Leaking Swing-top bottles

[Nztayls]

Hi all,

I recently bought a couple of doz of the Copper Tun swing-top glass bottles. I am having some real difficulty in getting these things to work. So far, I am finding that over 50% of the beer that I am bottling in these is going flat. This is not an issue of poor carbonisation - as I have done half the batch in PET bottles - and these have been fine. 

Having done a bit of research on some other forums I am led to believe that it is because the cages on the tops of the bottles aren't closing tight enough. I have a whole heap of old Grolsh swing-tops, and I note you almost have to force them closed. Not with the Copper Tun bottles, minimal pressure is required. So I think due to this they are not creating an airtight seal, or it is not tight enough to stop the pressure from carbonisation to break the seal on the gasket.

Has anyone else had issues with these?,...and does anyone want to buy some bottles going cheap!

[Mark Goodin]

I too brought a whole bunch of these bottles and had the same issue...too many beers were flat and even over time, so evaporation was seen and taste had been effected. Waste of money.

I have ditched using these in favour of 500ml crown bottles I save from all the craft beer im drinking. Although I told the wife that brewing would reduce the number of beers I buy, its probably in fact quite the opposite.

[Hillman]

I have that issue too. In my view it's the gaskets.  They're not flexible (malleable?) enough to form a decent seal. Do the grolsch gaskets fit on the copper tun bottles? If so I would swap them. You can also order gaskets from the US homebrew websites. Might be worth it if you're ordering other stuff at the same time.

[David Malpas]

I've had the same problem with the odd grolsh swing top - they don't appear to seal properly and all the CO2 escapes. I've moved onto 500ml crown capped bottles now and it's no longer a problem.

[Karl Hayes]

Yup, +1, about half the bottles were flat. Good idea swapping out the gaskets.

[Robbo]

glad to read this thread. i was looking at buying some the other day. 2.50 each at the local brewsky shop. i was actually thinking of for champagne/ wine. (yes, i know this is a beer site...)

hard to believe so many people use half litre's, capping a bucket-worth of quarts is bad enough.

anyway, i might aswell put the message here: anyone in whangarei got some old/new/recovered EC 1118?

[TBone]

Count me into this club. 

First bottles I used were 750ml glass swing tops from my local home brew shop... they were ok to get started, but I did find they leaked over time. 

I ended up buying some swappa crates and bottles off of TradeMe, and then cleaning them up. 

Works great for me needs, no leaks, built in storage with the crates, and they are pretty strong and durable! 

[Karl Hayes]

After a bit of further investigation:

The white plastic part that the seal is attached to is moulded from two halves. In most of the bottles, these are not put together exactly flush. I've filed these flat with the sharp edge of a knife and changed out the seals and not had any more flat bottles.

If you want a few spare seals, pm me and I'll sort you out - they're very cheap.

Cheers