A nice result......

[fatbloke]

Attached is a pic of todays result.

Between 250 and 280 "industry standard" green glass, 750ml, Bordeaux style bottles.

I couldn't get any more in the car, as the rear suspension was starting to sag!

They come from a local winery/vineyard, that uses them in process (note, they age their product in the bottle, but the stillages full of bottles are stored in a temperature controlled warehouse), and apparently, it's not cost effective to clean/wash out, before sterilising them for finished product, so every now and then they have a load that go for recycling. I just got what I could get into the car, from the 7,500 or so that are waiting for the recycling truck!

I've now got most of them in the garden filled with a weak solution of bleach to get rid of most of the small amount of muck that was left inside from the processing.

[skunkboy]

Nice score!

[Soyala_Amaya]

Uh, jealous much? I wants!

[TAKeyser]

I need a source for free bottles

[skunkboy]

Originally Posted by TAKeyser

I need a source for free bottles

Most of the winery tasting rooms that I have been to in Michigan give away their empties, they are not supposed to reuse them. I love getting 1/2 wine bottles for free. I get cheap beer bottles by bribing people with cases of relatively clean bottles.

[TAKeyser]

Originally Posted by skunkboy

Most of the winery tasting rooms that I have been to in Michigan give away their empties, they are not supposed to reuse them. I love getting 1/2 wine bottles for free. I get cheap beer bottles by bribing people with cases of relatively clean bottles.

I don't get to many tastings and they all seem to be west of you so basically on the other side of the state. Feel free to grab me some free 1/2 bottles since they are what I prefer

[wayneb]

Oh, I do wish that I had such a treasure trove to raid from time to time. I'm really getting tired of trying to get labels off of used commercial bottles. These days, with the new adhesives that are employed, it takes forever to get the goo off -- not like the old days when an overnight soak freed up all but the most stubborn labels.

[fatbloke]

Originally Posted by wayneb

Oh, I do wish that I had such a treasure trove to raid from time to time. I'm really getting tired of trying to get labels off of used commercial bottles. These days, with the new adhesives that are employed, it takes forever to get the goo off -- not like the old days when an overnight soak freed up all but the most stubborn labels.

ah, now I have a gallon can of a solvent, that is normally used by car dealers, to remove any glue from any extra decals, from the paintwork, prior to resale. It's very good at shifting stubborn glues, and just needs clean cloths in a well ventilated area (sniffers delight). I'll try to see what's on the can, you may be able to find some equivalent locally.......

[fivecats]

Originally Posted by wayneb

Oh, I do wish that I had such a treasure trove to raid from time to time. I'm really getting tired of trying to get labels off of used commercial bottles. These days, with the new adhesives that are employed, it takes forever to get the goo off -- not like the old days when an overnight soak freed up all but the most stubborn labels.

What's your process for getting labels off? I tend to do the overnight soak and then put in lots of elbow grease. I'd love to find a cheap, easier way to get a clean glass surface.

[browncoats]

If the label has a plastic coating I'll do a soak first. Otherwise Goo Gone works absolute wonders!

[skunkboy]

Originally Posted by TAKeyser

I don't get to many tastings and they all seem to be west of you so basically on the other side of the state. Feel free to grab me some free 1/2 bottles since they are what I prefer

Next time you visit BNektar bug them, they usually have a bunch of used bottles around that they are happy to donate.

[Chevette Girl]

I find 20 min soak in hot mildly soapy water will tell me which labels have water soluble adhesive, which are the acceptable kind of gummy and which are the PITA kind of gummy, and which are plastic labels that can be peeled once they've been softened up a little by the heat... After I've taken the bottle brush to all the insides, I use a spoon to scrape the labels off (I find the curvature of a spoon works better than flat knife) and then sometimes the bottles go in for another soak if required, especially by the time the water's cooling off, as I make this an all day process while I'm doing other things, the bucket I use fits 7 standard wine bottles quite neatly and I can get a couple cases of bottles done in a day without really feeling like that's all I've done all day.

I use a plastic pot scrubber to remove remaining water-soluble adhesive & label and the acceptable kind of gummy labels (like the packing labels I use for my own labelling) that didn't come off with the spoon. I find this works well for most adhesives. The real tenacious PITA gummy labels that won't come off nicely with a soak and a scrape gets the Goo Gone treatment in a box on the other side of the basement, I don't particularly want that stuff making it into the air around my airlocks or gettting onto any of my equipment.

Then anything that had to be treated with Goo Gone gets a wash with dish soap to get the chemicals and any remaining gunk off... Now and then I run into a label I can't even scrape or peel off, and it goes in the "Take it Back" box for my $.15 at the Beer Store, sometimes they're just not worth the work.

[TAKeyser]

Originally Posted by skunkboy

Next time you visit BNektar bug them, they usually have a bunch of used bottles around that they are happy to donate.

For some reason I hadn't even thought of asking them.

[TheAlchemist]

A little bleach in the water soak helps get lables off easier, I find.

[skunkboy]

I use warm water and oxyclean to try and remove labels (completely cover the bottles, and leave over night). Then if I really like the bottles and they are being stubborn, goo gone and elbow grease.

[wayneb]

Originally Posted by fivecats

What's your process for getting labels off? I tend to do the overnight soak and then put in lots of elbow grease. I'd love to find a cheap, easier way to get a clean glass surface.

My usual way is to soak from 48-72 hours in a strong Oxiclean solution. There was a time (not that very long ago, maybe 15-20 years) when that would remove all except the mylar plastic film labels... not so any more.

These days I have to resort to Goo Gone for more and more of the labels -- I'm thinking that fatbloke may have the right idea. Using a solvent (acetone or toluene, if it smells that good! ) may be the way to go.

[fivecats]

Fatbloke: My apologies for hijacking your thread!

[fatbloke]

Originally Posted by fivecats

Fatbloke: My apologies for hijacking your thread!

Da nada my friend. I just posted about my bottles victory, because they were free (in money), though it took me the rest of the day to get them soaking with a weak bleach solution.

As for label removing, I usually soak in hot soapy water, as that will show which labels are fixed with like animal glue and slip off easily, but then those, like the ones with "self adhesive" labels that have been applied by the bottling machine, are scraped with a craft knife blade, then dried off and residual glue and/or paper are removed with the solvent. Its proprietary name is "Preptone", but it contains Xylene. Does an excellent job on all types of glue......

[darkangel]

Originally Posted by skunkboy

I use warm water and oxyclean to try and remove labels (completely cover the bottles, and leave over night). Then if I really like the bottles and they are being stubborn, goo gone and elbow grease.

Yeah right, I also use warm water and oxyclean, it works for me.