What size Mason jars are best / most useful?

[Hoosier Shine9]

I have half pint, Pint, Quart and half gallon Ball/Kerr/Mason jars that I use for collection.

Use pint & quart for storage.
Use half gallon for making FirePiss.....whole family loves this.....

I also save all the glass jars from Pickles, pasta sauce ect......I put my fores in those. save my fores for cleaning solvent, fire starter, weed killer....Don't have to think....if it is in a pickle jar it is "bad"
That way I don't accidently dump fores into the boiler thinking they are heads or tails.
Also I don't grab a jar of Hearts to use as a cleaning solvent...

[Fruit Squeezer]

Thank you. I guess I need to learn more about what equipment is used to make and ferment larger washes.

It seems cumbersome to make 3 different 5gal washes - followed by 3 stripping runs....just to get enough low wines for a spirit run.

The beauty of starting out small, is earning your stripes and working your way up with little cost. Also having less costly failures and lessons. Even if you eventually went HUGE, you would still have your smaller equipment for expiramentation. I had so much fun with my 5 gal pot, I certainly got my money's worth.

I now ferment in a (3) 5 gal buckets. It fills my 15.5 gal boiler with enough head- space, and room for feints and backset (4gal racked off the grain x3 containers=12gal)

Don't purchase glassware online unless you get an amazing deal. It's fragile and heavy, and shipping can offset savings. Not to mention the aggrivation of getting 1/2 case of busted glass at your door, or package stolen off your steps.

Most stores like walmart will have them on the shelf, or ship to store for free. Grocery stores usually have them year round. If not, they are easy to come by in the fall, when harvest and canning peaks. Get pints for cuts or as gifts, quarts for hearts collection or storage, and 1/2 gal for ageing, and a feints jar. Wide mouth are easier to work with and clean.
+1 on the coffee filters!

[MM-Brew]

Good day to you all.
If you on a budget then I recommend to get 2 or 3 cases of Qt jars with measurement msrks on them. Then you can fill them to your desired amount and use them how ever you need. I run an 8 gallon boiler with 6 gallons of wash/low wines. I do collect down to 20% and I normally have around 20 jars, give or take. I use Qt jars and collect about 500 mills in each jar.
I have several 1/2 gallons jars that I use for aging/oaking.
My advice to you stay away from online and grocery stores, their to expensive. Wall mart and other farm stores should have better deals on jars.
As for giving to friends or whoever then go to the dollar store and find a bottle with a cork. The ones near me have pints and fifths size bottles with corks. I now use carboy's for my stripping runs. Before I would use qt jars. Then wash them and use them for my Spirit Run it was lots of work to do it that way.
Also for the last 2 years wall mart has had Mason jars on black Friday for really cheap. Just food for thought.

[vex]

Thanks all.

So many suggest mason jars but what do you all use for lids on those jars?

Any mason jar I've seen has an orange seal around it that is presumably made out of rubber (=bad). I don't trust that...even with likker that is proofed down.

Thoughts?

[Irishgnome]

Vex,

I take the center out and cut PTFE sheets to size as a barrier between lid and spirits.

Ball mason jars have some rubber and plastic, not sure what it’s made from.

Anchor brand mason jars are all steel, at least the ones that I have are all steel.

I cut Teflon PTFE for all of them, I also like old scotch and wine bottles. Hopefully cork is okay?! Never looked into it.

Cheers,
Irish.

[vex]

Yeah, I thought this stuff might be good:
HFS (R) PTFE Film No Adhesive, Pure White 16 x 60 inch ; Thickness 0.35mm ; 60inch Long/Roll ; Cut to Any Size;
http://a.co/d/ji4gh86" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

$18 for a 60"x16" sheet.

So just cut out circles the same size as the metal lids from the mason jars.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Thanks all.

So many suggest mason jars but what do you all use for lids on those jars?

Any mason jar I've seen has an orange seal around it that is presumably made out of rubber (=bad). I don't trust that...even with likker that is proofed down.

Thoughts?

Vex, you inspired me to make a sticky.

I have been referencing this thread for years. It only occurred to me now that it was buried. Read the below thread. This post is what made it so valuable (along with Corene's oak lids)-

I've been using these - http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.a ... &catid=720" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow . The 2.725" size fits a regular mason jar and the 3.5" size fits a large mouth mason jar.

I use these for aging on glass - http://www.widgetco.com/jar-cork-stoppers-standard" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow . The 3.5" (size 48) fits a 1 gallon large mouth pickle jar.

Please see the first link. It is what I have been using. Using it without the original lid, it allows for a little breathing, and is safe.

You can see this new sticky in the 'What not do use/ do' forum.

viewtopic.php?f=89&t=49410

[Scorpster]

Looks like I'm the odd man out because although I use 250, 500 and 1000ml jars for collection, I use 13L (3g) and 26L (5g) glass jugs for storing/aging. Guess I like the efficiencies that come from volume.

[Expat]

Looks like I'm the odd man out because although I use 250, 500 and 1000ml jars for collection, I use 13L (3g) and 26L (5g) glass jugs for storing/aging. Guess I like the efficiencies that come from volume.

No, not the odd man out, most everyone here is using glass carboys for one reason or another (collection, faints, aging etc). I have about a dozen in the 5/6g category, plus another 25 or so in the gallon range 3-4L.

I think it's more that the thread was specifically Mason jars, rather than glass storage.

[vex]

Vex, you inspired me to make a sticky.

I have been referencing this thread for years. It only occurred to me now that it was buried. Read the below thread. This post is what made it so valuable (along with Corene's oak lids)-

Thanks Shine....glad my newb questions could inspire something

I had already read that entire post several times. Was just curious what others here were using.

Is there any benefit to using the US Plastic discs over just buying a sheet of PTFE and cutting my own?

I may also try to cut a couple lids like Corene did.

[NZChris]

If a jar has a problem, don't fix it, use something else that doesn't have the problem. I occasionally use Mason jars, but only for short term, never for aging, because I don't trust the seals and there is better glassware, etc. available.

Natural cork is expensive, but I would rather spend my money on corks than to try to plug 4" holes in Mason jars for long term aging. If you want to impress someone with moonshine likker in a Mason jar, fill it just before you present it and after having aged it in something better.

[underdog]

Hiya!
I have a 13 gallon milk can boiler and a 2 inch Boka column, presently undergoing revision with SPP.
When I do a run, I collect everything in pint jars. There are 12 in a case, and two cases pretty much does a run for me. I fill each one to the 300ml mark or so. Each one has a labeled number - that's important. Jar number one always gets used as disinfectant or tossed. Those two cases of little jars come out for every run. I also log my times, amounts, power level and ABV for each jar. One run fills a sheet of notebook paper.

I keep a couple of cases of quart jars around all of the time - I'm always giving stuff away in those jars, and the people that get a second taste are the ones that bring the jar back.

I also keep a couple of cases of the half-gallon jars around for collecting the liquid from the various fruity SPD varieties, managing feints, and storing accumulated neutral spirits. I cover the opening of the jar with waxed paper before screwing on the kids to help keep that lid plastic away from my hooch.

I make mostly UJSSM and distill using the Pure Whiskey method for the brown stuff and use the early UJ runs for my neutral spirits, which generally end up as vodka or SPD.

That's what works for me. YMMV.

[vex]

Hiya!
I have a 13 gallon milk can boiler and a 2 inch Boka column, presently undergoing revision with SPP.
When I do a run, I collect everything in pint jars. There are 12 in a case, and two cases pretty much does a run for me. I fill each one to the 300ml mark or so. Each one has a labeled number - that's important. Jar number one always gets used as disinfectant or tossed. Those two cases of little jars come out for every run. I also log my times, amounts, power level and ABV for each jar. One run fills a sheet of notebook paper.

I keep a couple of cases of quart jars around all of the time - I'm always giving stuff away in those jars, and the people that get a second taste are the ones that bring the jar back.

I also keep a couple of cases of the half-gallon jars around for collecting the liquid from the various fruity SPD varieties, managing feints, and storing accumulated neutral spirits. I cover the opening of the jar with waxed paper before screwing on the kids to help keep that lid plastic away from my hooch.

I make mostly UJSSM and distill using the Pure Whiskey method for the brown stuff and use the early UJ runs for my neutral spirits, which generally end up as vodka or SPD.

That's what works for me. YMMV.

Great post...thank you!
Whats an SPD?

[still_stirrin]

Whats an SPD?

This.....viewtopic.php?f=96&t=47485

[hoot]

Picked up a case of "new" smooth glass jars. Like 12 bucks. No raised "Ball" lettering