Old Glass Carboys

I have the opportunity to get several old glass carboys from a lab supply store. These are used and I'm not sure what was stored in them in the past. Is a good cleaning all that it would take to make them usable? Should I worry about etching/leaching from strong acids that might have been stored in them in the past? Or is glass considered non-reactive enough to not be concerned.

I'd like to expand the volume of beer I can have in primary and secondary and the price is right, but I don't want to take and health risks.

Thanks!!

I wouldn't be concerned, just clean them out really well.

If you are worried, just clean them 4 times.

1st with warm soapy water, rinse well.
2nd with Bleach Water
3rd with Idophor
4th with Starsan

Anything that can live through that deserves to be afraid of

ogrady said:

I have the opportunity to get several old glass carboys from a lab supply store. These are used and I'm not sure what was stored in them in the past. Is a good cleaning all that it would take to make them usable? Should I worry about etching/leaching from strong acids that might have been stored in them in the past? Or is glass considered non-reactive enough to not be concerned.

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Glass isn't going to hold on to anything like that. Wash 'em and you're fine.

OOOoooh, Can I have one?

Get em, clean em, be careful. Glass is used for chemical storage because there are very few chemicals that will bind to glass. Glass is best, won't harbor contaminants, but are dangerous. It is all I use...until they break and I buy Better Bottles. Be good!

Old carboys are good carboys. More sturdy than current versions. I'm using an old Brystol Myers Carboy from 1982. That thing is indestructible.

Yeah I have 4 old water cooler bottles, if they were tough enough to be delivered i'm sure they are tough enough to brew with. I would love to find a few more.

I brew with a guy that has a doctorite in microbiology and he gets carboys on occasion from pharmaceutical companies. All you need to do is soak them in water for 24 hrs, then drain. Then soak in muriatic acid solution (1/2 cup per 3 gallons) for 24 hrs and rinse 5 times. Good as new.