choosybeggar

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Thanks for all the replies. I though about the oil coating and boiled the bearings in cascade dishwasher detergent prior to use. I think I'll discard this batch, though.

william_shakes_beer

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If not, go to a toy store and buy a "pente" game. That comes with those glass pellets. Also, florist shops sell them for cut flowers that need water and no soil.

Pickettj

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This was my concern. That, and as a steel worker (sheet, but still steel) I can tell you that stuff is DIRTY.

zachattack

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I get a similar "burnt rubber" smell with all stainless hose clamps. I think it's definitely a protective grease/oil on there. I boiled mine with dish soap and soaked in isopropanol, the smell was still there but very faint.

CatHead

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Doesn't carbon steel put off iron, which in small doses is good for the body but bad in high doses?

__________________
Primary: Pale Ale Lite
Bottled: Miller Lite Clone, Guiness Clone
Planned Next: ? Not sure, maybe something in wheat family.
Gone: Dry Irish Stout, Pale Ale

logdrum

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I wouldn't drink it.

ThreeDogsNE

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If you won't drink it, I'll forward my address.

The vapor pressure of steel at room temperature is phenomenally low, and I'd be impressed if your dog could find some by smell. You? Good luck! There were breweries that used cast iron vessels in significant parts of their process not all that long ago, and at least one vintage brewery in France is still doing so. You may end up with a different water profile than you planned, but they worked it out. There will never be as much iron in your beer as there is in the burger that you ate with it. When people take iron supplements, they may take over 100 mg of elemental iron several times per day. The body regulates iron levels largely by regulating absorption. If the body doesn't need it (and you don't have hemochromatosis) it will just pass through and make for black feces.

The oils on the bearings or clamps are another matter. You may well smell those hydrocarbons. However, if you could not get the oils off in boiling dish soap water and then isopropanol, you are pretty unlikely to to find them dissolving in your beer to create off smells or tastes. I think the sulfur explanation is the one with the ring of truth to it. Give it time. If necessary, scrub it with CO2. Or send it to me, and I'll take care of it!

skullface1818

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even someone with the most basic knowledge of metal like myself would had knows that you don't want carbon steel anywhere near your beer at all, that stuff is not really properly food safe

Its perfect for blades and swords, but near beer?
no thank you

My first mash tun had a C-steel washer on the inside of it to help lock down the spigot and the batch I made off of that tasted TERRIBLE. granted their where other reasons for this, but the large amount of rust that soon formed on my washer told me that I had to change things real, real fast

at least a valuable lesson was learned ^_^

choosybeggar

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This appears to be a great option for future dry hopping.

brick_haus

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I'd just use 1/2" stainless nuts. tie it to the string on the bag. Ball bearings are pricey!