Reusing an old aluminum pot

So a buddy of mine gave me an 8gal aluminum pot that he used for brewing but he didn't clean it out for what looks like a long time and it had mold and trunk in the bottom and sides. I have it soaking in dawn and scrubbed it with a scotch bright greenie so there won't be any deep scratches. But my concern is how clean do you think it will be and would you re use something like that after it was cleaned?

ratrodder2831 said:

So a buddy of mine gave me an 8gal aluminum pot that he used for brewing but he didn't clean it out for what looks like a long time and it had mold and trunk in the bottom and sides. I have it soaking in dawn and scrubbed it with a scotch bright greenie so there won't be any deep scratches. But my concern is how clean do you think it will be and would you re use something like that after it was cleaned?

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Sure, I would. Once it's clean, boil water in it to rebuild the oxide layer (so that it's dull, not shiny) and use it.

+1 Exactly what Yooper said.

What about what I hear about cleaning with oxyclean. I use oxyclean free for all my equipment will that ruin the alm pot

ratrodder2831 said:

What about what I hear about cleaning with oxyclean. I use oxyclean free for all my equipment will that ruin the alm pot

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The below was taken from the sticky thread at the top of this forum section. You might want to read it completely.


Aluminum Pots:
Pros:
- considerably less expensive than SS
- much better at conducting heat than SS, which means faster boils, faster cooling, and less chance of scorching
- not as heavy to lift as SS

Cons:
- oxidizes easily, meaning that oxygen-based cleaners (e.g., Oxyclean, One-step) cannot be used (Note: caustic or other similar clean-in-place solutions can definitely not be used, which is why the brewing industry generally does not use aluminum.)
- passive oxide layer must be built up before brewing (**see note below) with a new aluminum kettle, although it is very easy to maintain


So like we said already feel free to use the pot scrub the heck out of it if you like BUT, PLEASE boil water before you use it to build back the oxide layer. Also when the above says "cannot be used" they do not mean that if you do you must through away the pot they only mean you must boil water in it to build up the oxide layer.

Hope that helps!