bottling bucket is kind of scratched

ok my bottling bucket has some minor scratches in it because back when i stared doing this i didn't realize you weren't supposed to use a scrubbie to clean it. It's not like deep scratches just like minor ones from using one of those kitchen sponges with a sponge on one side and a scrubber on the top side of it. so do you think it's too much of a risk to keep using it? if not can i use a clean sanitized glass carboy for priming?

I imagine people will tell you that it is too dangerous to risk but I have a lot of faith in star san. Just get it good and foamy and it will work it's way into the scratches.

Why risk it? You MIGHT get it clean, but then again you might not. I know I would not risk it. Get a new bucket. I would. No sense risking a whole batch for, what, 16.00 for a new one?

hmm.. maybe i'll just use a glass carboy to be safe. I have an extra one laying around

Righlander said:

hmm.. maybe i'll just use a glass carboy to be safe. I have an extra one laying around

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Well, that takes care of that. Great solution.

use the scratched one to soak stuff in. Like when you finish a bottle of beer and you have rinsed it out well, stick it in the bucket with some old star san to pre sanitize it before storing it away.

sounds like a plan thanks for the help.

Most will tell you to toss it if you get a scratch but i have buckets with scratches that i have used for a long time and never had a problem. As long as you sanitize good you shouldn't have a problem. If the sanitizer can't get deep enough into the scratch neither can your beer.

However, the scratches you are talking about are different since you used a scrubber so there are way too many scratches to risk it. So toss it.

Sanitize it as well as you can every time you brew. This is a must! You could toss it, sure. If you've got an ounce of Scot in you it just seems wrong, though. IF you ever get a contaminated batch in it give it up. I thought I could bleach (1/2 gallon bleach/6 gallons of water) after my first contaminated batch. I was wrong. Just use it for pre-fermenting stuff going forward or use it as a collection bucket for your chiller spent-water that you can throw in your clothes washer.

Ferment in another fermenter. It is possible to make beer in it, but the risk goes up all the time that infections will live in very hard to reach areas and cause you grief. It's not worth it IMO to not use something else.

peas_and_corn said:

Ferment in another fermenter. It is possible to make beer in it, but the risk goes up all the time that infections will live in very hard to reach areas and cause you grief. It's not worth it IMO to not use something else.

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It's actually a bottling bucket. I haven't used it as a fermenter.

Scratched buckets are still really useful, for everything from mixing sanitizer and soaking implements, to grain storage, to schlepping wort from lauter tun to boiler, if you don't have a fancy rig. I sure wouldn't pitch the bucket out, but I might try to find another use for it.

I am particularly fond of my scratched bottling bucket. Dispensing sanitizer has never been so easy!

I think he should be ok since its a bottling bucket and not a fermentor.

If he sanitizes it before use and he will be only using it for less then an hour. Using a scratched bucket for a few weeks while fermentation is going on is a different story.

It really depends on how deep the scratches are IMO. Minor shallow scratches as you'd get from a scotch brite pad would not worry me as much as a couple of deeper scratches as you'd get from a sharp metal utensil or something.