Eric,
I imagine you are referring to the PET soda bottles we see just about
everywhere these days.
They are very strong & highly pressure resistant, over pressure is likely to
be detected by an extremely tight feel of the bottle sides & some
distortion.
Gently releaseing the cap will give you excellent feedback.
In my experience some leakage of gas from the screwcap seal can be expected
before the bottles finally fail.
I can't recall ever having a pressure failure of one of these bottles
regardless of size & yes I have used the two litre type.

Pete


"Eric Kent" <Erickent@giveme10.Com> wrote in message
news:nm9au2tju1hi34vbam7ujv77amaqc1en46@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> I'm sure there are many reasons not to use the 2 liter bottle for this
> purpose, and many better alternatives. I'll thank everyone in advance
> for telling me those facts, but, will a 2 liter plastic soda bottle
> hold the beer or wine without exploding? Say if the fermentation was
> not complete or if it restarted?
>
> I've seen 2 liter bottles pressurized to failure (not pressure gauge
> used) and they seem pretty strong. However I have no idea of the
> strength needed, nor any idea of what a fermenting beverage could
> generate.
>
> Thanks
>
> Eric[/color]