I found some 55 gallon drums for a great price today but they have a label that says Dimethyl Carbonate. I'm no scientist so the explanation on wikipedia didn't do me much good (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl_carbonate). Does anyone know if these can be used for homebrewing or is Dimethyl Carbonate bad?
55 Gallon Drum (Dimethyl Carbonate)
- Thread starter jerryalan
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Thirteen
Well-Known Member
Are these drums stainless steel? The wikipedia site states that dimethyl carbonate is fairly soluble in water (13.9 g/100 ml) so it should be easily rinsed out. If the drums are plastic (HDPE) its not worth the risk as there are plenty of cheap plastic drums available. If it is stainless steel, I think you could easily clean them. When I got my SS drum, I wasn't sure what it had been used for. I cleaned it out with oxiclean. I then boiled solutions of both base (NaOH) and acid (H3PO4) in the drum. I felt pretty confident that I wouldn't have to worry about any toxic exposures.
Thirteen
Well-Known Member
MSDS says it's insoluble in water. Even if you could you'd hardly want to just pour it down the drain. It requires appropriate disposal.
Thirteen
Well-Known Member
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jerryalan
Well-Known Member
They aren't SS.
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jerryalan
Well-Known Member
Good enough for me. I'll be passing on these. I knew they were too good to be true. Not SS but they're only $5 each.
Sawdustguy
Well-Known Member
Good move! The MSDS goes on to say that inhalation exposure can depress the central nervous system. Not good stuff to be playing with.
If they are galvanized steel don't use them for brewing.
If they are food grade plastic, they ought to be fine but might harbor odors and/or flavors from the old contents that you won't be able to get rid of.
If they are food grade plastic, they ought to be fine but might harbor odors and/or flavors from the old contents that you won't be able to get rid of.
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jerryalan
Well-Known Member
Is there a way to determine if they're galvanized or not?
Jerry:
You want stainless steel!
You want stainless steel!
Clayton
Well-Known Member
THEY DONT PUT FOOD IN galvanized
Stainless is not very magnetic. If you put a good magnet on it, it will not stick, or be VERY weak. I think galvanized is pretty magnetic.
And really, you should just get Stainless or the right type of plastic. ONLY.
And really, you should just get Stainless or the right type of plastic. ONLY.
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