Prepping Gear For FIrst Brew

Besides sanitizing, is there anything I need to do to prep my gear for the first brew?

Do I need to boil a batch of water in my aluminum stock pot before doing a brew in it?

What about my wort chiller? (copper) is anything needed there? Just dunk it in the sanitizing bucket and bam, into the wort it goes?

Check the forum for how to prepare an aluminium pot. I think that boiling water in it before using it the first time is advised.

Before I used my immersion chiller for the first time, I put it in my brewpot (SS) in a mild vinegar solution. It cleaned off all of the oxidization and other dirty bits. It'll oxidize after every use, but as long as it's cleaned and emptied after each use, it'll be fine.

These tips are in the FAQ. I know you're nervous/excited, but reading through the short bits of advice is really helpful.

Yes, boil water in your aluminum pot.
Both cleaning and sanitizing are necessary -- they are not the same thing.
If the wort is boiling when you insert your chiller, it will be sanitized -- just make sure it's clean.

thanks for the info. I did some searches but didnt find anything but a few mentions that were incomplete. The post was about something else and these topics were mentioned but not filled out.

I've found most forum search engines to be horrible at best. Makes it tough to find info that you know is already out there. I'm doing this from work I've got all the time in the world. But seriously, reading a thousand pages of something isn't at all practical. If its not in a stickied subject line or found in a search what choice does one have but to ask?

I find that the 'advanced search' function and looking at 'titles only' has worked extremely well for me on this forum.

Giv'er a try, if you haven't already.

eighteez said:

If its not in a stickied subject line or found in a search what choice does one have but to ask?

Click to expand...

FAQ is stickied.

just be sure that you clean your immersion chiller FIRST. If you just throw it in your wort to sterilize it and it comes out all nice and amazingly shiny when it went in looking like garbage, guess where all that garbage went...

good point.

I'll boil it when I do an initial boil to ready the aluminum pot.

eighteez said:

good point.

I'll boil it when I do an initial boil to ready the aluminum pot.

Click to expand...

Very, very good plan.

(Wish I had done that!)