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Step 8Shrink the Bottle
20 oz PET bottles are too tall to fit in the tank so they must be shrunk.
Even 16 oz bottles are too tall (same height; just narrower) That leave 8 oz bottles. They fit but, most people drink more than a cup at a time.
Solution: Shrink a 20 oz bottle. PET bottle are manufactured via a blow molding process. Essentially, a molton blob of plastic is inflated like a balloon and then cooled to hold its shape. This process leaves a lot of internal stress in the plastic. With a little applied heat the softened plastic will shrink.
Process: Fill a 20 oz bottle about 3/4 full of water. Place it in the microwave and heat.
(Start with hot water from the tap; it will shorten the micowave time.) Put the bottle in a shallow bowl. There is a good chance that water will overflow as the volume of the bottle decreases.
Be carefull! The bottle filled with boiling water will be Hot. Remove it from the microwave carefully. Pour out the hot water, and run the bottle under cold water to stop the shrinking process.
It may take several attempts to get the bottle to the right size.
Try not to over shrink the bottle; the goal is to reduce its height enough to fit in the tank, yet retain as much usable volume as possible.
Note: After shrinking a 20 oz bottle to fit in the tank, it should still be able to hold the contents of a 12oz. can (with room to spare)
The photo below show the before, and after, size of a 20 oz plastic pop bottle.
Even 16 oz bottles are too tall (same height; just narrower) That leave 8 oz bottles. They fit but, most people drink more than a cup at a time.
Solution: Shrink a 20 oz bottle. PET bottle are manufactured via a blow molding process. Essentially, a molton blob of plastic is inflated like a balloon and then cooled to hold its shape. This process leaves a lot of internal stress in the plastic. With a little applied heat the softened plastic will shrink.
Process: Fill a 20 oz bottle about 3/4 full of water. Place it in the microwave and heat.
(Start with hot water from the tap; it will shorten the micowave time.) Put the bottle in a shallow bowl. There is a good chance that water will overflow as the volume of the bottle decreases.
Be carefull! The bottle filled with boiling water will be Hot. Remove it from the microwave carefully. Pour out the hot water, and run the bottle under cold water to stop the shrinking process.
It may take several attempts to get the bottle to the right size.
Try not to over shrink the bottle; the goal is to reduce its height enough to fit in the tank, yet retain as much usable volume as possible.
Note: After shrinking a 20 oz bottle to fit in the tank, it should still be able to hold the contents of a 12oz. can (with room to spare)
The photo below show the before, and after, size of a 20 oz plastic pop bottle.
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Feb 24, 2011. 6:51 PMjrbilodeau
says:
not a bad idea, but they say that plastic pop bottle should not be reused since they leach toxins from the plastic.
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Dec 15, 2011. 2:21 PMcamphikefishbike
says:
If they weren't safe than millions of people would be sick from them already. Is the they in your' post a conspiracy enthusiast? Also if you're worried about the heat releasing toxins remember this, that bottle was molten hot 700+ degree f plastic once or twice before. I'm not worried about it, you can if you want.
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