Scratches on wort chiller

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capulinflicker

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So I had a little DIY project here to make an immersion wort chiller from copper tubing. It turned out pretty good, but unfortunately the pipe bending tool I bought ended up putting some scratches in the copper. How concerned should I be about this leading to infection if I use it to cool my wort? I usually have a 3 gallon bucket of Star-san ready to go in order to give everything a good soak. If I let the chiller have a good soak before putting it in the wort will that be sufficient to use the chiller despite the scratches in the tubing?

I just hope I didn't throw $30 down the drain :(
 
So I had a little DIY project here to make an immersion wort chiller from copper tubing. It turned out pretty good, but unfortunately the pipe bending tool I bought ended up putting some scratches in the copper. How concerned should I be about this leading to infection if I use it to cool my wort? I usually have a 3 gallon bucket of Star-san ready to go in order to give everything a good soak. If I let the chiller have a good soak before putting it in the wort will that be sufficient to use the chiller despite the scratches in the tubing?

I just hope I didn't throw $30 down the drain :(

Nope no worries. Heck I only clean the big chunks off mine and that is only if they fall off easy. See you put it in the boiling wort for the last ten minutes of the boil so it gets sanitized by the boil.
 
yea the boil sanitizes everything. just put it in about 10 minutes before you kill the heat, as suggested. no need even for starsan.
 
copper is used in cooking all the time. As long as the copper is clean and not covered in a green coating, you are safe. If it's green it will poison you. You can clean the green stuff off and then it's safe to use again
 
Has any one ever experienced a metallic taste from doing this?
copper is used and removed by yeast during fermentation. that is why its OK to use copper while brewing, but not post-fermentation, as it would not be removed and you would end up drinking it.
 
audger said:
copper is used and removed by yeast during fermentation. that is why its OK to use copper while brewing, but not post-fermentation, as it would not be removed and you would end up drinking it.

That's what I normally do, I heard it actually is like yeast nutrient, but have been getting a metallic taste.Must be the aluminum pot.
 
Why did you use a pipe bending tool to coil the copper? Since you said it was $30, I assume you coiled something like 25 feet of 3/8" OD? You can bend that around a cylindrical form by hand with no tools. I know, it's off topic but I'm just curious. No worries about scratches.. Heat sanitized every time...
 
bja said:
Look elsewhere, it's not from your aluminum pot.

If you think it is your pot, fill it with vinegar(like 1 part to 4waters I think) and let it sit. Or boil it with just water. This will create an oxide layer and you can rule the pot out. When cleaning, do not use an aggresive scratchy. That can remove the layer.

Back on topic. Just add to the end of the boil. Nothing to worry about. I like to soak mine in star an first. Makes it nice and shiney, and I like shiney things.
 
If you think it is your pot, fill it with vinegar(like 1 part to 4waters I think) and let it sit. Or boil it with just water. This will create an oxide layer and you can rule the pot out.

If he's already used the pot, then it already has the oxide layer.
 
Why did you use a pipe bending tool to coil the copper? Since you said it was $30, I assume you coiled something like 25 feet of 3/8" OD? You can bend that around a cylindrical form by hand with no tools. I know, it's off topic but I'm just curious. No worries about scratches.. Heat sanitized every time...

I think OP was referring to one of the springy-looking "kink preventing" sets for soft tubing? Though those shouldn't scratch it...
 
milldoggy said:
If you think it is your pot, fill it with vinegar(like 1 part to 4waters I think) and let it sit. Or boil it with just water. This will create an oxide layer and you can rule the pot out. When cleaning, do not use an aggresive scratchy. That can remove the layer.

Back on topic. Just add to the end of the boil. Nothing to worry about. I like to soak mine in star an first. Makes it nice and shiney, and I like shiney things.

Yeah it has definitely been well used..its over 30+ years old...I don't really use metal anywhere else through the process except for my caps and the mash bulkhead. Also I second the star San making it look nice.
 
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