Is aquarium silicone safe?

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IwanaBrich

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I couldn't seem to seal the spigot on my bottling bucket, no matter what I did I could not stop the dripping. So without thinking too much, I applied some aquarium silicone around the spigot and tightened the nut down. Well it sealed the leak and now I'm wondering if I should have used aquarium silicone.

Does anyone know if aquarium silicone will be okay with my beer?
 
It would depend on the brand. I think many are food safe. You could look up the MSDS online for more information.
 
This is the stuff I used on my system (well used to use, I don't have any in the kettle anymore since changing how the setup a bit)
from McMaster: http://www.mcmaster.com/#7327a21/=19a1y1

Underwater Silicone Sealant
Create waterproof bonds on metal, plastic, glass, and rubber. Sealant forms a tough, rubbery solid that stays flexible and won't crack or shrink. It can be used on aquariums—once hardened, it will not harm fresh- or saltwater fish.
Begins to harden in 10-20 minutes and reaches full strength in 48 hours. Temperature range is -40° to +400° F. Color is clear.
Sealant is FDA CFR21 177.2600 compliant when it reaches full strength and is washed. Meets ASTM C920, Class 25. This product is VOC compliant in all 50 states as of October 1, 2008.
2.8-oz Tube
7327A21 $5.72

Sec. 177.2600 Rubber articles intended for repeated use.

Rubber articles intended for repeated use may be safely used in producing, manufacturing, packing, processing, preparing, treating, packaging, transporting, or holding food, subject to the provisions of this section.
 
Should be fine, but you really ought to be able to seal the spigot if you have the right washer and put it on the outside of the bucket.
 
Well I went on the bed DAP web site (It was DAP Aquarium sealant) and could not find an answer, so I called the 800 number. The guy I spoke said that it is "NOT" food grade. :(

I think I just ruined my bottling bucket!
 
Honestly, I don't know that I'd worry about it. I'm guessing there's extra money involved in being able to claim something is food grade and they didn't want to go through the process. If it's safe for fish, I can't imagine it being harmful to people. Plus, it's your bottling bucket; you won't have beer in contact with it for weeks/months at a time, right? Fish are extremely sensitive to changes in water chemistry and can live for years in water that's in contact with a much larger amount of sealant than what you've used.

That said, proceed at your own risk, don't take advice or candy from strangers on the internet, etc.

Anyway, it should be pretty easy to scrape the cured silicone off and reseal with something else so your bucket should be okay.
 
Failing scraping it out like yermej said, just drill out a slightly bigger hole. Wouldn't NSF approved silicone be ok? You can get that at any store and it's temp is 200 F I think.
 
I'd leave it. I built my own fish tank and did a lot of research on silicone.

If you want to get real picky, you should be looking for food-contact rated silicone, not just food grade.

Most aquarium silicones are 100% silicone. Just like the "type 1" silicone you can get at home depot. They have to cover their asses so they don't say it's food safe.

B
 

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