6

I bottle to flip top 750 ml bottles. Should I keep using the same ones forever, or do they weaken over time, and I should get a new set some day?

I'm not extremely careful with them, I often clean them in my stainless steel sink, stack them... I primarily do beer, but also carbonated hard lemonade and cider.

And please, for the love of science, don't even think of telling me that glass is a liquid. The two forum posts I clicked on when I started researching this had people saying that glass at normal temperature is a liquid.

Improve this question
1
  • 2
    Everyone knows glass is a vapor at room temp, and solid in the fridge. Sheesh!
    – brewchez
    Commented Jun 23, 2012 at 15:13

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

I think you'll be ok to use them for a good few years to come. Glass is quite a tough substance...

To be honest i'd be more worried about the cap - the rubber seals on those will perish at a much faster rate than the glass will. Once you start seeing the rubber get dry, and/or start to crack then i'd start to think about replacing.

You might even be able to get replacement seals for the caps.

Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    plus 1. It's the gaskets that are the weakest link. The glass will last for a long time. Yes, it is a liquid, but incredibly viscous at room temperature. If you look at some very old windows, you can see a small amount of "dripping down" of the glass. But for a beer bottle, just forget that it's a liquid. It will probably outlast you.
    – mdma
    Commented Jun 22, 2012 at 19:56
  • @mdma I warned you for the love of science to not spread that myth. Old windows are thick at one end because they were manufactured with the crown glass process en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_glass_(window). They put the thicker end at the bottom because it's simply more stable that way, but I would bet that you can find old windows installed upside down that are thick on the top
    – MStodd
    Commented Jun 22, 2012 at 20:12
  • ok, I didn't read your post as considering that to be a myth, and didn't see any warning. I was told this when I was a kid, and it's stuck with me. But regardless, which state of matter it assumes is not really relevant, the bottles will be fine.
    – mdma
    Commented Jun 22, 2012 at 20:39
  • @mdma think nothing of it. we are in the same boat
    – MStodd
    Commented Jun 23, 2012 at 5:21

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.