Using Nalgene Carboys for primary fermentation

A friend of a friend gifted me with 2x5.5Gal and 1x13Gal Nalgene carboys today, and I'm planning to use them as primary fermentation vessels.

Has anyone else here tried using these before? Any issues I should be aware of? Obviously I'm going to clean them very carefully, as he had no idea what was in them before.

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23581

Thanks!

A few people have, but at 85 bucks for a 5.5 gallon the price is a little wasteful. But if you can find them for free/cheap and they weren't used to hold something toxic to humans, go for it.

Yeah, they were totally free of charge. I figured a good soak of PBW and Star-San should take care of it. Any other ideas for cleaning?

stuff a rag down the neck with some cleaner....shake the hell out of it!

Is that a serious recommendation? Anything I should use beyond PBW?

I'd give them a good clean with some cheap cheap cheap vodka. Cheapest you can find.

The PBW will take most of the water based solvents out and the soap will help with fats. A droppy of cheap vodka will help to remove any residues that may be alochol soluble, and since it is a higher concentration than what will be following it, then it is unlikely the beer will extract anything left behind!

Also Give it a darn good clean after with water and more PBW. Do you have any idea what was stored in these?

No idea whatsoever.

A friend of mine who is a Chem-E just suggested Rubbing alcohol, Dawn, then PBW, then Star-San.