some clear bottles, the cider remains very pale so no oxidation happening from the bit of spent H2O2 I leave in there.

 

[williwilli]

business for sale

 

[pkt_diamonds]

After getting through the bulk of my initial bottle cleaning with a dishwasher, these days I am doing something very similar to your method. A few differences:

- Using milk crates, easier to drain, dry etc..
- No customised restrainer, I just sit another milk crate on top and turn the whole thing upside down to drain
- Using sodium percarbonate + Nappisan after plain water rinses with hose have stopped being foamy. Leave in bottles for until bottling day.
- Bottling day, take full crate - drain as before - fresh squirt of hose water in each - drain again - leave dry for 15-20 minutes (or until I am ready to bottle) - Squirt no rinse Hydrogen Peroxide in each bottle, start filling first bottle as soon as the last one has been squirted

^ Tested that last step with bottling some very pale and clear cider in some clear bottles, the cider remains very pale so no oxidation happening from the bit of spent H2O2 I leave in there.

Plastic bottles are terrible

 

[bum]

Are they? Or do you just not like them?