It's a little different because racking canes are acrylic but I'm sure they are similar in regard to this problem.
Oxyclean vs. Sight gauge?
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Ravenshead
Well-Known Member
Actually I think that must be a different reaction. My early homemade sight glasses were made from acrylic racking canes. I did many an unfiltered oxyclean soak with them without any cracks. They did tend to melt eventually though.
Cpt_Kirks
Well-Known Member
FYI
I use Memphis tap water. This is artesian well water, very pure. They do add a lot of chlorine, though.
If carbon filtering helps, could this be a reaction between the chlorine and oyxclean?
My new glass should be in today. I'm sticking to hot water and a scrub brush for my BK from now on.
MachineShopBrewing
Well-Known Member
Not sure if it will help or not, but when I was selling plumbing fixtures, you always told people not to use scrubbing bubbles on any plastic handles or they would develop cracks. Maybe it is a similar reaction and you could look in that direction?
Ravenshead
Well-Known Member
I doubt it's chlorine. Almost everyone has chlorine in their water but only a few have this phenomena. It's something not many have in their water profile but removable by charcoal.
There may be a difference between chlorine and chloramine. I'm doing a side by side right now with some oxiclean and tap (chloramine) and some made from bottled water dosed with pool chlorine.
My sight tube did this same exact thing. A radial delamination and I doubt any themal shock or bump. I filled my BK and added oxiclean and left to soak overnight. Everything was fine. I was cleaning a fermenter when all of a sudden, the sight glass on the BK started to leak. My advice would be not to soak with oxiclean.
Ravenshead
Well-Known Member
That's a good guess but I'd think we all have at least some chloramine and of course chlorine if we're on city water. I'm thinking it's something more esoteric. Prove me wrong though, I'm looking forward to the results.
amandabab
Well-Known Member
our water is 8 ph out of the tap and was killing polycarbonate tubes when soaked. I pulled a pyrex tube and chrome armoring sleeve off of a 100 cup coffee urn and haven't had any problems since.
Its not any one vendors polycarbonate, its the material itself.
Its not any one vendors polycarbonate, its the material itself.
AndrewD
Well-Known Member
I wonder if the mystery reaction is somehow causing the exposed side of the material to expand or contract?
No, I think the plasticizers in the plastic are being depleted, leaving the plastic brittle. There are lots of different formulations used as plastisizers; this is what gives all plastics their flexibility. Plasticisers are not water soluble, so beer isn't going to accelerate their migration from the plastic. But they are subject to oxidative degradation, and this is what I suspect is causing the problem. Oxyclean is an oxidative cleaner. Probably heat exacerbates the effect.
I replaced my cracked and brittle sight glasses about 2 years ago (see this). I used to pump oxyclean through my BK overnight. Sometimes it would sit longer than that. I stopped doing that with my new sight glasses (Bobby's) and I haven't had any issue with them (they aren't as clean as I'd like, meh).
Negative on the chlorine being a factor.
Ravenshead
Well-Known Member
Keep in mind, the Oxyclean by itself doesn't seem to have an effect. It's the Oxyclean plus some ingredient that's in some but not all water supplies that's causing the problem. That ingredient also appears to be removable via charcoal filtration.
Cpt_Kirks
Well-Known Member
I have my new sight gauge installed now (Thank You, Bobby).
To make sure, I'll just avoid the oxy from now on.
To make sure, I'll just avoid the oxy from now on.
Ravenshead
Well-Known Member
Resurrecting an old thread with new data. I used my Keggle to circulate hot caustic through my plate chiller and noticed the same crazing. I was basically pumping Liquid Drano mixed in five gallons of 180-ish water. I only circulated for about an hour before I drained and rinsed. A couple days later I noticed a crack straight through the tube.
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