View Single Post
  #874  
Old December 29th 18, 03:52 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
John B. Slocomb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 805
Default AG: Storing bottles

On Fri, 28 Dec 2018 20:59:29 -0500, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Dec 2018 12:05:36 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:

I have an insulated (thermos) that I bought thinking I could carry
cold water on the hot days but it wasn't a real success as it didn't
fit the bottle cages very well and secondly it was kind of a pain in
the neck to have to stop, screw off the top and pour out a cup full.
The regular bike bottles you just squirt a mouthful :-)


I used to put ice and water in my insulated pannier, and re-fill the
bottom quarter of my front bottle at intervals. This helped with
hydration, because I was motivated to drink it before it got warm.

I've been buying the cheap Chinese made bottles. I was initially a bit
apprehensive but after trying one they seem as strong as other bottles
and don't seem to have any "plastic smell" or taint the drink and they
are in the neighborhood of $3.00 each.


I prefer the bottles made to be given away to the bottles sold at the
Trail House. The valve at the top of my purchased bottle has a
dirt-holding dent; the free bottles can be wiped clean with my thumb.
If I suspect a valve of being dirty, I squirt some water onto the
ground, but not having a little pit to keep dirt in appeals to me.

Also, all the advertising bottles that I've found at garage sales and
Goodwill have been standard size. That's probably a flaw in the eyes
of a beanpole, but for a sixty-two inch short-legged female, the extra
four-ounce bulb on top of most retail bottles is a deal breaker.

But most of the advertising bottles are opaque. My National Guard
bottles are translucent, but not very.

While I was typing, I remembered that I'd not taken a bottle out of
storage to replace the one I threw into the recycle bin. I found
three Goodwill bottles and one garage-sale bottle in the cupboard, all
clean and wrapped in paper towels to keep dust out, and three dirty
black bottles. One of the black bottles was in the cage it had come
with, which we took off the walk-behind lawn mower before we got rid
of it. I don't remember acquiring the other two. I took one of the
black bottles to put on the sink with other things to be washed the
next time I use the dishpan. While trying to force the valve to open
and close, I commented that I might throw that one into the recycle
bin too.

(I eventually did; the other black bottle appears to be quite
functional; I put water in it, turned it upside-down and squeezed, and
it didn't leak.)

My spouse commented that I ought to throw them all out and buy new
ones because the new ones seal better. I don't know how he knows
that. Typical that he said "throw out" first and "buy" afterward. I
never throw out the old one until I'm sure the new one works. Well,
once I gave away my kitchen funnel confident that I could go to the
dollar store and buy another. I eventually found one in an antique
shop.


I'm glad that I live in a developing country where one can still buy
funnels. You can even buy a funnel to fill small plastic bags :-)

Having said that Thailand has announced a war on plastic bags. If you
bring your own shopping bag you actually get a discount on your
purchases.


#

I thought there was no hurry about cleaning the bottle, because I'd
carry just one bottle and refill it from a quart bottle of hot water
in my insulated pannier. But after I packed the bike for tomorrow's
dump tour both panniers were full of stuff I mean to leave at
Goodwill, and the prediction isn't much below freezing tomorrow. So I
rinsed out the dust, dipped the bottle in the humidifier pot to scald
it, and had at it with a bottle brush. The brush is stiffer than I
remembered it; I had trouble getting it out of the bottle -- perhaps I
should have used the larger brush I use on the wide-mouth bottles.


I once read a post, I think it might have been on a Singapore site,
that talked about washing bottles to "get the black crud out", which
is a bit unappetizing. They recommended putting some rice and water in
the bottle and shaking it. (un boiled rice, that is :-)

cheers,

John B.


Ads
 

Home - Home - Home - Home - Home