Pickling brass problem - help?

Alright, so i just got some brass fittings and a friend of mine told me to let them soak in a mixture of 1 part hydrogen peroxide and 2 parts vinegar. I did this, but he did not specify how long to let them sit, and I got home and brought them out after about 6 hours after being out for the day. They were definitely not the 'buttery yellow' he said they would turn - they had darkened and some had even turned pink.

After looking into it further online I found out it should have only been in the solution maybe 5 minutes or less. Some sites say you can just re-soak the brass in a new solution again to solve the problem, but I'm not sure from a lot of other stuff I've now read.

Have I ruined these fittings and should get new ones or is this something I can fix? Has too much lead been exposed?

Just use them the way they are they are brass what are you worried about?

Read the information Cleaning Brass from John Palmers "How To Brew":
http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixB.html

I'd suggest that you scrub the fittings with Bar Keepers Friend so that the brass is shiny again and then use the procedure that Palmer wrote.

I would second ^^ suggestion. Clean until shiny with bkf then re pickle

What is the purpose of pickling lead free brass?

photogscott said:

What is the purpose of pickling lead free brass?

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hysteria over California's labeling requirements

photogscott said:

What is the purpose of pickling lead free brass?

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Why wouldn't it have lead in it? Brass fitting have lead in them, I have never seen lead free ones. All the ones here have lead in them, that's the point of pickleing.

In California, lead-free materials must be used for "each component that comes into contact with the wetted surface of pipes and pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures." On January 1, 2010, the maximum amount of lead in "lead-free brass" in California was reduced from 4% to 0.25% lead.

This prompted most big box stores to start stocking lead-free brass fittings, nation wide. Check out homedepot.com or lowes.com, you'll find lead-free fittings before you ever tell the website where you're located.

photogscott said:

What is the purpose of pickling lead free brass?

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There is absolutely no purpose for pickling lead free brass but like a lot of worthless or dead "solutions" this one continues to hang around.

JRems said:

Why wouldn't it have lead in it? Brass fitting have lead in them, I have never seen lead free ones. All the ones here have lead in them, that's the point of pickleing.

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Plumbing brass, including brass ball valves contain no lead. The brass is a alloy of copper and tin.

360 brass, which is used for non-plumbing applications in the US contains 3% lead.

Be careful with Harbor Freight - last I looked their "brass" ball valves did contain lead.

Name one person who got lead poisoning from their home brew spigots?

I can't, nor can I name someone who has lead poisoning from his plumbing or driving a car before lead free gas.

I can't name anyone who has died from asbestos exposure but that doesn't mean I don't care about it.

I agree 100%

I just think it's ironic that we who manufacture and consume alcohol, a chemical compound known to kill brain cells and in extreme cases cause a whole host of illness and diseases ranging from liver damage to cancer are concerned about the small amount of lead that's found in some brass.

thargrav said:

I just think it's ironic that we who manufacture and consume alcohol, a chemical compound known to kill brain cells and in extreme cases cause a whole host of illness and diseases ranging from liver damage to cancer are concerned about the small amount of lead that's found in some brass.

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This^^ And how much lead can really leach out. Very little of the total mass of the brass fittings we use actually come in contact with the beer.

Just make sure you give most of the first batch make with new brass fittings to your friends.

I'm using harbor freight brass ball valves. I'm still alive.