I found the following here: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/7914/press.htm (http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/7914/press.htm)
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"Won't it explode from the pressure?" is another worry. Again, very unlikely. The plastic 2 litre (2 quarts aprox. to you Americans) pop bottle is made of PET, an old and strong plastic. A PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle can withstand 150 PSI depending on the temperature. They *can* blow at 50 PSI or less. Be aware of this! Never go near a pressurized bottle. We have never been able to get a seal at the mouth good enough to come anywhere near that pressure. The water always begins to squirt out of the bottle long before that. We did pop a vinyl hose once (LOUD!), but that was with a small air compressor. If you can devise a better seal, I think you have the brains to realize the possible danger of the bottle or air line bursting. Limit the kids to a bicycle pump if you want. Again, think about what you are doing.
From: ustcc2un@ibmmail.com
To: crawddady@home.com
Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company via our Web site.
The amount of PSIs (pounds of pressure per square inch) that a package is able to withstand depends on the volume of carbonation and is based on the product rather than on the package. At lower temperatures, the pressure is lower; at higher temperatures, the pressure is higher.
A can is able to withstand over 100 PSIs.
A 6.5 ounce glass bottle can withstand 225 PSIs.
A 16 ounce bottle can withstand 175 PSIs.
A PET bottle can withstand 250 PSIs depending on the temperature.
I hope this information is helpful. If you have additional questions or comments, please visit our Web site again.
Gina M. L'Heureux
The Coca-Cola Company
Industry and Consumer Affairs
Addendum:
A snippet of a email from Bruce Berggren to me contained some other pressure ratings, namely:
>500ml (couldn't fail with 170psi pump)
>1 liter (failed at 170)
>2 liter (failed at 125)
>Granted, this was only ONE specimen each.
I've never run a pressure test personally so I'm asking Coke for some more info on this. Meanwhile, you might play safe at 100 PSI. The w-rocket group thinks Coke bottles are some of the weaker types of PET bottles.
crawddady@home.com
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Can anybody find a more scientific study of this?