10 gallon Pyrex Carboy

**J8D** · 03-20-2010, 05:58 PM

I scored a 10 gallon pyrex carboy. It was full of acid (not sure which flavor). What is the best method to clean it out for brewing use? I also scored a 6 or 6.5 that held ammonia. What would be the best for that one? Thanks!!!!

**Baldy_Beer_Brewery** · 03-20-2010, 06:00 PM

I can't see why you can't just use whatever you normally clean and sanitize with.

**IrregularPulse** · 03-20-2010, 06:17 PM

The beauty of glass is that it shouldn't harbor anything. I'd just give it several good hot water rinses.
*I do not know much about chemicals, it's best to wait for another opinion, but that is what I'd do in your situation.*

Cliff897 · 03-23-2010, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J8D

I scored a 10 gallon pyrex carboy. It was full of acid (not sure which flavor). What is the best method to clean it out for brewing use? I also scored a 6 or 6.5 that held ammonia. What would be the best for that one? Thanks!!!!

Water soak followed by a baking soda soak & rinse.
I'd let the soak go for an hour or so.
The soda will help ensure that you've got all the acid out.

Sometimes things can crystallize and be tough dissolve and move.
This is a problem when people store things in the same cabinet which ought not be stored together such as Nitric acid and Toluene. Crystals of the dried solutions can form in the threads and can also be contaminated by the other chemicals in the locker and when you twist them off can detonate.
A little tiny ignition in a toluene bottle can be a very embarrassing moment.

wyzazz · 03-23-2010, 03:21 PM

Hot Oxiclean Free should do the trick, it's basic (if I remember correctly) so it should also neutralize any leftover acid.

**starrfish** · 03-23-2010, 03:42 PM

I'd make sure you did several long plain water soaks and rinses before adding any other chemical.

OxiClean doesn't react well with other chemicals like bleach, could only imagine what it would do in ACID.

Had a fermenter with a bleach bath, forgot I added bleach added OxiClean boy did that start to fizz and belch out chlorine gas! dumped that quick and flushed with water!

**Poobah58** · 03-23-2010, 09:13 PM

We have several members of our brew club that work for a pharmaceutical company and they say to soak in warm water for 24 hrs. then add 1/2 cup of muriatic acid (home depot) per 5 gallons and soak another 24 hrs. Then rinse at 5 times.

**J8D** · 03-23-2010, 10:50 PM

Thank you all for the replies. So I did the cool water rinse x 2. My research indicated that Oxiclean is a base so it should have been a decent battle against the acid container. The 12 gallon pyrex container came out sparkling, clear, and alien blood free.

The ammonia container recieved similiar treatment. It however still has a murky haise on the glass. In researching, ammonia is a weak base. I am not sure why it would have left stains similar to mineral deposits on the glass. Perhaps the previous user had put ammonia in to clean the glass...

So I am a bit reluctant to throw wort into the ammonia container. I will likely try the muriatic acid trick (thanks Poobah58) and see if I can remove the film. One of my colleges (nuclear engineer type) just walked in and schooled me saying that it is likely not a stain but that the ammonia reacted with some of the components within the glass. He lost me about three sentences into his explanation but I just let him babble on.