Galvanized Steel

Thought I would throw this out for either confirmation or warning.

I needed a new fitting for my Star San tank, and went to Home Depot to pick one up. The guy helping me had a PhD in environmental engineering, and let me know that when galvanized fittings start breaking down the release a form of cyanide.

Needless to say I steered clear, and spent the $2 more for brass. I have brass everywhere else. Have tried plastic, but it leaked. Since galvanized is ruled out it looks like brass or steel for valves from here on out.

Galvanized is great for natural gas lines, but not so good for stuff equipment that touches food and beer!

slouch said:

I went to Home Depot. The guy helping me had a PhD in environmental engineering.

Click to expand...

Wow, rough economy.

slouch said:

. The guy helping me had a PhD in environmental engineering, and let me know that when galvanized fittings start breaking down the release a form of cyanide.

Click to expand...

Apparently that guy failed his chemistry course in an EPIC fashion. There is no cyanide in steel. Hell, there is no nitrogen that could possibly form cyanide. Zinc is the major concern with galvanized steel products. Excess zinc can severely interfere with the way your body functions.

slouch said:

Thought I would throw this out for either confirmation or warning.

I needed a new fitting for my Star San tank, and went to Home Depot to pick one up. The guy helping me had a PhD in environmental engineering, and let me know that when galvanized fittings start breaking down the release a form of cyanide.

Needless to say I steered clear, and spent the $2 more for brass. I have brass everywhere else. Have tried plastic, but it leaked. Since galvanized is ruled out it looks like brass or steel for valves from here on out.

Click to expand...

I can't find any confirmation about galvanized steel releasing cyanide. I did however find some info that says galvanized steel in contact with "acidic" foods can cause the release of zinc salts. Witch can lead to minor zinc poisoning.

Galvanized steel PDF

Rushis said:

Apparently that guy failed his chemistry course in an EPIC fashion. There is no cyanide in steel. Hell, there is no nitrogen that could possibly form cyanide. Zinc is the major concern with galvanized steel products. Excess zinc can severely interfere with the way your body functions.

Click to expand...

On that one you are beyond me. I didn't fail may chemistry classes in college... because I never took them.

Either way, cyanide, zinc, or some other decomposition of the product, I decided to stay away from it, in favor of brass and stainless.

slouch said:

I decided to stay away from it, in favor of brass and stainless.

Click to expand...

Queue the "but brass had lead in it" guys in 5...4...3...2...

I'd still avoid galvanized steel in your brewing. I know welding it can be deadly without ventilation. I used some galvanized fence posts to build my brew tree, though.

lamarguy said:

Wow, rough economy.

Click to expand...

Yeah that is what I thought, till I found out he was retired from California living here for the lifestyle. We have a lot of those.

I had neighbors once that worked at Home Depot. The sold their 30 year old 800 foot 2 bedroom condo in SoCal for over a mil, and move into a new 5000 foot custom built home for 300k. Working at HD and living off of the rest.

So they all got out of Caly when the $$ was still good.

I've been selling metals for years now and can tell you that ALL food manufactureres use either a 304 stainless or 316 stainless in there equipment. With acidic liquids 316 is preferred.

Galvanized contains no cyanide, does not produce cyanide, doesn't know what cyanide is. Galvanized shouldn't be used because it does "rust". If you've ever seen a piece of galv that has been sitting out in the rain it looks white. That is zinc oxide. The zinc oxide will flake off into what ever is there. Not very sanitary.

Before anyone says it yes stainless oxidizes too but the nickle oxide does not flake off and if you scratch it off it will instantly reform.

For those without a science background, galvanic (galvanized) metals use a sacrificial coating to preserve the integrity of the structural metal. In our case, we are talking about zinc and steel. The zinc decomposes (oxidizes) while the steel remains intact. By design, the zinc is oxidizing into solution. Not good for your food.

Brass is fine. Pickle it, use it, love it, then upgrade to stainless

What is the benefit of stainless over brass?

Brass contains a small amount of lead for machinablity. Pickle it, or don't worry about it as it is a statiscally insignificant amount. You probably have brass fittings in and around your home that were never pickled...

EMPyre said:

Brass contains a small amount of lead for machinablity. Pickle it, or don't worry about it as it is a statiscally insignificant amount. You probably have brass fittings in and around your home that were never pickled...

Click to expand...

Dang, took longer than I thought!

EMPyre said:

Brass contains a small amount of lead for machinablity. Pickle it, or don't worry about it as it is a statiscally insignificant amount. You probably have brass fittings in and around your home that were never pickled...

Click to expand...

How do you pickle it?

slouch said:

How do you pickle it?

Click to expand...

As mentioned it's not really neccesary, but you just soak the part(s) in a mildly acidic solution (such as vinegar) for a few minutes, and then rinse it off. This will remove any surface lead that may be present.

From "how to brew" by John Palmer:
Cleaning Brass
Some brewers use brass fittings in conjunction with their wort chillers or other brewing equipment and are concerned about the lead that is present in brass alloys. A solution of two parts white vinegar to one part hydrogen peroxide (common 3% solution) will remove tarnish and surface lead from brass parts when they are soaked for 5 minutes or less at room temperature. The brass will turn a buttery yellow color as it is cleaned. If the solution starts to turn green and the brass darkens, then the parts have been soaking too long and the copper in the brass is beginning to dissolve, exposing more lead. The solution has become contaminated and the part should be re-cleaned in a fresh solution.

Great thanks. I use a lot of brass parts. I will have to see if I can pickle some if not all of them.