Bottles not sealing right?

[cjf12]

I have now had maybe 5-6 bottles that I know about opened to have mold in them. Usually pints it seems but was at least 1 1/2 gallon. We bring it up to about 190* then botrle and put the lid on. Is there something we are not doing right we don't know about? I have just recently seen some pictures of people putting them on there side. Is this critical?

[Chickenman]

yes. laying on side helps to sterilize the cap and get the seal to stick to the bottle lip. How much head space are you leaving? I was told to fill to the lip just below the threads, Put on cap, lay on side for about a minute stand back upright and check for tightness again.

[maple flats]

Another thing, I have found that some caps are more prone to sealing issues. On the bottles you use, do they have a cardboard piece for the seal or is it plastic. I have had issues in the past with bottles or any container with just a cardboard for the seal. However even those usually seal.
Your issue is likely the tipping on it's side as soon as you finish filling and screwing the cap on snug. Doing that kills any mold spores on the top or the seal. Lay it down for a minute or two, then stand it back up.

[cjf12]

I have been getting cdl jugs. More of a foamy plastic seal. I also fill em most of the way. I always put enough in so that my wife says "you fill these up way to much". If she's doing it it's just starting up the neck of the jug where the threads begin. Maybe a little below.

[S.S.S]

I fill my bottles weather it be glass or plastic right to the top, install cap and lay on its side for 30 seconds and have never had problem with mold on top. I have had issues with the flip top caps not sealing correctly but thats it.

[n8hutch]

I have now had maybe 5-6 bottles that I know about opened to have mold in them. Usually pints it seems but was at least 1 1/2 gallon. We bring it up to about 190* then botrle and put the lid on. Is there something we are not doing right we don't know about? I have just recently seen some pictures of people putting them on there side. Is this critical?

Are you certain that your Density is correct? Smaller containers are more prone to issues, the only container I have ever had mold on me was a 100ml plastic bottle, I'm certain that the syrup to container was the issue. Too much plastic and not enough hot liquid.

[Goggleeye]

I would have to say ditto on what the others have said. We used to have the same problem until we started filling them to the near very top and laying them on their sides. I can't remember having any mold since we started doing that.

[VTnewguy]

"you fill these up way to much".

At least I'm not the only one that gets told that. lol

[Russell Lampron]

On glass I preheat the bottle and fill it right to the rim. On plastic I fill it to the bottom of the threads. In both cases I put the cap on immediately and lay them on their side while I fill the next container. I've never had a problem with mold. I use Bacon jugs and have never had a problem with leakage. I did have an occasional cap leak when I used Sugarhill jugs.

[maple flats]

On glass I also preheat the glass in cold weather but not when I bottle in warm weather. To preheat my glass I had an "oven" made at my local tin shop maybe 10-12 years ago. It sets on the back of the evaporator, has a lip that hangs down to hold it in the back of the base stack. It is 28-30" wide and about 28" tall, the side facing the base stack is open. I have a light weight chain that goes around the base stack which holds the top tight to the base stack. One side (about 12" x 28") lifts off to reveal 3 shelves. It gets glass (when I'm boiling) to about 180-190F in about 15-20 minutes. If the evaporator is not boiling I set the glass on the cover of my finisher to warm it, that maybe only gets the glass up to 120-150 (in 20-30 minutes) depending on how hot I'm firing the finisher. If I have no syrup in it, I put 2-3" of permeate in and light the burner to warm the glass.

[spud]

I have now had maybe 5-6 bottles that I know about opened to have mold in them. Usually pints it seems but was at least 1 1/2 gallon. We bring it up to about 190* then botrle and put the lid on. Is there something we are not doing right we don't know about? I have just recently seen some pictures of people putting them on there side. Is this critical?

I had some issues early on with mold. It turned out to be the caps I was using. We switched from black caps to gold caps on our bottles and never had a problem again. I was told that once you tighten a cap you should not try to tighten it more minutes later. That could brake the seal. We fill the bottles almost to the top and that has worked well for us. I have never turned bottles on their side like others had. The only issue I'm having now is spinning thousands of caps on every month. We are still looking into a capper machine and hope to get one very soon. Also wondering how long was it before you saw mold in your bottles?

Spud

[Sugarmaker]

As others have mentioned. Check density first. Sugarhill jugs are pretty good now and we have not had any issues. We dont turn them on there sides any more. Cap seals from the heat.
Regards,
Chris

[cjf12]

Thanks for all the replys. I feel our density is pretty good but I do have a tendency to retighten when were done bottling. Gonna stop that and start laying on the side. I am also looking at getting a jacketed bottler. At the moment we are using a 20 gallon stock pot and those last couple gallons could be cooled off to much because we have to turn heat way down when it gets to low.