My tonic water cans leak? Yours?

[scorecard]

in the last 8 months (guessing) I've bought numerous slabs of cans of tonic water, always bought from one large warehouse type outlet.

In every slab at least one, perhaps even 3 or 4 cans leak and are empty when I take them out of the cardboard frame. They are always stored upright so the leaking must be from the bottom.

When I've bought a few cans, maybe half a dozen, from a mainstream supermarket never had any leak.

Any other CM members have the same problem? Any suggestions as to why it happens.

Please share.

[Billmont]

Yes, had the same problem, my wife kept telling me we had a leak as the cupboard was wet. I checked found nothing but when we had a visitor and went to serve a G & T the cans were empty with no visible signs of how they leaked. I took them back from where we bought them, (FreshMart) not for a refund, no chance of that anyway and they returned them to the supplier then to Such..... you know who and we did get feedback, no refund of course but a polite thank you for letting them know. They said a fault in the sealing at the bottom and have now redesigned the can, taller and smaller in diameter. Got some of the new design ones and so far so good, they only leak from the top when next to a large Gin.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Billmont

[eyecatcher]

Did you check the sell by date.

Two options; first it could simpky be a malfunctioning tin press that seals the two parts of the can. So many cans may be affected.

My second guess you say the dodgy ones were from a warehouse. It may be very old stock and they are freezing th cans to makr them last longer.

The expansion blows the welt seals at the bottom and thats why it leaks.

Supermarket stock is on a higher turnover so they dont need to cheat by freezing.

My suggestion forget the cheap warehouse its false economy.

.....sorry if you believe all that probably a load of boll ox but you never know i may be onto something.

[northernjohn]

Did you check the sell by date.

Two options; first it could simpky be a malfunctioning tin press that seals the two parts of the can. So many cans may be affected.

My second guess you say the dodgy ones were from a warehouse. It may be very old stock and they are freezing th cans to makr them last longer.

The expansion blows the welt seals at the bottom and thats why it leaks.

Supermarket stock is on a higher turnover so they dont need to cheat by freezing.

My suggestion forget the cheap warehouse its false economy.

.....sorry if you believe all that probably a load of boll ox but you never know i may be onto something.

Chances are if you freeze a sealed can it will bloat all over in size and the tab would be the weak point. Sounds like the supplier has solved the problem.

[Chiengmaijoe]

Forget about sell by dates and frozen cans, Schweppes tonic is prone to being under filled. At a guess one or two in each pack of 24 will be perfectly sealed but short on content. Return them unopened to where you bought them. Coca cola, the licensee of Schweppes in Thailnad will take them back from your supplier and replace them.

[wimpy]

Had several leak recently, causing a sticky mess.

[jacko45k]

Yes, me too, Scwxxxxppes tonic!

Had it with the old fatter cans previously and now the newer slimline ones.

Made a sticky mess in the fridge.

Since they are pressurised the leak does not have to be from the bottom of course, any 'ant's eye' hole might do it.

Mine were bought from a major supermarket. Some QC issue with the can I guess. I was getting funny looks as I was being very selective and going through all the cans to see if they were full or not when I last bought some. Never had a problem with Ginger Ale (yet).

[BigBadGeordie]

I have had a similar problem, put 3 cans in the fridge for the evening along with a bottle of gin, but wake up late the following morning to find 6 empty cans on the table and the gin bottle almost empty. This has happened on more than 1 occaision.

[scorecard]

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Did you check the sell by date.
Two options; first it could simpky be a malfunctioning tin press that seals the two parts of the can. So many cans may be affected.
My second guess you say the dodgy ones were from a warehouse. It may be very old stock and they are freezing th cans to makr them last longer.
The expansion blows the welt seals at the bottom and thats why it leaks.
Supermarket stock is on a higher turnover so they dont need to cheat by freezing.

My suggestion forget the cheap warehouse its false economy.

.....sorry if you believe all that probably a load of boll ox but you never know i may be onto something.

Thanks for your comments.

My overall response to the several comments:

- I did check, the cans are well within the final use-by date.

- Didn't check if they were all full on purchase, I just ripped the outer plastic off and put the cardboard bottom with all the cans direct into a cupboard.

- Empty cans have been discovered when 3 or 4 cans have been taken from the cupboard to go into the fridge.

- Within 1 or 2 days or buying, the cardboard frame thing holding the cans is quite wet, indicating liquid has come out of the cans.

- No cans bloated.

- The bottom of the can has no seal at all, the can is formed with one piece of aluminum, there is a seal at the top but that's irrelevant to the leaking of upright cans.

- I told Mxxxx. Supervisor's comment 'it's just bad luck' and she walked away.

Never mind, not the end of the world

[perconrad]

I have had the problem with the short cans.

The leak made a sticky mess. I had stored the cans - 24 - in the pack, so the cans were laying down and the leak from 5 cans came from where the tab was secured thrugh the can lid.

I bought the tonic water fra Makro and the sell date was not expired.

[misterphil]

I've noticed this too. However the pack isn't wet, its as if the can was never filled up.

[Daffy D]

Very Interesting

Some months ago the local Tesco had a Coca-Cola promotion where they were giving away a free can of Coke with your name printed on it if you bought certain amount of regular bottles.

So we got a can of Coke for each of our two girls.

Thing is the two cans have been sitting on the kitchen shelf for several months without any sigh of leaking yet one of them is now completely empty

Very strange

[stgrhe]

Not any Schweppes tonic but several of their soda cans.

[SOTIRIOS]

....anything remotely associated with foreigners is despised....

....they are tossed around......

(........just guessing.....)

....as for the local soda waters.....does anyone know if they put industrial salts in them.....

...as much as I love soda water...and like the idea of the flavored soda water......they give me a sore throat....fever....etc.....

...I do not mix them with alcohol...only juices occasionally.......

[KhnomKhnom]

Being a well trained reader of scare stories in the news...........

I read "tonic" as "toxic."

[Strangebrew]

I have the same problem I leak two to three times a day Maybe better get seal checked.

[laochef]

Many empty Schweppes Tonic cans empty, both the old and the new cans (Macro). If you use a magnifying glass, you can see a microscopic hole in the bottom. The hole is so small that it would take a few weeks to leak out - so there is no liquid to be found in the cardboard box. It evaporates fast.

[northernjohn]

Sounds like possibility of an international conspiracy to stop people from drinking tonic water.

[tomdfc]

New cans design to cut costs, increase profit, but with inadequate quality control. We have a World Expert in the village who has studiously researched this. He had a personal interest given his large investment in Sssssccchhhh ...

[islandee]

Since the leading expert doesn't seem to be speaking up . . .

Everyone I know hates the new can 'design', not only for the pain factor in opening them --- I use a spoon handle to "pop" the tab to save broken finger nails --- but also for the increased failure rate of the tab itself. Only last night I found myself stabbing a tabless top and, of course, nearly stabbing my hand as well. For the record, the old cans were NOT a problem to open.

As Tom (above) says, those new cans, narrower and taller than the previous version, were designed to extract a fraction of a baht's worth of material from each can to improve Thainamthip's profit margin. I've been told that Thailand is actually lagging the US where "narrower and taller" has been the standard for some time. Dunno about experiences there, but the quality control here in can manufacturing is obviously lacking.

Not so long ago, I accidentally dropped a can from a height of about 18 inches onto a tile floor and it ruptured:

Not explosively, but still dangerously so when one considers the slip factor of liquid, particularly sugar-dosed liquid, on shiny glazed tile. The whole can unloaded on the floor.

Followup 1: Milady, in helping clean up the mess in the kitchen found that there was liquid in the cardboard flat of Schweppes. Five of the cans were leaking, as evident from their substantially different weight. Quarantining them overnight discovered that the bottom roll connecting the wall with the base of each can was leaking. The metal was apparently so thin that it had ruptured, hence the leaking.

I had bought the flat of 24 cans at Rimping (and, yes, the cardboard bottom was soggy). I returned the five cans back to them. They were already well aware that a problem existed from other customers' complaints and replaced my five deficient cans without question. They said the problem (as least to that time) was limited to Schweppes Tonic Water cans.

Followup 2: an indentation in that exploded can's top rolled joint indicated that the can had landed on that "rim". Being inquisitive and possessed of unlimited funds, I went outside and dropped another can from about 18 inches onto its rim on my front tile stoop. The results were not identical, but pointed towards a weakness apparently common to all:

This closeup up will clarify:

Even though the can had landed on its top, the same bottom roll in the can, which had been at fault in the five cans I had returned before, had opened up and liquid sprayed out.

Followup 3: The very next flat I bought also had leaking cans, and Rimping replaced them without question.

For the record, identification printed on the bottom of all the ruptured cans:

310115
4110E50115xx

I know of no adequate substitute for Schweppes available here. The sweet soft drinks don't work. And I don't want a gin screwdriver. I have tried my gin with soda water and found it wanting; so as long as Rimping will replace the leaking tonic water cans, I'll put up with the inconvenience. I hope that Rimping is not footing the bill for Thainamthip's mistake.

[DTL2014]

I can confirm that this problem exists here too in koh phangan - lost about 6 cases already of the old style and the new style can.

Whole cases not just one or two cans...

similar holes around the base of the can.

Distributor will only change them on production of original bill.

The fact that this is happening with the new can design is worrying .

[worgeordie]

Forget about sell by dates and frozen cans, Schweppes tonic is prone to being under filled. At a guess one or two in each pack of 24 will be perfectly sealed but short on content. Return them unopened to where you bought them. Coca cola, the licensee of Schweppes in Thailnad will take them back from your supplier and replace

bottle of them.

When i did exactly what you are now recommending and posted on TV,with a

bottle of Sprite,you called me your favorite word a "cheap Charlie" .,times

changed,or just because its a different poster?

regards Worgeordie

[Chiengmaijoe]

Forget about sell by dates and frozen cans, Schweppes tonic is prone to being under filled. At a guess one or two in each pack of 24 will be perfectly sealed but short on content. Return them unopened to where you bought them. Coca cola, the licensee of Schweppes in Thailnad will take them back from your supplier and replace

bottle of them.

When i did exactly what you are now recommending and posted on TV,with a

bottle of Sprite,you called me your favorite word a "cheap Charlie" .,times

changed,or just because its a different poster?

regards Worgeordie

Diddums.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/711225-those-wonderful-thai-retailers/page-2?hl=%2Bsprite+%2Bworgeordie#entry7580849

If you check the topic in question, I think you'll find I didn't call you a cheap Charlie but I did suggest that black-balling a little store in your neighbourhood over a trifling matter was not so wise and that possibly your reaction , of suggesting that you had been shit on, was a little over the top.

I also pointed out that I'm not on the top rung of the ladder, but you keep saying I am! You're getting a bit obsessed by me, I think. Try worrying about what you friends and family think about you, and not strangers, especially those on the internet.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Chiengmaijoe

[iainiain101]

I always explain to the wife that a G&T is a medicinal requirement to prevent malaria. Usually in reply to a statement along the lines of 'can't you go a day....'

I had always thought that quinine was no longer in tonic water, and if you check the contents it is not mentioned, though this is my understanding as it is in Thai. But the last few times flying BA back to the UK I have noticed that the little yellow cans on the plane specifically say 'contains quinine' on the front under the words tonic water.

Are the contents different, is it a marketing thing or why is it mentioned?

[SurinBeach]

Yup had it here in Phuket, old cans produced sticky mess in the fridge on several occasions.

Will start to test more thoroughly on the new cans which purchased yesterday have expiry date of 30 04 2015 ...

How many Schweppes Tonic canning factories in Thailand ?

Is there an alternative to Schweppes Tonic in Thailand ?

[Chiengmaijoe]

I always explain to the wife that a G&T is a medicinal requirement to prevent malaria. Usually in reply to a statement along the lines of 'can't you go a day....'

I had always thought that quinine was no longer in tonic water, and if you check the contents it is not mentioned, though this is my understanding as it is in Thai. But the last few times flying BA back to the UK I have noticed that the little yellow cans on the plane specifically say 'contains quinine' on the front under the words tonic water.

Are the contents different, is it a marketing thing or why is it mentioned?

It's bad news I'm afraid....... You are going to have to drink more. From Wikipedia.

"In the United States, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits the quinine content in tonic water to 83 ppm[4] (83 mg per liter if calculated by mass), while the daily therapeutic dose of quinine is in the range of 5001000 mg,[5] and 10 mg/kg every eight hours for effective malaria prevention (2100 mg daily for a 70 kg adult).[6] Still, it is often recommended as a relief for leg cramps, but medical research suggests some care is needed in monitoring doses.[7] Because of quinine's risks, the FDA cautions consumers against using "off-label" quinine drugs to treat leg cramps.[8]"

[prakhonchai nick]

Last post 6 years ago. 

My 6 pack of Schweppes Tonic Water, bought at Tesco, had 3 empty cans, and 1 half full, which when I opened it, still sparkled. The remaining 2 cans look OK and are seemingly full. Obviously 6 years on, Schweppes or whoever manufactures the cans have made no improvement.

[PatOngo]

Leaking tonic water cans! OMG! I thought I had problems, phew, I've only got cancer!

[Mapguy]

Well, actually, one might worry more about a leaky bladder!

[Susco]

I recall I have had leaking cans of Schweppes as well.

 

Needle sized hole in the bottom. Don't recall this with any other soft drink cans, so I guess it must be some ingredient in the tonic that oxidizes the can material